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 round table, 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

Ombudsman rules for red-hot Gosden team as Royal Ascot roasts in the sun

The only British stable to wrest Royal Ascot’s top trainer award away from Aidan O’Brien over the course of the past decade continued its strong run through this year’s meeting here ­on Wednesday, as John and Thady ­Gosden’s Ombudsman, in the Group One Prince of Wales’s Stakes, ­followed up the success of Crimson Advocate, in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, for a 59‑1 double on the day.The feature race, though, was not an easy watch for Ombudsman’s joint trainers or his backers at 7-1, at least until William Buick, his rider, finally managed to extract him and find ­running room with around a furlong to go, after being caught in a series of pockets. Buick was forced to switch twice in the straight, but when he did eventually take aim at the lead, Ombudsman’s response was ­immediate and overpowering.Ombudsman was around two lengths behind Anmaat, the ­Champion Stakes winner last season over the same course and distance, ­passing the furlong pole, alongside 100m later and then two lengths ahead and going further clear at the line.“The plan was to just relax off the pace, which was strong and set up for [O’Brien’s] Los Angeles,” John Gosden said, “but to that extent we knew we’d be comfortable where we were

Royal Ascot 2025 day two: Ombudsman rules in Prince of Wales’s Stakes – as it happened

Day two done and the sun is shining stronger than ever. It seems a long time ago now but Aidan O’Brien started the day with a very impressive winner in True Love. The O’Brien-trained favourite Los Angeles failed to fire in the big race, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and glory went to John Gosden and Ombudsman. Those hoping for a royal winner were again denied when, after yesterday’s debacle with Reaching High the favourite Rainbows Edge blew out in the 5.35pm race