It may surprise you, but the first dreams of artificial intelligence did not arise in the basements of an MIT engineering lab, or the cosy rooms of an Oxford college. In fact, these dreams did not arise at any modern university or institution. The Iliad, Homer’s epic about the Trojan War, provides the oldest surviving record of a description of artificial intelligence
I begin with a few caveats. As a non-Aboriginal Australian, I am careful to avoid joining the legions of whitefellas who tell Aboriginal people how to live their lives. Nor do I portray myself as an expert in Aboriginal health. I do not have the solution(s) to achieving equality in the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal compared to non-Aboriginal people, and anyone who claims they have is deluded, dangerous, or both
Interest in COVID-19 has made many people aware of the so called Spanish flu pandemic, which killed millions worldwide post World War I. We also have some recollection of the more recent SARS, MERS and Ebola outbreaks, though none of these came to Australia.
Terri Schiavo, an American woman aged 41 years, was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state (“brain dead”) and was kept alive by a feeding tube. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, was Terri’s guardian and, after three doctors had testified that she was in an irreversible vegetative state, he asked that the feeding tube be removed and that she be allowed to die
Global warming threatens to transform our planet by raising sea levels, causing widespread water shortages, increasing the frequency and intensity of storms, extinguishing species, altering almost everything we do in future. It is the greatest environmental challenge ever faced by humans as a species. It is also, without doubt, one of the greatest social, political and economic challenges we face — a challenge far greater even than the global economic turmoil we are seeing around us at present
We are often told in public commentary that the Australian economy is in transition — that we need to use our talents and skills to cope with changes in demand for commodities, and develop high value-add goods and services for local and interna- tional markets. The question is: what would it take to make that transition?
Australian architects of the twentieth century were bound by a common thread — the search for a national style and identity. During the post-war period, immigration and mass production meant the formation of new communities and aesthetics that represented both a rebellion against conformism and a gateway to pluralism
‘Rage against the dying of the light’, so wrote the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas, to his dying father in 1951. He is referring to his father’s impending death, but he uses the imagery of loss of facility and senses to convey this. For many, the fear of loss of sight is as great as death
Gender equality’s great promise is that it benefits all people, children, life partners, workplaces, our economy and democratic culture. This is a story of Australia’s progress on gender equality from the mid 19th century to today. There is much cause for hope in what has been achieved. But there is a fragility or brittleness attached to this scorecard, underlining our need to do much more — with renewed hope, energy and urgency
One of the 20th century’s most famous scientists, physicist Ernest Rutherford, explained: ‘When we have found how the nucleus of atoms is built up we shall have found the greatest secret of all — except life