Margot Robbie as Donna Freedman, left, with Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy in Neighbours. Fremantle, the soap's producer, is working with RoseBerry Media to repurpose Robbie's old episodes to make a vertical drama designed for phones. Margot Robbie as Donna Freedman, left, with Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy in Neighbours. Fremantle, the soap's producer, is working with RoseBerry Media to repurpose Robbie's old episodes to make a vertical drama designed for phones. Neighbours is being recut into a microdrama focused on Margot Robbie - and her co-stars aren't happy Robbie's storylines in the famous soap will be recut into vertical micro-episodes to be watched on phones - but her fellow cast members say they haven't been consulted T he long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours is being recut with AI into a microdrama designed to be watched on phones, sparking a debate among the show's actors and the industry over the wider implications of television archives being mined for new content.

Deloitte is under pressure after a report into the potential merger of three WA universities contained AI-hallucinated references and incorrect figures. Deloitte is under pressure after a report into the potential merger of three WA universities contained AI-hallucinated references and incorrect figures. 'Extremely disappointed': WA government seeks reimbursement from Deloitte over flawed university report The Western Australian government has said it is "extremely disappointed" and is seeking an "expedited" cost recovery from Deloitte after errors were discovered in a report about a potential university merger, including AI-hallucinated references and hundreds of millions of dollars in cost discrepancies. The government paid Deloitte $166,000 for a feasibility study on merging the University of Western Australia, Curtin University and Murdoch University. Deloitte considered three merger options between the three universities, with "low", "mid" and "high" cost scenarios, and broke down the calculations of those costs in the report's appendix.

They are among Australian artists whose music has been used to train AI. They are among Australian artists whose music has been used to train AI. Kylie Minogue songs already used to train AI as tech firms'strong-arm' Australian government, music body warns Of the dozens of countries approached to water down their laws, Australia appears to be the only one considering it, publishers' group says John Phelan, the ICMP's managing director, told Guardian Australia AI companies were asking policymakers to "legitimise larceny". David Pocock concerned senior Albanese adviser'vetted' bipartisan AI letter that was sent to PM "They're trying to strong-arm Australian policymakers into'if you don't do this, we won't invest'." In July, Anthony Albanese said it would be "theft" if artists did not retain control over whether their work was used to build and train AI, and what they were paid for its use.

In some cases, committee reports have cited submissions in which the majority of sources appear to be AI-generated - because they do not exist. In some cases, committee reports have cited submissions in which the majority of sources appear to be AI-generated - because they do not exist. 'Scary': how misinformation and AI hallucinations are infiltrating Australia's parliament Mon 31 Aug 2026 11.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 31 Aug 2026 11.02 EDT Australia's government inquiry process is supposed to help parliament make better decisions, hearing from experts and constituents alike. But Guardian Australia can reveal that the system is being flooded with AI-generated material, which is inventing studies and attributing nonexistent research to real academics and authors. In some cases, committee reports have cited submissions in which the majority of sources appear to be AI-generated "hallucinations", when large language models (LLMs) invent content that looks real but doesn't actually exist.

A 400-year-old document recording a Spanish Inquisition exorcism at the Antiquariat Forum BV and Inlibris stall at the 2026 Rare Book Fair. A 400-year-old document recording a Spanish Inquisition exorcism at the Antiquariat Forum BV and Inlibris stall at the 2026 Rare Book Fair. 'More than just objects': Australian booksellers raise alarm over'horrific' destruction of rare titles to feed AI "S ometimes books tell you more than the content," says Tim White, as he lines up carefully dust-jacketed books and pamphlets in plastic sleeves on temporary shelves in Melbourne University's Wilson Hall. For people like White, who runs independent bookshop Books for Cooks, the book as a physical object is just as important as what's inside it. "We're interested in where food and society connect So we just keep pushing the boundaries, looking for things that show unusual aspects of that, things that tell us a bit more about what it is to be human," he says.

Guardian Australia has been told an industry proposal has been presented to cabinet that would grant AI companies special exemptions to mine creative content. In exchange, the companies would bankroll the artists' fund and commit more than $50bn worth of investment in datacentres. Australia'sleepwalking' into AI crisis and'tech bro free-for-all', says Greens senator The independent senator David Pocock said the proposal was the "ultimate dirty deal" as he demanded the government categorically rule it out. The potential adoption of a text and data mining exemption would represent a major reversal from the federal government, which last year ruled it out after criticism from artists, authors and media groups. Amid fears the government could capitulate to big tech, a delegation of creatives staged a press conference in parliament house on Wednesday to urge the government to hold the line.

Staff at WiseTech have been waiting months to be told if they are among the employees the company is to cut due to advances in AI. Staff at WiseTech have been waiting months to be told if they are among the employees the company is to cut due to advances in AI. WiseTech begins redundancies - but omits'AI' from emails to Chinese employees, workers say WiseTech has begun informing staff that they will lose their jobs as part of redundancies the company has said is due to artificial intelligence advancements - although an email to staff in China omitted the word "AI" after a court case against another company in the country. Staff at WiseTech have been waiting almost three months to be told if they are among the 2,000 people the logistics software company is to cut due to advances in AI. The Australian Stock Exchange-listed company announced in late February it would lay off almost 30% of its 7,000-strong workforce across 40 countries.

Digital rights experts have raised concerns about the security of the data recorded by AI in psychiatrists' sessions. Digital rights experts have raised concerns about the security of the data recorded by AI in psychiatrists' sessions. Melbourne psychiatrist refuses new patients who don't consent to AI note-taking A Melbourne psychiatrist has refused new patients unless they agree to allow her to use an AI scribe to transcribe the conversations in their sessions. AI-driven note taking tools are becoming popular within the medical industry - with two in five general practitioners now using such scribes, according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). But there have also been concerns about the security of the data and how it might be used by the AI companies, along with the accuracy of the transcriptions.

Australia's eSafety commissioner wrote to X in January after its AI chatbot Grok was used to generate sexualised images of women and children online. Australia's eSafety commissioner wrote to X in January after its AI chatbot Grok was used to generate sexualised images of women and children online. Child abuse material'systemic' on Elon Musk's X amid Grok scandal, Australian online safety regulator warned The Australian online safety regulator warned Elon Musk's X amid the Grok sexualised image generation scandal that it found child abuse material was "particularly systemic" on X and more accessible than on "any other mainstream service", correspondence obtained by Guardian Australia reveals. The eSafety commissioner wrote to X in January after its chatbot, Grok, was used to generate sexualised images of women and children online, which the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described as "abhorrent". In the letter, obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws, eSafety's general manager of regulatory operations, Heidi Snell, pointed to Musk's promise when taking over the platform in 2022 that "removing child exploitation is priority #1", but said "the availability of CSEM [child sexual exploitation material] continues to appear particularly systemic on X".

A Victorian lawyer has become the first in Australia to face professional sanctions for using artificial intelligence in a court case, being stripped of his ability to practise as a principal lawyer after AI generated false citations that he had failed to verify. Guardian Australia reported in October last year that in a 19 July 2024 hearing, the anonymous solicitor representing a husband in a dispute between a married couple provided the court with a list of prior cases that had been requested by Justice Amanda Humphreys in relation to an enforcement application in the case. When Humphreys returned to her chambers, she said in a ruling that neither herself nor her associates were able to identify the cases in the list. When the matter returned to court the lawyer confirmed that the list had been prepared using legal software that utilised AI. He acknowledged he did not verify the accuracy of the information before submitting it to the court.