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Toby Walsh

Professor of AI at UNSW, Research Group Leader, Data61
Toby Walsh is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW, and Research Leader at Data61 (formerly NICTA) in the Optimisation Research Group where he leads the Algorithmic Decision Theory project. Data61 is Australia's Centre of Excellence for ICT Research.

He has been Editor-in-Chief of two of the main journals in AI: the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, and AI Communications. He is currently Associate Editor of one of the leading journals in computer science, the Journal of the ACM covering the area of Artificial Intelligence

Who is Sam Altman, OpenAI's wunderkind ex-CEO – and why does it matter that he got sacked?

Nov 21, 2023 04:00 am UTC| Technology

On Friday, OpenAIs high-flying chief executive Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired by the companys board. Co-founder and chief technology officer Greg Brockman was also removed as the board president, after which he promptly...

The US just issued the world’s strongest action yet on regulating AI. Here’s what to expect

Nov 01, 2023 07:12 am UTC| Technology

On Monday US President Joe Biden released a wide ranging and ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) catapulting the US to the front of conversations about regulating AI. In doing so, the US is leap...

Bard, Bing and Baidu: how big tech's AI race will transform search

Feb 10, 2023 06:07 am UTC| Technology

Today, if you want to find a good moving company, you might ask your favourite search engine Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo perhaps for some advice. After wading past half a page of adverts, you get a load of links to...

Can machines invent things without human help? These AI examples show the answer is ‘yes’

Dec 08, 2022 10:44 am UTC| Technology

The question of whether artificial intelligence (AI) can invent is nearly 200 years old, going back to the very beginning of computing. Victorian mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote whats generally considered the first...

An AI named Cicero can beat humans in Diplomacy, a complex alliance-building game. Here's why that's a big deal

Nov 25, 2022 14:43 pm UTC| Technology

In a rare piece of good news from Meta, artificial intelligence researchers at the company have just announced a scientific breakthrough. Their AI program named Cicero can now play the board game Diplomacy at a human...

How to preserve our privacy in an AI-enabled world of smart fridges and fitbits? Here are my simple fixes

Apr 23, 2022 08:25 am UTC| Technology

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy of a system the amount of disorder only ever increases. In other words, the amount of order only ever decreases. Privacy is similar to entropy. Privacy is...

Holding big tech companies to account: do their employees have the power?

Aug 25, 2018 07:52 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

When it comes to the tech giant Google, secret plans to launch a new search service in China prompted a furious reaction from more than 1,400 of the companys employees. A staff letter, obtained by Buzzfeed and published...

Economy

India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out

India and the United States have taken a significant step toward strengthening bilateral trade ties with the release of an interim trade framework that includes major tariff reductions on high-end American automobiles and...

Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality

Donald Trump has positioned himself as the Republican Partys chief voice on the cost of living during a pivotal election year, but a Reuters review of his recent speeches shows a growing disconnect between his rhetoric and...

South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom

South Africa is keen to make use of potential new European Central Bank (ECB) repo liquidity lines, according to central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, as the country continues to navigate easing inflation and a gradual...

Russian Stocks End Mixed as MOEX Index Closes Flat Amid Commodity Strength

Russian stocks finished the latest trading session on a mixed note, with the MOEX Russia Index closing flat as gains in select blue-chip shares were offset by losses in others. At the close of trading in Moscow, the...

China Extends Gold Buying Streak as Reserves Surge Despite Volatile Prices

Chinas central bank has continued to strengthen its gold reserves, extending its buying streak to a 15th consecutive month in January, according to the latest data released by the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC). The move...

Politics

Jack Lang Resigns as Head of Arab World Institute Amid Epstein Controversy

Jack Lang, a prominent French political figure and former culture minister under President François Mitterrand, has stepped down from his role as president of the Arab World Institute in Paris following mounting...

US Pushes Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Before Summer Amid Escalating Attacks

The United States is pressing Ukraine and Russia to reach an agreement to end the war before the start of summer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said following two days of U.S.-brokered talks held in Abu Dhabi....

Netanyahu to Meet Trump in Washington as Iran Nuclear Talks Intensify

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday, with Irans nuclear program and regional security topping the agenda. The meeting comes amid renewed...

Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape

U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed a proposed merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna, signaling renewed political attention on the future of local television broadcasting. In a post shared Saturday on...

Japan Election 2026: Sanae Takaichi Poised for Landslide Win Despite Record Snowfall

Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a rare winter election that could deliver Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a commanding mandate, even as record snowfall threatened to suppress turnout in parts of the country....

Science

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

Technology

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Investment Boom Is Just Beginning as NVDA Shares Surge

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang reaffirmed his bullish stance on artificial intelligence, calling the massive capital expenditure flowing into AI infrastructure both appropriate and necessary as the industry...

Amazon Stock Rebounds After Earnings as $200B Capex Plan Sparks AI Spending Debate

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) delivered a mixed but closely watched earnings report, beating Wall Street expectations on revenue while unveiling a massive long-term investment plan that unsettled investors. The e-commerce and...

Global PC Makers Eye Chinese Memory Chip Suppliers Amid Ongoing Supply Crunch

Major PC manufacturers including HP, Dell, Acer, and Asus are reportedly exploring the option of sourcing memory chips from Chinese semiconductor companies for the first time, as a prolonged global supply crunch continues...

OpenAI Expands Enterprise AI Strategy With Major Hiring Push Ahead of New Business Offering

OpenAI is significantly accelerating its enterprise AI strategy by hiring hundreds of new employees for its technical consulting division, according to a report by The Information, citing a person familiar with the...

SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) shares tumbled sharply on Thursday, tracking a steep decline in Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) after the UK-based chip designer reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the December quarter....