Antony Funnell

Australia

Antony Funnell is a Walkley award winning author and broadcaster. He presents the ABC podcast Future Tense. Subscribe in iTunes: https://t.co/O3CpLKvTtO

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Articles

Can the oceans solve our carbon removal problems?

6 days ago | abc.net.au | Karin Zsivanovits |Antony Funnell

There's been growing research and investment in projects that use the oceans to artificially remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Such techniques involve both a biological and a chemical approach. To date, carbon removal technologies have been largely land-based, using giant air-purification machines, or planting trees to consume and store carbon. Those efforts have struggled to gain scale and acceptance. So, will a marine-based approach make any difference?
YouTube turns 20; and the interesting side of boredom

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

YouTube is the second biggest website in the world, containing more than 14.8 billion videos. It's been a huge success, but its public image as a haven for influencers and digital monetisers belies its true character and role. Ryan McGrady from the University of Massachusetts takes us inside the online behemoth. Also, perspectives on boredom, its purpose and prevalence; its relationship to time, and why the measures we undertake to fight boredom so often backfire.
Remember the Jevons Paradox! - ABC listen

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

We like to think that increases in efficiency lead to greater sustainability – to lower resource use. But from cars to computers to bitcoin, it seems the reverse is true – efficiency stimulates demand. It’s an oft forgotten rule of economics called the Jevons Paradox, and it might explain why the demand for almost everything keeps going up even while we simultaneously fret about over-consumption.
AI's "hidden labour" and the move toward a linkless internet

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

Artificial intelligence, it turns out, has a heavy human backend — they're called "data labellers"; they mostly live in developing countries, and there are ethical questions about their pay and work conditions. So, why aren't we talking more about them? Also, Google and other search companies have begun replacing hyperlinks with AI summaries. It's a move seemingly in line with our AI obsessed times, but what will it do to the tapestry of the internet?
The roots of techno-authoritarianism

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

Does the spirit of the "Futurist" movement live on today in the likes of Elon Musk and America's intrigue of techno-oligarchs? The Italian poet and fantasist Flippo Tommaso Marinetti almost died in a car crash, and out of that experience was born the "Futurist" movement. It went on to inspire the fascism of Benito Mussolini with an energetic emphasis on disruptive technology, conflict and creating an authoritarian future.
Civility, trash talking and more sociable cities

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

It certainly feels like a very shouty world. But have we really reached a new low point in civility? And, if so, where to from here? We examine what civility really entails and how it can help foster cooperation but also lead to the submission of minorities. And did you know that even the design of our urban spaces can shape and limit acts of civility? So, how can we make our cities more sociable?
Understanding attention and a craving for certainty

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

Are we really facing an attention crisis? Historian, Daniel Immerwahr, has his doubts. In fact, he says ours is an era of obsession as much as distraction and of zeal as much as indifference. Also, the paradox of certainty: we crave it, argues the University of Alberta's, Timothy Caulfield, even though it's so easy to fake.
Flow Batteries, windships, and a new approach to off-grid solar

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

They're cheaper and safer than their lithium counterparts, they're easier to scale-up, and they can hold power for much longer than conventional batteries, so why aren't flow batteries better known? The technology has been under development for decades, but enthusiasts now say they're finding their place in the sun. Also, why more and more cargo companies are turning to wind-power; and do developing countries need to rethink their approach to off-grid power.
Modern museums, accountability, and openness - ABC listen

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is opening-up its storeroom, turning the back end of the operation into a public resource. It's about attracting new patrons, but it's also about accountability, the Museum's managers have declared. Across the Western world museums are having to reexamine their mission and redefine the relationship they have with the public they're meant to serve. We explore why and how.
Nuclear tombs and the distant discourse of danger

Feb 13, 2025 | abc.net.au | Antony Funnell |Karin Zsivanovits

A series of massive underground tombs for nuclear waste are currently under construction. They've taken decades to plan and build and they're designed to house the world's nuclear waste for millennia to come. So where are they being built? How safe will they be? And how to devise a toxic waste warning sign that will make sense to people living tens of thousands of years from now? Also, the latest research on how climate change is beginning to impact on internal migration within countries.