7am Schwartz Media

Meredith Whittaker turned her back on Google after raising concerns about the mass surveillance fueling AI, but she didn’t leave tech entirely.

The former AI whistleblower is now the President of Signal, a messaging app that keeps conversations encrypted – used by journalists, whistleblowers, drug dealers, militants and others who want to keep communications secure.

So why did she blow the whistle on Google? Is privacy the answer to AI? Or does privacy cause just as much harm as surveillance?

Today, President of the Signal Foundation Meredith Whittaker, ahead of her public appearance at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne, on the tech giants who hold our future in their hands.



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Guest: President of the Signal Foundation, Meredith Whittaker

Back in 2016, when Donald Trump was elected President, the Australian government was caught off guard. The then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called golfing legend Greg Norman just to get Trump’s phone number.
This time around, the government is taking the prospect of a second Trump presidency seriously and has begun making preparations for it.
Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on what the government thinks Trump 2.0 could mean for Australia and the safety measures that are already underway. 

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Guest: Special correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Jason Koutsoukis

Once upon a time, Australians were told Pine Gap was a space base. Then we were told it was a weather station. But now, of course, we know the installation deep in the Northern Territory outback is a US spy base.
Which isn’t to say it’s any less secretive – we still don’t know a huge amount about what goes on there.
We do know it’s likely America’s biggest offshore spy base and that it gathers critical intelligence about current conflicts.Now, we also know that it’s undergone a rapid expansion.
Today, editor of Declassified Australia and contributor to The Saturday Paper Peter Cronau, on how he discovered the base’s new technology and what it means for Australia’s safety.

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Guest: Editor of Declassified Australia and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Peter Cronau

For 31 years, there has been a rivalry – drawing on a divide so inherent and base – that it pits mate against mate.
We’re not talking about State of Origin, we’re talking about the Reclink Community Cup.
The football contest began in Melbourne, but is now held in cities across the country – with the Rockdogs, a team of not-so-athletic musicians, taking on the Megahertz, a band of various music media personalities. The winner claims the bragging rights.
Today, 2024 co-captain of the Rockdogs Anna Stewart will read her story, ‘Reclink Community Cup’. 

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Guest: Digital content assistant, musician and 2024 co-captain of the Rockdogs Anna Stewart.

Nuclear power has been politically toxic in this country for decades.
It’s been 55 years since a leader went to a federal election promising to build reactors and won. But Peter Dutton is hoping to do just that.
And as unlikely as it sounds, he’s convincing people. A little over ten years ago, 62 per cent of Australians opposed nuclear power. Today, polls show the majority support it.
So how is a policy so beset with challenges and criticism winning people over?
Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on why a policy that may never work can still be a political weapon.

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

There’s been another strike against whistleblowing.
Richard Boyle was a tax office employee when he raised concerns internally about a scheme to garnish overdue taxes directly from people’s bank accounts. When that didn’t work, he told journalists.
A court in Adelaide yesterday upheld a ruling that he’s not a whistleblower – which means he now has no defence for leaking that confidential information.
Today, Macquarie University professor of journalism and whistleblower advocate Peter Greste on why the government talks big on open democracy, but hasn’t acted to fix the system.

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Guest: Macquarie University professor of journalism and whistleblower advocate Peter Greste