Johanna discusses Australia’s draft Children’s Online Privacy Code with Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind and Director of the Code Taskforce Kate Bower. They discuss how the proposed privacy code will work and how it will shape and benefit young people’s privacy in the future, with the potential for positive spillover for all users regardless of age. Carly and Kate also answer questions sent in by TPDi’s three youth ambassadors. Listen to the episode and provide your input on the draft code - consultations open until 5 June 2026!

Links:

OAIC Privacy for Kids (for copy of the draft code, and loads of great resources for parents and kids): https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-for-kids

Participate in a Roundtable on the draft Code: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Ff0M3VhFEkuLreommE_EF05_L5kDbTNEstNjz43Wa4FURUNIODE2Ulg0TVRSWlJHQzAzSzVYT0M4MSQlQCN0PWcu

Recap the way the Code might work with Digital Duty of Care: https://techpolicy.au/podcast/part-5-next-steps-australia-v-social-media-mini-series

For transcript and full show notes visit techpolicy.au/podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Johanna looks at whether the past can give us clues about the future with Carl Benedikt Frey, Dieter Schwarz Associate Professor of AI & Work at the Oxford Internet Institute and writer of How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation, and the Fate of Nations. They talk about whether progress will end in the context of technology, innovation and (of course) artificial intelligence. They also discuss past events like the industrial revolution and US Gilded Age can tell us about the current technological direction humanity is taking.

In keeping with Tech Mirror’s deep dive into Tech and Geopolitics, Johanna and Carl also discuss who will succeed in the rise of AI - the US or China? And Carl answers the big question: is progress ending in the US?

Links:

Carl’s book - How Progress Ends: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691233079/how-progress-ends

For transcript and full show notes visit techpolicy.au/podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the next deep dive into tech and geopolitics, Johanna Weaver sits down with Tim Coghlan, an Australia global tech and China economy analyst living in Beijing.They talk about geostrategic competition, from the perspective of China. Tim talks about how China has embraced AI, even down to the neighbourhood running track. From China’s strengths, to its vulnerabilities, Tim and Johanna discuss how China is moving forward as a major tech power, how its approach contrasts with the US, and what this means for middle powers like Australia.

Links:

Tim’s USSC article: https://www.ussc.edu.au/intelligent-everything-china-s-policy-to-supercharge-ai-adoption

Lowy Interpreter Article: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/real-ai-gap-between-china-west-isn-t-chips-or-models-stories-we-tell

Kyle Chan’s Substack: High Capacity: https://substack.com/@kyleichan

Jordan Schneider’s Substack: China Talk: https://substack.com/@chinatalk

For transcript and full show notes visit techpolicy.au/podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.