Artificial Intelligence Makes Crime Even More Fun (Not Really)

Swing your boomerangs and play your didgeridoos, we’re heading Down Under! Today’s AI epistle asks a tough question: should social media companies do more to impede extremism and assist crime fighters? You’re darn tootin’ they should, according to Mike Burgess and Reece Kershaw, Australia’s top cyber sheriffs. But hold onto your kangaroos, as this is likely to twist the knickers of some civil and digital rights folk.

Points of Interest are also Points of Contention

• The Aussie duo, Mike Burgess, Asio director general, and Reece Kershaw, AFP commissioner, will say ‘G’day’ to controversy in a major speech, robustly asserting that “privacy is important but not absolute.”
• They’ll argue that social media companies need to don Captain Cook’s hat, get their hands dirty and help fight online extremism. The Outback isn’t the only wild place, the digital sphere is a pandemonium, too!
• AI is supposedly making it rain with radical ideas (and not the fun kind). It’s like a cyber Dragon’s Den, but instead of business ideas, it’s swarming with extremists.
• This call to arms is likely to do the equivalent of a frontal wedgie to some civil and digital rights campaigners. They believe in the so-called “absolute right to privacy” – meaning they may not appreciate this cyber kangaroo court.

Final Thought, Mate

So, should the big tech beasts in Silicon Valley snoop more or less? That’s a rippa of a question! But don’t expect a straightforward answer. Like trying to tackle a drop bear, it’s a prickly problem that’s bound to end with a few scratches. What we do know is that AI is changing the landscape faster than a dingo can swipe a barbie! Blimey, let’s hope the tech companies can keep up, or they might just find themselves up the creek without a paddle, and nobody wants to paddle through the Internet’s murkiest waters without a sturdy oar and a sense of purpose. Well, off to wrestle some cybersnakes, cobbers!