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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 11 hours ago
    • International law
    • Technology

    A first step on the long road to global AI regulation

    José-Miguel Bello y Villarino , Ramona Vijeyarasa , Kimberlee Weatherall
    It didn’t make headlines but the US and EU came together last week to sign an important treaty – leaving partners such as Australia with a choice.
  • 2 Sep 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Resource security
    • Technology
    • United States

    Antimony: The hidden metal fuelling global competition

    Marina Yue Zhang
    China’s latest critical mineral restrictions have caught attention – but mooted solutions might not deliver.
  • 28 Aug 2024
    • Cyber Security
    • Technology
    • US Elections

    Byte-sized diplomacy: Countering digital foreign interference

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    The danger is back in the spotlight as the US election unfolds. But who is interfering and how can we counter it?
  • 14 Aug 2024
    • China
    • Defence & Security
    • Cyber Security
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology

    Beijing’s Baltic confession exposes undersea vulnerability

    Cynthia Mehboob
    While China claims a blunder, its ship cutting a pipeline and cable last year leaves transparency questions aplenty.
  • 13 Aug 2024
    • Australia
    • Cyber Security
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology

    Byte-sized diplomacy: Will governments ever reign in Big Tech?

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    Google took a hit in the courts last week, but the ruling might not be as important as the information revealed in the case.
  • 9 Aug 2024
    • Global Issues
    • Coronavirus
    • Technology

    Olympics doping controversies show global bio governance failures

    Dirk van der Kley
    From Covid to genetically modified foods or DNA databases, the world is not cooperating enough on pathogens and biological technology regulation.
  • 8 Aug 2024
    • India
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Resource security
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Mission possible: Making the most of Australia-India cooperation on critical minerals

    Titiksha Vashist , Zoe Jay Hawkins
    The Indian government has set itself a new ambition to meet green transition needs – and Australia is a perfect partner.
  • 31 Jul 2024
    • Europe
    • European Union
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Charging up: Europe’s bid for renewable energy independence

    Nina Marković Khaze
    A new deal with Serbia for one of the world's largest lithium mines is about breaking China’s stranglehold on the market.
  • 31 Jul 2024
    • Cyber Security
    • Intelligence and security
    • Technology

    Australia’s big tech defence cloud: Too big to fail?

    Cynthia Mehboob
    Trusting the country’s digital defence capabilities to one company is a potential threat to national security.
  • 30 Jul 2024
    • E-diplomacy
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology

    Byte-sized diplomacy: Lessons from when the computer says no

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    The Blue Screen of Death outage this month underscores the need for a multilateral fix to vulnerable digital systems – and maybe more.
  • 29 Jul 2024
    • Energy
    • Resource security
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Critical minerals, critical decisions

    Shannon Hobbs , Fiona David
    A new UN panel can help ensure the social and environmental risks of the energy transition are better understood.
  • 18 Jul 2024
    • Japan
    • Quad
    • Technology

    Japan’s 5G ambitions with the Quad

    Kieran Thompson
    Tokyo is using the four-way grouping to champion its local tech companies against behemoths from Europe and China.
  • 16 Jul 2024
    • Australia
    • Technology

    Byte-sized diplomacy: Privacy is alive and clicking

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    The nature of a globally connected network means international solutions are needed – provided we don’t give up.
  • 10 Jul 2024
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security
    • Technology

    Cable ties: Defending seabed lines of communication

    Samuel Bashfield
    Underwater vulnerabilities need to be far more prominent in the conversation.
  • 3 Jul 2024
    • Australia
    • Cyber Security
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology

    Byte-sized diplomacy: AI-enabled elections or deepfake democracy?

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    Having an election doesn’t guarantee a democracy, but you cannot have a democracy without an election.
  • 25 Jun 2024
    • China
    • European Union
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • United States

    Tariffs, data security and global collaboration: Navigating the geopolitics of electric vehicles

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Protectionism isn’t going to help with meeting global climate ambitions.
  • 18 Jun 2024
    • Australia
    • Cyber Security
    • Technology

    Byte-sized diplomacy: Should Australia ban TikTok?

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    A new column to help understanding critical tech and national security.
  • 13 Jun 2024
    • Cyber Security
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Technology

    When cyber defence involves attack: Issues for Australia

    Brendan Walker-Munro , Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann
    How do Australian businesses and corporations deal with unwanted intruders on their networks? Government needs to offer real remedies.
  • 11 Jun 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Resource security
    • Trade
    • Technology

    Rare earths vs rarer resources: Global ripples from Australia’s divestment decision

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Climate change is a challenge China and the United States are fighting together, making technological cooperation key.
  • 21 May 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Technology

    Indonesia’s digital drive gets big tech backing

    Warief Djajanto Basorie
    Jakarta has welcomed some major world figures lately, hinting at its digital ambitions. But Indonesia faces stiff competition from the rest of ASEAN.
  • 8 May 2024
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    The cable shortage: Plugging in offshore wind farms

    Cynthia Mehboob
    Australia must consider the bigger risks as well as the opportunity of a shift to renewable energy.
  • 7 May 2024
    • Australia
    • Cyber Security
    • Intelligence and security
    • Technology

    Quantum of silence

    Brendan Walker-Munro
    Why the secrecy around securing Australia’s quantum research is scary.
  • 1 May 2024
    • Australia
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology

    Cultivating a healthy information environment

    Tom Barber , Anastasia Kapetas
    Regulation, yes, but fostering public literacy about social media and credible journalism is also crucial.
  • 29 Apr 2024
    • China
    • Technology

    The cable ties to China’s Digital Silk Road

    Sadia Rahman
    Stronger international protections are needed to safeguard the connections of the digital age.
  • 26 Apr 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Australia’s comparative advantage in climate transition

    Stephen Grenville
    Already world leaders in rooftop solar, Australians should take the opportunity with supporting rollouts in Southeast Asia.
  • 22 Apr 2024
    • China
    • Technology

    China’s high ambition for the low-altitude economy

    Kashif Anwar
    Flying low might be the best way to spur an economic take-off.
  • 22 Apr 2024
    • China
    • Technology

    Are US export controls making China’s chip industry more innovative?

    Manoj Harjani
    The cost calculation changes when restrictions are involved.
  • 11 Apr 2024
    • Asean
    • South China Sea
    • Cyber Security
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Emerging Threats
    • Maritime Security
    • Technology

    ASEAN and the military applications of AI

    Ngô Di Lân
    While artificial intelligence can be used to magnify lethal force, it can also promote regional peace and stability.
  • 5 Apr 2024
    • India
    • Cyber Security
    • Technology
    • United Nations

    Don’t play it by ear: Audio deepfakes in a year of global elections

    Dymples Leong
    From robocalls to voice clones, generative AI is allowing malicious actors to spread misinformation with ease.
  • 27 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Europe
    • Technology
    • United States

    China and the great global AI governance divide

    Benjamin Herscovitch
    Beijing already has at its disposal multiple means to shape how the world approaches this technological revolution.
  • 20 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • Technology

    China’s dominance over critical minerals poses an unacceptable risk

    John Coyne , Justin Bassi
    The present market structure gives Beijing a whip hand – and we’ve already seen the consequences.
  • 12 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australian Public Opinion
    • Multiculturalism
    • Technology
    • Transnational Challenges
    • Public Opinion
    • Public Opinion Polling

    Chinese social media and the 2025 Australian federal election

    Fan Yang , Robbie Fordyce , Luke Heemsbergen
    Those intent on spreading political misinformation are finding ways around strict foreign interference rules.
  • 28 Feb 2024
    • Pakistan
    • Technology

    Pakistan pulls the data plug

    Adnan Aamir
    Online censorship in the wake of extraordinary elections is the latest challenge to cost the country.
  • 8 Feb 2024
    • Defence & Security
    • Al Qaeda
    • Emerging Threats
    • Islamic State
    • Maritime Security
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Terrorism
    • Technology
    • Middle East
    • Iran
    • Iraq
    • Lebanon
    • Yemen

    Non-state actors and the phantom of asymmetry

    Ved Shinde
    The might of the US military no longer guarantees world order. There are new actors and new ecosystems in play.
  • 8 Feb 2024
    • Singapore
    • Technology

    TikTok’s unwanted viral moment shows Singapore-China confusion hasn’t changed

    Kazimier Lim
    A senator questioning the nationality of the TikTok CEO not only brought to mind experience of prejudice – but also highlighted misapprehensions about Singapore.
  • 19 Jan 2024
    • Australia in the World
    • Technology

    The window (shade) seat

    Samuel Bashfield
    Watching the world go by from 40,000 feet is more than it’s cracked up to be.
  • 16 Jan 2024
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Technology

    AI’s Oppenheimer moment: Establishing regulations

    Muhammad Ali Baig , Anum A. Khan
    Nuclear arms control is only one area that needs to catch up in the AI age.
  • 15 Jan 2024
    • Technology
    • Review

    Manager of the internet, controller of the world?

    Sam Roggeveen
    Power is much more than GDP and tank numbers. But the US monopoly on the digital age is eroding.
  • 28 Dec 2023
    • China
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Resource security
    • Technology

    Lithium, lightest metal on earth, carries heavy geopolitical weight

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Instead of a source of great tech power competition, lithium should be key to a collective fight against climate change.
  • 15 Dec 2023
    • Germany
    • Technology

    Germany’s digital dilemma

    Hilman Palaon
    The European powerhouse is struggling to embrace all the opportunities of the information age.
  • 6 Dec 2023
    • Energy
    • Technology
    • The Americas

    The geopolitics of Argentina’s lithium trade

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Will the new government redefine its trade ties with China – and at what cost?
  • 29 Nov 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Technology

    Southeast Asia's minerals: Opportunity knocks

    Ian Satchwell
    Australia should make better use of its regional leadership in minerals technology, skills and governance.
  • 28 Nov 2023
    • Indonesia
    • Technology

    Here come the SuperApps

    Hilman Palaon
    Indonesia’s experience with TikTok shows the challenges posed by social media-e-commerce hybrids.
  • 24 Nov 2023
    • Asean
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Driving the energy transition within ASEAN

    Nadira Asrifa , Ahmad Munawir Siregar
    Transportation is the life-blood of the regional economy but also a big contributor to environmental costs.
  • 23 Nov 2023
    • Technology
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu
    • Vanuatu

    Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific

    Mihai Sora
    Enhancing the region’s digital connectivity goes beyond influence. It’s about sharing prosperity and security, too.
  • 15 Nov 2023
    • Human rights
    • Migration
    • Technology
    • Transnational Challenges

    Human trafficking: Harnessing technology to help those most vulnerable

    Cate Sumner
    Delivering legal services to victims often means overcoming barriers in language, information and distance.
  • 15 Nov 2023
    • Australia
    • European Union
    • United Kingdom
    • Technology
    • United States

    The Bletchley Park artificial intelligence summit: Good optics, less substance

    José-Miguel Bello y Villarino , Kimberlee Weatherall
    A jumbled collection of commonplace platitudes does not a remarkable outcome make.
  • 3 Nov 2023
    • China
    • Australia
    • Resource security
    • Technology

    Mineral futures: A critical step for Albanese’s Beijing trip

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Trade in rare earth elements and numerous minerals is essential for the energy transition – but can Australia and China find complementary ground?
  • 2 Nov 2023
    • Technology

    Artificial Intelligence: The regulatory race to ensure a democratic future

    Lydia Khalil
    Authoritarian governments have their own designs for AI in this new arena for strategic rivalry.
  • 25 Oct 2023
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • United Kingdom
    • Technology
    • United States

    AUKUS as Big Science?

    Marigold Black
    With all the focus on nuclear-powered submarines, are we missing a chance to achieve something truly transformative?
Pagination
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