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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

@its-tom-williams.bsky.social

477 followers 650 following 449 posts

Technology journalist at @information-age.bsky.social 💻 Formerly at ABC News. Got a tip-off?💡 tomwilliams.contact@protonmail.com

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Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

@atlassian.bsky.social CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes says there is "logical sense" behind the Australian software giant's decision to shift its information technology teams under the direction of its human resources chief. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Atlassian's CEO on why his IT team now reports to HR

Mike Cannon-Brookes explains company's 'unusual' structure.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google are all set to appear before the joint select committee on AI in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, with OpenAI expected to face a grilling. Here's the full day's schedule:

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

New from me: The international boom in artificial intelligence and data centres is contributing to ongoing inflation in the Australian economy, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday after raising interest rates to a 15-year high.

How the AI boom is worsening Australia's inflation problem

Reserve Bank cites price increases in tech while hiking interest rates.

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A Queensland government department responsible for leading the state's cybersecurity efforts has revealed it lost around $800,000 during a cyberattack in the last financial year. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

QLD cybersecurity department loses $800k in cyberattack

Third-party service was 'misused' for financial gain.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

New from me: The international boom in artificial intelligence and data centres is contributing to ongoing inflation in the Australian economy, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday after raising interest rates to a 15-year high.

How the AI boom is worsening Australia's inflation problem

Reserve Bank cites price increases in tech while hiking interest rates.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A controversial $1.2 billion data centre planned in Sydney's north just 20 metres from the nearest home has been formally withdrawn by developer Goodman Group, following pressure from the local community and a parliamentary inquiry. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Controversial Sydney data centre plan scrapped

Developer Goodman relents after community backlash.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

New from me: The recruitment rate of Australia's information technology (IT) industry fell "well below" the all-industry average in the last financial year, new government analysis shows. ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Australian IT recruitment falls 'well below' other industries

Hiring slows and competition remains high, govt report finds.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

How long until we hear about an Anthropic version of this? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Australia's federal and state governments should enact moratoriums on data centre development until Canberra implements its planned national standards for such digital infrastructure, Sydney and Melbourne councils have told a parliamentary inquiry while citing "significant concerns" for residents.

Councils push for data centre pause amid 'significant concerns'

Governments urged to halt developments ahead of national standards.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

New from me: Google detailed its first Googlebook laptops on Tuesday, confirming the cheapest of the five models being manufactured by prominent computer brands will not be available in Australia. Details here: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Australia won't get Google's cheapest Googlebook laptop

Lineup's local pricing and availability confirmed.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Australia should allow frontier AI firms such as America's Anthropic and OpenAI to train their models locally as "a matter of urgency" so the government can gain "access and influence" over leading AI systems and protect national security, federal departments and agencies say.

'Matter of urgency': Govt wants frontier AI training in Australia

Cyber chief pushes US firms Anthropic and OpenAI.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Got to try the iPhone Duo today. The engineering on the hinge and display is impressive, and it has a satisfying *clap* when you close it. But starting from $3,499 in Australia (in this economy?!), it’ll be interesting to see how many people actually part with their cash when it’s out in October.

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The federal government is considering allowing AI companies to use copyrighted Australian material for training by default as it works to attract investment from American tech giants, according to confidential documents tabled in parliament this week. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Government's secret AI copyright proposals exposed

Labor considers allowing training on local content.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

New: Major artificial intelligence firms "want to pass cartel-like policy" to protect their own interests amid calls for AI development to be slowed to prevent potential harm, former OpenAI executive Zack Kass says. Story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

AI giants 'want cartel-like policy', former OpenAI exec says

Zack Kass calls coordinated safety efforts 'a very hard problem'.

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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

New from me: Australians can expect to ask their own personal AI agents to complete tax returns and access government services for them in the future, officials from the Australian Taxation Office and Services Australia said on Monday. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

'Can you do my tax?': ATO, Services Australia prep for AI agents

Aussies will use agentic tech to access key services, officials say.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

New: Australia "cannot meet" its needs for technology workers and skills without supporting skilled migration, science and technology industry bodies told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday. Read their comments here: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Australia 'cannot meet' tech demand without skilled migration

Industry bodies issue warnings to parliamentary inquiry.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

New: Apple raised prices across its new and existing iPhone models on Thursday, while unveiling the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo. The company's highly anticipated iPhone Duo will start at $3,499 for 256GB of storage in Australia.

Apple unveils foldable iPhone Duo, hikes prices across lineup

New flagship smartphone starts at $3,499 in Australia.

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Australia's education minister says the increasing prevalence of technology is largely to blame for high school students' maths and reading scores falling to their lowest point on record, leading him to suggest local students need a "good digital detox". Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Govt blames technology as student scores hit record low

Education minister calls for a 'good digital detox'.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The upcoming Sam Altman / OpenAI movie from Luca Guadagnino looks so damn dark. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDZp...

Artificial - Official Teaser Trailer - In Theaters Christmas Day

YouTube video by NEON

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government’s draft 'digital duty of care' legislation is “not about censorship” but “about giving people control themselves, over what they see”. Full story on @information-age.bsky.social: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

'Digital duty of care' to let Aussies opt out of social media algorithms

Government details long-awaited draft legislation.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

New from me: Australian AI experts @tobywalsh.bsky.social and Dr Rebecca Johnson have questioned the validity of OpenAI president Greg Brockman’s claim that "the AGI era" has begun with the American company’s latest state-of-the-art model, GPT‑6 Astra. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

OpenAI says 'the AGI era' is here. Experts disagree

Australian specialists respond to GPT-6 Astra's unveiling.

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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Corporate workers at Uber in Australia are among roughly 3,300 roles being cut by the rideshare giant, as it scales back its global workforce by around 10 per cent. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Australian Uber staff cut as 3,300 jobs slashed

Rideshare giant trims 10% of global corporate workforce.

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Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Apple’s new chief executive John Ternus says the technology giant has “incredible products” in the works as he takes over the top job from its longtime CEO, Tim Cook. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Apple's new CEO John Ternus teases 'incredible' devices

Chief executive officially takes over from Tim Cook.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

New from me: Sydney’s Macquarie University has denied replacing two in-person classes with an artificial intelligence chatbot, after a media report claimed the institution had done so. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Macquarie Uni denies swapping in-person classes with AI

Sydney institution says its chatbot 'does not' replace teaching.

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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The Australian government’s industry department is no longer measuring its performance towards a federal Labor goal of 1.2 million workers in technology-related jobs by 2030, as a sector slowdown continues. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

1.2m tech job target pulled from government KPIs

Department ditches reporting measure as sector slows.

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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

New: Australians will gain the right to have their personal information deleted from large online platforms such as search engines and social media apps, under draft privacy legislation released by the federal government on Monday. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Australians to gain 'right to erasure' under privacy reforms

Social media, search engines targeted in draft laws.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The federal government’s plan for national data centre energy rules will not force Queensland and the Northern Territory to mandate the use of renewable energy, after PM Anthony Albanese appeared to give up ground during what he called a “constructive” national cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

PM gives ground on data centre renewable energy plan

Queensland, NT claim victory in national cabinet showdown.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

In case you're wondering how much a fully spec'd version of Apple's new Mac Studio will cost in Australia - it's $28,699 😮 That's with an M5 Ultra, extra CPU/GPU cores, 256GB of RAM, and 16TB of storage. An even more expensive option is coming too, with a 512GB RAM option "coming late October".

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The “uncertainty” of the job market in Australia’s increasingly AI-driven economy has been factored into a worker’s personal injury claim, in reportedly the first case of its kind. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

AI jobs 'uncertainty' sees worker's injury payout rise

First known Australian case of disruption being priced in.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Keith Urban just wants to verify my Microsoft 365 account.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

New from me: Australia is losing skilled technology workers amid a slowing down of the federal government’s visa processing for migrants with IT qualifications, industry bodies told a parliamentary inquiry in Melbourne on Friday. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Skilled migrant visas 'slowing down actively in IT'

Australian tech bodies raise concerns to parliamentary inquiry.

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Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Apple appears to have accidentally confirmed the existence of an unreleased new model of its AirPods earphones with built-in cameras, with a video showing the long-rumoured device appearing in beta code released by the tech giant on Tuesday. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Apple video accidentally leaks AirPods with cameras

Other unreleased products also listed in beta code.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Breaking: Information Age understands more than 1.5 million total records were potentially involved in a Quest data breach involving a third-party provider. Details here: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Quest Apartment Hotels confirms data breach

More than 1.5 million records potentially involved.

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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

RMIT's @tjthomson.bsky.social tells me he doesn't believe AI text watermarks will change ordinary people's use of LLMs for basic tasks "at this early stage". But those with expertise may try to "cover their tracks and game the system" by editing text to weaken the mark, or they'll use other models.

Anthropic's Claude to watermark AI-generated text

OpenAI also agrees to transparency rules for ChatGPT.

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Google unveiled its Pixel 11 line of smartphones on Thursday, increasing the starting cost of its latest devices in Australia and many other regions, and reducing RAM on some models as memory chip shortages continue to bite. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Google hikes prices, trims RAM on Pixel 11 line

Memory chip shortage strikes again.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

New from me: Elon Musk's X has won a lawsuit it brought against Australia's eSafety Commissioner after the Federal Court found on Wednesday that the company does not need to follow a new safety standard for harmful online content. Details on @information-age.bsky.social:

X wins lawsuit against Australia's eSafety Commissioner

Musk's platform claims victory in content rules dispute.

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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

New: Australia's technology workforce has shrunk for the very first time, according to the latest ACS 'Australia's Digital Pulse' report, released today. It calls for more workers to join the sector and for greater government investment in AI skills and training.

Australia's tech workforce shrinks for first time

More workers and AI skills needed, Digital Pulse report finds.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Quick reminder that this isn’t the only data breach we’ve seen from Origin Energy recently. An employee allegedly emailed customer card details to their personal email address last year, supposedly after they were sacked. Story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2025...

Origin Energy confirms data breach involving credit cards

Employee allegedly stole customer payment details.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

After the PM's big AI speech yesterday, I hassled a few experts in the room for their initial reactions. While they all welcomed the government's new 'Office of AI', they did have some concerns. 🤔 Thanks to UNSW's @suekeay.bsky.social, USyd's @kimweatherall.bsky.social, and ARM Hub's Cori Stewart.

Govt to introduce AI, data centre laws in policy pivot

Experts seek detail on Albanese's plan for national standards.

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Apple is suing OpenAI for allegedly encouraging former Apple employees to steal details of the company’s upcoming products and share them with OpenAI during job interviews. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Apple sues OpenAI for allegedly stealing trade secrets

ChatGPT-maker accused of 'a pattern of theft'.

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The Commonwealth Bank is planning to cut a further 176 technology and engineering jobs, according to the local finance union, which is accusing the nation’s largest bank of readvertising some lost roles under its Indian subsidiary. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Commonwealth Bank cuts more tech jobs

Financial giant accused of offshoring additional roles to India.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Holy hell. Telstra has confirmed the defective software update at the centre of yesterday's nationwide outage caused parts of its network to momentarily set their time and date settings back to November 2006! Full story on @information-age.bsky.social: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Telstra dealing with ‘secondary issue’ as outage effects continue

Experts warn Telstra isn’t the only one to blame for outages.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

An interesting graph from this 'AI and employment in Australia' report - some ICT jobs are up, while others have dropped:

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Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Meta’s shift towards relying on users to report hateful conduct has not led to an increase in antisemitic content across its social media platforms, a company executive told Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion on Monday. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Meta, TikTok grilled at Antisemitism Royal Commission

Social media giants defend approaches to moderation.

Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Cabel Sasser @cabel.panic.com · 02/07/2026

some amazing things happening over on threads — ever since they “shut down CERN”

CERN has to be real. Why do the days magically feel longer again? I keep looking at the clock in disbelief.

Honestly... I can feel the immediate difference with CERN turning off. It's like turning off the annoying big light in the house that's been on for last 4 years. It's like finally getting some quiet after being immersed in a screaming heavy death metal concert or rave for days and days. It's like there's no restrictions. No hindrances. No more delays. I feel free.

They turned off CERN and now the days feel twice as long. I'm TIRED

Call me crazy, whatever ya whatever you want but since CERN shut down their machine time IS slower (i saw somewhere that our minutes are actually 60 seconds long again after being 45 seconds since COVID, ive had a mild frontal headache for 2 days and just had this weird energy around me. I can't be the only one, right?!

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Exclusive: All but two Australian public service agencies required to appoint an existing staff member as their chief AI officer (CAIO) have met a government deadline to do so by the start of the new financial year. Details here: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Govt agencies that missed the chief AI officer deadline

Public service rushes to put staff in charge of AI adoption.

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Reposted by Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Australia’s consumer watchdog is suing Amazon for allegedly using “unfair contract terms” to introduce advertising and force users to pay more to avoid ads on its Prime Video streaming service. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

ACCC sues Amazon over Prime ads, 'unfair' contracts

Over 850,000 subscribers affected, watchdog says.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

If you're in Australia and logged in to Google or Microsoft but their search engine doesn't know how old you are, you may soon be asked to share government ID, undergo facial age estimation, or complete a credit card check. 🙋‍♂️ Details in our story, featuring RMIT University's @lisagiven.bsky.social:

Search engine age-checking rules begin in Australia

Likes of Google and Bing could face huge penalties for breaches.

Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

If you're in the market for a new Mac or iPad, now might be a good time to find a deal before local Apple retailers adjust their pricing 👀

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Tom Williams, tech journo 👨‍💻 @its-tom-williams.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

These are the kind of subs Australia should be buying.