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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Imogen Dewey

Morning Mail: AI use by students grows, El Niño heatwaves warning, Nepal crash black boxes found

OpenAI - ChatGPT Illustration
Concerns are rising about the use of AI bots in university assessments in Australia. Photograph: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Good morning, and hope you’re well – I’m taking the reins from Martin Farrer writing your Morning Mail for a few days. Debate over the voice continues, the days are going to get hotter with the return of El Niño and the robots are already getting smarter, as concerns grow over use of AI tools in university exams. Here’s the latest news from across the country and around the world, to get you into the day.

Australia

Former defence minister Peter Dutton at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW, in November 2021.
Former defence minister Peter Dutton at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW, in November 2021. Photograph: Darren Pateman/AAP
  • Training the Chinese military | Government officials were first warned a year and a half ago about alleged attempts to recruit former defence force personnel, the defence department has revealed. But it is unclear what action, if any, the then defence minister, Peter Dutton, took at the time.

  • Indigenous voice | Attorney general Mark Dreyfus has promised further detail before the voice referendum, but accused Dutton of asking “a lot of questions he knows the answer to”, calling on the opposition leader to show some “national leadership”.

  • ‘Losing the public health battle’ | The Australian Medical Association is calling for nicotine vape products to only be available as a tool to quit smoking and then only as a last resort. In an effort to discourage use, it wants flavours to be removed.

  • Artificial intelligence | An Australian university lecturer says she has detected the use of computer-generated text in a fifth of the assessments she set, as concerns rise about the use of AI by students to write essays.

  • Charging for EVs | While there are stations located right across the country, many only have one or two outlets. More government funding is needed, advocates say, to avoid long queues next summer.

World

A man looks at the carcasses of animals that died due to an El Niño-related drought in southern Hargeisa, Somaliland, in April 2016
A man looks at the carcasses of animals that died due to an El Niño-related drought in southern Hargeisa, Somaliland, in April 2016. It was the hottest year in recorded history, driven by a major El Niño. Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters

Full Story

OPEN AI ChatGPT chat bot seen on smartphone placed on laptop
The uncanny ability of the new online chatbot ChatGPT has provoked wonder and alarm worldwide. Photograph: Ascannio/Alamy

Portraits to go and prose like Tim Winton: ChatGPT and the rise of AI

As a Deakin University lecturer who’s detected the use of bots in almost one-fifth of assessments warns the technology is “not going away”, universities are scrambling to combat AI-assisted cheating. Some outlets, like the Australian satirical site the Chaser, will paywall their content to prevent it being used as AI training material.

AI expert Prof Toby Walsh speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about how artificial intelligence is changing the future.

In-depth

A worker walks through the Curtis Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, a part of the Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas (QCLNG) project site operated by QGC Pty, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, in Gladstone
Energy supply and prices are a danger for a government that came to office pledging to reduce power prices. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Gas price caps haven’t been the silver bullet the Albanese government was hoping for, Peter Hannam writes. While users say the industry is behaving like a “bunch of bullies” and potentially withholding supply, producers argue intervention has “paralysed the market”.

Not the news

Smiling young woman using smartphone on social media network application while having meal in the restaurant, viewing or giving likes, love, comment, friends and pages
#luckygirlsyndrome has more than 100m views on TikTok - but affirmations are nothing new. Photograph: d3sign/Getty Images

TikTok’s Lucky Girl Syndrome isn’t new, Alyx Gorman writes, and it has a dark side. “This idea has no scientific basis. While that should probably go without saying, it cannot … Manifestation’s flipside is as insidious as it is pervasive: the idea that you get what you deserve.”

The world of sport

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios (R) and his physio Will Maher attend a press conference on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne
‘You never know what you will get with Kyrgios, but 11th-hour withdrawals have become a theme of his non-existent 2023 season.’ Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
  • Nick Kyrgios out | Emma Kemp explains why the tennis star’s withdrawal affects the Australian Open more than it does the player himself.

  • Olivia Gadecki rising | In her maiden win in the same tournament, the Australian wildcard is stepping into an Ash Barty-shaped hole.

  • Phoebe Litchfield steals the show | The 19-year-old joined forces with returning captain Meg Lanning, giving Australia a 1-0 series lead over Pakistan with an eight-wicket victory.

Media roundup

According to the Australian, federal treasurer Jim Chalmers is likely to increase the jobseeker rate in his May budget. And the Australian Financial Review reveals a group of fundraisers for the voice yes vote including filmmaker Rachel Perkins, former Wesfarmers boss Michael Chaney and Queensland Labor heavyweight Andrew Fraser.

What’s happening today

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords and free Wordiply game to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.

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