Digital Rights Watch

On its current trajectory, AI is inconsistent with democracy, sustainability, and autonomy By Lizzie O'Shea

We're excited to share a piece written by our very own Chair Lizzie O'Shea.

'AI has been pitched as the great solution of the modern age - but the unfettered growth of this new technology could come at the expense of everything we hold dear.'

Check it out here:

We were pleased to be invited to give evidence for the inquiry into the National Cultural Policy last week.

It's crucial that human rights of individual artists to own their creative works are protected, not exploited.

Video here: youtu.be/sTZCuXuOoIU...

We must be aware of the risks of a lack of human oversight over the work of generative AI. All the more reason for proper AI regulation. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/06/deloitte-to-pay-money-back-to-albanese-government-after-using-ai-in-440000-report

It's almost like banning kids from the internet isn't the answer to predatory social media algorithms pushing radical views and mis / disinformation

Better regulation of Internet Search Engines and Social Media companies is definitely required but the current safety codes under consideration are not adequate. A simple ban of young people from social media will harm them.

Read our full submission here: digitalrightswatch.o...

In it, we call on the committee to reject in their entirety the online safety codes for both Internet Search Engines and Social Media Minimum Age, and delay implementation of the codes until meaningful consultation with expert organisations in the field can inform a better policy direction.

Last week we entered a submission into the "Inquiry into the Internet Search Engine Services Online Safety Code and the under 16 social media ban"

Register here 👇

Adelaide: shorturl.at/ojQRX
Perth: events.humanitix.com...
Brisbane: events.humanitix.com...
Sydney: events.humanitix.com...
Melbourne events.humanitix.com...

Burning Platforms is Australia’s top tech and politics podcast delving into Big Tech and the consequences of its power.

• Learn about the Luddites and how the future can be contested
• Try to tell the difference between an AI and a human
• Ask the tough questions: who knows? who decides? and who decides who decides?
• Featuring special guests from politics and entertainment

Our fun and interactive panel event will canvas the big questions and try to come up with a few answers before this juggernaut goes out of control.

Come along to meet and mingle with people who care.

Our jobs. Our culture. Our democracy. All up for grabs by emerging ‘AI’ technology.

Our fun and interactive panel event will canvass the big questions and try to come up with a few answers. Come along to meet and mingle with people who care.

Adelaide, you're first up!

unisa.edu.au/connect...

Our jobs. Our culture. Our democracy. All up for grabs by emerging 'AI' technology.

Our fun and interactive panel event will canvass the big questions and try to come up with a few answers.

First stop is Adelaide. Grab your free ticket here: unisa.edu.au/connect...

From zero to neo-Nazis: what under-16s may see under Australia’s social media ban, simply by not logging in Guardian Australia test finds scrolling shortform videos while logged out of YouTube and TikTok quickly leads to gambling, violent and far-right content

Rather than ineffective and anti-privacy measures which will still leave vulnerable people exposed to harm, we need to adopt methods of ensuring child safety online that start with dismantling predatory social media algorithms.

Age-verification is an invasion of privacy. The technologies behind it are gender- and racially-biased and least effective where it most matters - for those ages close to 16.
It needs to be abandoned for methods which respect privacy and effectively protect children online.

www.theguardian.com/...

What is “Sovereign AI”?

It is a term often invoked but rarely defined. A National AI Plan is due by the end of 2025 and the Tech Policy Design Institute is holding consultations nationally from 18-26 September to hear from civil society about this. Join in here:

share.hsforms.com/1X...

Climate change disinformation is pervasive, coordinated and highly damaging to democratic debate and urgent climate action.

Read our full submission here: digitalrightswatch.o...

We recently made a submission to the Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy highlighting how big tech companies are directly contributing to mis and disinformation due to their engagement and advertising based business models.

Yesterday the Government released the national climate risk assessment report. Have you seen any mis or disinformation in comment sections? It could well be bots!

Today is the final day to make a submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into AI and Data.

Use our quick submission generator to tell decision-makers how AI should (and shouldn’t) shape Australia’s future.

Make sure your voice is counted.

digitalrightswatch.o...

Stolen Property: Big Tech’s Push to Mine Our Culture A special briefing for cultural creators and those who value their work, discussing Big Tech and their insatiable appetite for our cultural capital.

AI expert and author Professor Toby Walsh FAA FTSE FRSN Walsh
Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett
Digital Rights Watch chair Lizzie O'Shea FAAL O’Shea
Australian Writers Guild CEO Claire Pullen
with MC Peter Lewis

Register here: events.humanitix.com...
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📍 what the Productivity Commission’s proposal to give AI companies a ‘right to mine data’ will do to Australian creatives and private citizens; and
📍 how creatives and citizens can resist the attacks from Big Tech's AI push.

The panel:
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📍 how AI large language models have been built on the theft of the work of musicians, writers, journalists, & artists, as well as people's personal information;
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Copyright and AI have been all over the dial recently. We're going to talk with some smart people about the AI threats to creative Australians. Join us for this zesty online briefing on the 12th August.

We'll discuss:
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People interviewed by AI for jobs face discrimination risks, Australian study warns Data used to train artificial intelligence does not ‘reflect the demographic groups we have in Australia’, says researcher

Noticed the growing use of AI in job interviews? Looks like outsourcing this work to Clippy is not only deeply disrespectful to applicants, but littered with discrimination (surprise!)

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Google age ID proposal may not suit Australia’s under-16 social media ban, expert says Proposed system of storing passports or drivers licences in Google Wallet app likely to benefit adults, but usefulness in identifying teenagers without ID documents unclear

Now the election is done, the government now faces the prospect of trying to get the social media ban done in 7 months or so. Google may offer Wallet as a solution but it doesn't really work for teens using ID. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

10 reasons why banning social media for New Zealanders under 16 is a bad idea – and will affect adults too There is global interest in limiting social media access for young people. But the arguments for a ban for people under 16 don’t really stack up.

🚫📱 Banning social media for under-16s in NZ isn't the solution! In this article I suggest 10 reasons why it shouldn't happen theconversation.com/10-reasons-w...

Despite misleading marketing, Israeli company TeleMessage, used by Trump officials, can access plaintext chat logs Despite their misleading marketing, TeleMessage, the company that makes a modified version of Signal used by senior Trump officials, can access plaintext chat logs from its customers. In this post I ...

Despite misleading marketing, Israeli company TeleMessage, used by Trump officials, can access plaintext chat logs. My findings are based on TM SGNL's source code, and they are corroborated by hacked data micahflee.com/despite-misl...

eSafety have opened expressions of interest for their consultation on social media age restrictions, incl "implementation of the age restrictions, including the guidelines that certain social media platforms will have to follow when the new law comes into effect."

www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/ind...