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1 week ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
Disney and Universal are suing AI image generator Midjourney, in what could be a landmark case for copyright and generative AI. Could it change how creative industries deal with machine-made 'art'? Also, the Australian government is forcing Apple to loosen its App Store restrictions, allowing iPhone users to download apps from outside the walled garden. What might that mean for developers and everyday users?
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2 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
If you were to look up the culprits responsible for any number of hacks across the globe, you might get some conflicting answers. Cybersecurity firms, governments, and the hackers themselves all use different words to describe the same groups, and it's causing serious issues for those trying to hunt them down.
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3 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
In a special AI deep-dive episode of Download This Show, researchers Sandra Peter and Kai Remer break down how AI chatbots are changing the way humans behave, and why we now want to talk to chatbots more than we want to talk to people. They also break down what on Earth 'anthropomorphic seduction' means, and how we can protect ourselves when using generative AI when government regulation can't keep up.
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4 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
Have you ever been in a job interview and thought, 'this meeting could have been an interaction with an AI agent'? No? Well, two-thirds of Australian employers are now using artificial intelligence agents to conduct job interviews on their behalf. What kind of bias does a computer have when deciding on the right candidate? And could it be less objective than a human? Also, people are hacking their digital driver's licences and Grindr is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
For the generation that remembers creepypastas like Slenderman and Jeff the Killer, Ben Drowned might be a familiar internet ghost story. But where did it even come from? And would we be convinced by something like this in 2025? Also, Epic Games and Apple's never-ending beef continues, and Discord is planning on expanding its reach beyond gamers. Will this work? Plus, one in five young people think that tracking your partner is to be expected. How did we get here?
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
Airbnb is in the midst of a potential mid-life crisis. It's set to relaunch itself as the 'everything app', but is this going to be enough to save an app that has to compete with room service and housekeeping? Also, Google has announced it's plans for digital ID age verification, and there might be big problems when it comes to implementing it in Australia. Plus, gaming social media platform, Discord, is planning to roll out facial recognition. Is this a good idea?
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Sami Shah |Bec Cushway
Across cultures and centuries, what we do with our dead has varied dramatically -- from sky burials in Tibet to multi-day tangihanga in Aotearoa, to green burials and cremation in contemporary Australia. These practices are more than just logistics. They express deep beliefs about the body, the soul, and what, if anything, comes next. God Forbid explores how burial traditions across faiths are shaped by theology, ecology, and culture.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
Move over Danny Ocean, there's a new heist in town, to the tune of a quarter billion US dollars in cryptocurrency. The tale features a kidnapping, pink Lamborghinis, Minecraft money laundering, and a very swift arrest. Also, who funds the (extremely) expensive chatbots we all use? OpenAI has changed its mind after announcing an end to the non-profit arm to the business, they're now saying that the non-profit arm will retain control of firm. Why? How?
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Sami Shah |Bec Cushway |Nadyat El Gawley |Katie O'Neill
From fallen angel to Netflix anti-hero, the Devil has had quite the makeover. In this episode of God Forbid, Sami Shah leads a devilishly good panel exploring the many faces of Satan — from ancient Hebrew texts to modern Satanism. Is the Devil a cosmic villain, a cultural scapegoat, or a misunderstood metaphor? We unpack how different religions and movements have shaped — and reshaped — the Prince of Darkness over time. Why did monotheism need a Devil when polytheism didn’t?
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Rae Johnston |Bec Cushway
The complex and highly distressing work of content moderation is causing PTSD for Ghanian workers, and now they're suing one of the biggest tech companies in the world for psychological harm. Could AI step in to relieve some of this load? Or is this work too human to ever pass on to a computer? Also, we're checking in on what's going on with the teen social media ban.
