source : the age
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I was not at all reassured by columnist Clinton Fernandes (″AI can’t ‘go rogue’. Don’t be conned″, 1/10), insisting we’re all being conned about the dangers posed by AI. Quite the opposite. The real con is the insistence by some that there’s nothing to worry about with the further development of AI. It might be a different story if the only people who could get their hands on AI models were people filled with benevolent intent for the betterment of mankind. What happens when bad actors start using these same models to hack into critical infrastructure with the intent of holding our society to ransom or significantly disrupting our technology-dependent lives?
We’ve already seen these models are capable of hacking, deceiving their human “masters” and covering their tracks. Do we really have to wait until some catastrophe occurs before we take proper steps to address these risks? The fact that timeframes for the development of AI were incorrect in the past does not negate the reality that these models are now developing much faster than predicted and we will very soon be at the point that we have no idea what these models are doing or how to stop them.
Dr Donna Cohen, Southbank
The costs and benefits need to be addressed
I am not cautious about AI because it might go rogue. I want to be convinced that AI can genuinely improve our quality of life. Will it improve equality across society? Will it change our relationship with the natural world so that all living things have a better quality of life and chances of surviving into the truly distant future? AI clearly does do some things better than humans, but much of what it does is truly awesome without necessarily improving the way we make decisions and do things and relate to each other. We are already able to accumulate and summarise enormous amounts of information but this has not improved productivity or our material and social way of life. We, collectively, need to forensically analyse the costs, including energy, water and land resources, and the real benefits and not be distracted by unlikely possibilities.
Howard Tankey, Box Hill North
The evidence of risks are there
Contrary to columnist Clinton Fernandes’ views, plenty of evidence exists that the development of the most advanced AI models needs greater regulation and poses a serious threat to our wellbeing. An example is that in July, the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence raised its concern that “reliable methods for retaining control over highly autonomous AI systems are lacking. There are no scientific guarantees that AI agents will not violate instructions, and evidence is accumulating of cases where they already violate them.“
Mark Zirnsak, Parkville
Crouching tiger, hidden dragon
Clinton Fernandes says the grim warnings that AI will threaten humanity are no more than the oil from a snake. It won’t turn on its creators and threaten humanity. Using the animal analogy, what about the caged tiger that breaks free due to negligence and kills its handler? You can’t blame the tiger or AI. Blame the handler in both circumstances for sure, but the results are the same, made worse in the AI example because its handler gave it the wherewithal to escape.
Gillian Unicomb, Sandford
The shotgun approach to computing
OpenAI did a postmortem of its breach of Hugging Face. In the analysis it said, “On July 7, OpenAI researchers launched several experiments involving tens of thousands of parallel AI agents on varying budgets, with some running for several days.” Tens of thousands of agents! This sounds like the shotgun approach to computing. It sounds more like monkeys typing Shakespeare. Give me enough monkeys in a sandbox (and with some training) we will produce Henry V. Thanks also to Clinton Fernandes for his incisive article.
James Reiss, Abbotsford
THE FORUM
Oral health rethink
Columnist Millie Muroi’s call for bulk-billed dental care echoes long-standing advocacy to incorporate this into Medicare (″Free dental care like pulling teeth″, 30/9).
The relationship and importance of poor oral health with overall health and wellbeing is well-documented, particularly with chronic disease and oral cancers. While the forecast budget is significant, the gains from improving access to prevention and treatment of oral disease would result in improved general health outcomes.
The additional opportunity lies in more integrated healthcare models. What we need to avoid is a continuation of the separation of oral and physical health.
Oral Health Victoria is pivotal in providing dental services through the Royal Dental Hospital and a network of co-located clinics with community health services across the state. With its existing infrastructure, it provides a great model to replicate.
Anne Lyon, Camberwell
Back to the future
After a career in telecommunications, I’m nostalgic for a time when business and government used secure private-leased line networks for data communication, divorced from the unregulated mess that is the internet. Matthew Hamilton, Kew
Morally binding … Really?
US President Donald Trump has responded to recent warnings from AI insiders – “AI developers believe their technology could cause human extinction … This could happen in the next few years” – by releasing the text of an “accord”, cobbled together after a meeting with AI CEOs that he believes will be a “morally binding” method of self-regulation.
The four “control” mechanisms were spelt out in the same number of words as this letter. This is embarrassingly inadequate.
In Australia, we know full well how successful self-regulation has proven, with the outrageous failings of the big four banks finally revealed by a royal commission and the recent governance failings of the big four accounting/auditing consultancies.
If this “accord” is the best guardrails the United States can come up with, heaven help us all.
Peter Thomson, Brunswick
Closer to home
I just don’t care if there is or isn’t an airport rail link in the distant future (″Rail Link is ‘personal″, 1/10). I just want the government to fix the potholes on the corner of Mahoneys and Canterbury roads next to Forest Hill Chase.
Ivan Glynn, Vermont
Keep it quiet
″We’re in the quiet carriage,″ said the older man loudly into his mobile phone at Ballarat station. Joined by his friends, they talked loudly all the way to Melbourne.
Similar behaviour is common and very annoying to passengers promised a quiet journey.
I recently travelled several times on the Blue Mountains line in NSW. Before each journey, the conductor reminded us that the quiet carriages were for quiet passengers. The rule was respected. It might help create a culture of courtesy if V/Line conductors could do the same before each journey.
Peter Rechner, Wendouree
It’s Trumpflation
An economics textbook defines demand inflation, cost inflation, hyper-inflation, deflation and stagflation. A new one needs to be added called Trumpflation where an American president orders an attack on an oil-producing country causing a spike in inflation because of oil price rises.
Phil Alexander, Eltham
Young here, old there
Regarding your correspondent’s letter, “Children, ssshhhh” (1/10), I have worked in public libraries most of my working life.
The best libraries I have worked in were where the children and adult sections were completely separate.
Both can be noisy at times.
Susan Munday, Bentleigh East
Perhaps, a word to them
Why not ban children altogether from public places? They also run amok in supermarkets, on trains, in museums, at school and in many other public places (Letters, 1/10).
Or maybe we can acknowledge how little, if any, direction they get from their parents and that maybe we, as the ones who are disturbed by them, could gently speak up and show them the way and ask them to consider others.
After all, it takes a village to raise a child.
Ruth Davis, Carrum
Moral of the tail
Frankly, I would rather go to a dogs’ cafe any day rather than a children’s cafe. Dogs don’t scream and yell and leave filthy messes on the tables.
And what about supermarkets? Would you see dogs snatching and fingering everything, let alone stealing anything? And one can barely mention the behaviour on trains. You won’t catch dogs putting their feet on the seats or talking so loudly that even in the so-called quiet carriage, everyone has to hear their conversations.
Would dogs leave sweet paper, tissues and used cups on the floor? I don’t think so.
So why should dogs not be allowed in shops, trains and cafes? I rest my case.
Clare Purbrick, Nagambie
Skybus praised
Hear, hear for the Skybus (Letters, 1/10). I have had the pleasure of using the Skybus on several occasions from here on the peninsula. It beats the hassle of driving to the airport and trying to find a car park, then lugging luggage to the terminal. In my opinion, the Skybus can be classed as a silver service. Why waste taxpayers’ money trying to replicate an already established, dare I say, brilliant service?
Veronica Paskins, Somers
The other half
Some people are certainly doing it very tough in Australia. But not everyone.
Australians spent $82.6 billion on online shopping in the 2025 calendar year, mostly with Amazon and Temu – a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent.
Australians also took 12.7 million short-term trips overseas in 2025-26. Sixty per cent of these were for holidays with an average spend of $7310. This was up 24 per cent from 2024.
Ewa Haire, Moonee Ponds
Shoebridge’s challenge
With the sudden and premature departure of Greens leader Larissa Waters due to kidney disease, the Greens face a challenging time. As the only genuine progressive party in the federal parliament, it is paramount that there be a political counter to the recent surge in support for the populist right-wing One Nation.
To the disappointment of many voters, no one in the parliament, other than the Greens and a few community independents, is holding the fossil fuel, gambling and media vested interests to account.
New Greens leader David Shoebridge needs all the help he can get to ensure the progressive side of Australian politics gets a fair go.
Nick Toovey, Beaumaris
Uni’s sad symbolism
The planned destruction of the John Medley Building is symbolic of the sad decline of the University of Melbourne from an academic to a commercial institution.
The claim that the building’s replacement will be ″a welcoming front door″ and ″a central hub for teaching, learning and campus life″ raises many questions, apart from the massive costs involved.
I spent the best 10 years of my life in the Medley Building as a student and teacher. It was then a focus for the study of humanities subjects. The building was a quirky entrance to the university – suggesting a castle but lacking a drawbridge. It wasn’t so interesting inside, but functional and comfortable.
Why is it no longer appropriate for teaching and learning?
Why does the university now see it as more appropriate to spend huge amounts of money
on construction than on reducing the current deficits for ″teaching and learning″?
Bev Roberts, Newport
Trading success
The AFL trade season is upon us as part of the AFL’s equalisation project to ensure more teams win premierships. Since 2000, four teams have won 17 premierships (Lions six, Hawks four, Cats four and Tigers three). That is over 65 per cent of all grand finals won by 22 per cent of the clubs. Obviously, the equalisation is a roaring success. Tom Stafford, Wheelers Hill
AFL, remove the bias
Thanks Jake Niall for raising the issue of free agency in AFL football (″AFL weighs up free agency overhaul to fix balance″, 30/9). I have not understood why the AFL gives compensation picks to the teams low on the ladder for giving up their talented players to teams near the top of the ladder without those teams losing any draft picks at all.
For example, why does Port Adelaide receive pick 5 for Zak Butters and the Bulldogs keep their draft picks? The same goes for Max King moving from Gold Coast to Hawthorn. How does a premiership side of Brisbane, already loaded with academy and father-son players, recruit the likes of a former captain and highly credential ruckman from teams at the bottom of the ladder? I am glad the AFL is reviewing this totally biased system that currently is ensuring that the top teams remain at the top.
Bronwyn Brown, Nunawading
By Jupiter, it was Venus
Your correspondent (Letters, 1/10) identified the evening “star” as Jupiter. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, is the morning “star”.
The celestial object at night is Venus and is much brighter. Venus will join Jupiter in the morning next month.
Anyway, I am sure that the bees love the sight.
Rod Watson, East Brighton
Farewell, Rod
Vale Rod Myer, whose thoughtful articles graced the business pages of The Age for many years: a journalist to whom elegant writing was inseparable from carefully researched content. Reading his work was always a pleasure, and quoting it made me appear better informed than I was.
Elizabeth Morris, Elsternwick
AND ANOTHER THING
Politics
Hopefully, new Greens leader David Shoebridge can overcome the negative net 30 emissions campaign offered by the opposition and One Nation.
Greg Curtin, Nunawading
David Shoebridge – a new leader of the Greens with all the right policies, who’s intelligent and a good presenter.
Judith McNaughtan, Surrey Hills
The opposition claims to know what to do about inflation. In May 2022 when they were last in government, the inflation rate was 6.1 per cent and rising.
Andrew Walker, Wangaratta
The Liberal Party are their own worst enemy. Haven’t they heard, united we stand, divided we fall?
Christine Hammett, Richmond
Airport rail
When you see a press photo of the premier and prime minister on a railway siding, two months out from an election, it’s called pork-barrelling (″Rail link is personal″, 1/10).
David Cayzer, Clifton Hill
Yet another announcement that airport rail will go ahead but not go to the airport yet … ever?
Pete Tighe, Ascot Hill
Furthermore
After taking my grandchildren to see Coyote vs ACME, I was amazed at how alike are Foghorn Leghorn and the leader of the free world.
Paul Miller, Albury
I remember being shocked in the 1970s while travelling in Britain to see people taking their dogs into shops but leaving their babies in prams outside.
Lesley Taskis, Kingsbury
Change George Orwell’s 1984 to 2084 (Letters, 1/10)? Aren’t we already in the midst of 1984, and well on the way to Orwell’s Animal Farm?
Bernd Rieve, Brighton
This week, my three-year-old grandson asked me, “Nana, why is the world broken?“
Sandy Bennett, Hawthorn East
My personal message to OpenAI: Get your “staff” in order!
Ian Macdonald, Traralgon
70 Up. Six sleeps.
Christine Barnes, Glen Iris
