What could Albanese do to improve productivity? Here is a short, non-exhaustive list | Greg Jericho

In his address last week at the National Press Club, the prime minister announced a “productivity roundtable” in concert with the Productivity Commission’s latest inquiry into the issue. I won’t be at the roundtable but I do have a few ideas.First off, remember that productivity is the amount you produce with the hours and equipment you have. Work better with what you have or (usually) get better equipment to do your work faster, and productivity increases.It is not about reducing the cost of producing things

EU accuses China’s AliExpress of ‘systemic failure’ over illegal goods

The European Commission has accused the online retailer AliExpress of a “systemic failure” to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous goods on its platform, as Brussels steps up its case against the Chinese company.Issuing formal findings of an investigation launched in March last year, EU regulators said on Wednesday that AliExpress was failing to do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit clothes and dangerous children’s toys, among other items.The company, which claims 104 million monthly users in the EU, did not devote enough resources to content moderation to take down illegal goods on sale on its platform, regulators said.An EU official said the company – which is owned by Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce group founded by the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma – had “underestimated the general risk of the sale of illegal products”. The official added: “General measures they have in place to avoid the dissemination of illegal products do not work properly – it shows a systemic failure

‘It’s terrifying’: WhatsApp AI helper mistakenly shares user’s number

The Meta chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, called it “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use”. But Barry Smethurst, 41, a record shop worker trying to travel by rail from Saddleworth to Manchester Piccadilly, did not agree.Waiting on the platform for a morning train that was nowhere to be seen, he asked Meta’s WhatsApp AI assistant for a contact number for TransPennine Express. The chatbot confidently sent him a mobile phone number for customer services, but it turned out to be the private number of a completely unconnected WhatsApp user 170 miles away in Oxfordshire.It was the beginning of a bizarre exchange of the kind more and more people are having with AI systems, in which chatbots try to negotiate their way out of trouble, deflect attention from their mistakes and contradict themselves, all in an attempt to continue to appear useful

Amazon boss tells staff AI means their jobs are at risk in coming years

The boss of Amazon has told white collar staff at the e-commerce company their jobs could be taken by artificial intelligence in the next few years.Andrew Jassy told employees that AI agents – tools that carry out tasks autonomously – and generative AI systems such as chatbots would require fewer employees in certain areas.“As we roll out more generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,” he said in a memo to staff. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.“It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce

Marcus Smith at full-back against Argentina as Lions aim to ‘set tone’ for tour

Maro Itoje will captain the British & Irish Lions for the first time against Argentina in Dublin on Friday after the head coach, Andy Farrell, included him and eight other Englishmen in the starting XV for the warm-up match for the upcoming tour of Australia.England’s other starters include Marcus Smith at full‑back along with Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith at half‑backs. Ireland’s Tadhg ­Furlong will be given the chance to prove his fitness after struggling with a calf injury that ruled him out of Leinster’s United Rugby ­Championship final win against the Bulls last weekend. Furlong is included on a bench that also features the hooker Ronan ­Kelleher, the only player to be involved against Argentina six days after taking part in the end-of-season finale.Farrell’s injury list looks like being clear by next week – it will most likely be clouded somewhat by the final whistle against the Pumas – but for now it is a good place to be

Jack Draper shakes off errors to thwart Popyrin and keep Queen’s Club quest alive

In the final throes of a tense, uneasy tussle with one of the bigger servers in his sport, Jack Draper was fading. The British No 1, and second seed, had started poorly: he had struggled to find his range on his groundstrokes for much of the occasion and then two match points passed him by. Deep in the third-set tie break, he trailed 2-4.Over the past year, though, a period during which he has established himself as one of the best players in the world, Draper has continually shown his ability to find a path to victory no matter what. In the first week of his grass-court homecoming, the 23-year-old offered a forceful demonstration of his supreme competitive spirit as he recovered to defeat Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the world No 21, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to reach the quarter-finals at Queen’s Club