Show Notes
In the next episode of our TSD Artificial Intelligence Masterclass series, Justin Bassi speaks to Abi Bradshaw, Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate.
The discussion explores how the capabilities of AI models have evolved over the past six months and how frontier models can be used to protect Australia’s national security, including in cyber defence.
Abi shared her views on the need for governments to grapple with the technology, noting that cybersecurity and AI are not a spectator sport and that “the only way you can engage in this contest is to run into it.” She noted that what’s missing in the AI context right now is an early warning system to identify systemic trends and prevent, or detect earlier, future incidents such as the Hugging Face hack.
The conversation also covers the offence-defence balance in cyberspace as AI is rolled out, Project Glasswing and how governments are working with industry big and small to enhance their cybersecurity and why it’s important for Australia to maintain access to the most powerful models. They also discuss Australia’s “legacy technology debt” and the need for legacy tech to be replaced to address cyber vulnerabilities.
Watch other TSD AI Masterclass sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/ASPICanberra
Subscribe to ASPI’s Cyber & Tech Digest on Substack: https://aspicts.substack.com/
More from Stop the World
Global shipping is vital to economics and security. We have seen it in relation to Russia’s war on Ukraine and we have felt it globally with the disruption to the Hormuz Strait. With years of sanctions and international condemnation, it should have people asking how these nations have continued to get so much money through oil production. In this episode of Stop the World, David Wroe interviews Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst at Windward, a maritime AI company. Michelle is an expert in what is commonly known as the shadow fleet – the use of networks of vessels to circumvent sanctions. Michelle has been tracking the global shadow fleet since 2019 and its rise from only a few vessels to thousands. As Michelle sets out, clearly efforts to deal with the shadow fleet have not been effective and there are impacts on global shipping, consumer costs and security. Michelle and Dave also discuss the more effective measures the US and its partners in the Gulf are taking to overcome Iran’s closure of the Hormuz Strait. That success, notes Michelle, is the cause of Iran increasing its attacks on vessels, fearing that it is losing what has been such significant leverage over the US and globe. Interestingly, Michelle’s best case scenario for the next year is that Hormuz ends up like the Red Sea, where you only get through if you’re willing to take the risk or have a deal with Iran. Michelle and Dave also talk about the potential for other shipping routes, Ukraine’s success in targeting Russian refineries and how the nations which believe in freedom of navigation and international rules can work together to make sure the chokehold Iran has had over the world doesn’t happen again.
Europe is rearming, but can it build the defence industrial capacity it needs to stand on its own two feet? In this episode of Stop the World, David Wroe speaks with Kristijonas Vizbaras, co-founder of Lithuanian defence technology company Brolis, about Europe's changing security landscape and the lessons of Russia's war on Ukraine. Kristijonas explains why Lithuania and its neighbours are preparing for war without panic, and how Brolis has built a defence technology business with supply chains designed to avoid dependencies outside Europe. They discuss China's dominance of the drone supply chain, what the war in Ukraine is teaching Europe's defence industry, why Kristijonas believes Europe has the industrial strength to become far more self-reliant – and lessons for Australia. It's a conversation about resilience, innovation and what it really takes to prepare for an increasingly dangerous world.
In this episode of our TSD Artificial Intelligence Masterclass, Politico Australia's Ryan Heath interviews Anthropic International Special Envoy, Jeff Bleich.
On 14 September, ASPI hosted its Sydney Dialogue Artificial Intelligence Masterclass in Canberra. We’re bringing some of the sessions to Stop the World listeners in the coming weeks.
On 14 September, ASPI hosted its Sydney Dialogue Artificial Intelligence Masterclass in Canberra, and in the coming weeks, we're bringing some of the sessions to Stop the World listeners.