![The tech industry's huge investments in AI might be cause for alarm, because they are not balanced by anywhere near that ...](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/8/s/a/w/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gw7t8g.png/1495169724627.jpg)
![The tech industry's huge investments in AI might be cause for alarm, because they are not balanced by anywhere near that ...](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/8/s/a/w/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gw7t8g.png/1495169724627.jpg)
Google I/O 2017: What can Aussies expect from the Google Home smart speaker?
![The talkative Google Home smart benchtop speaker is vying for a place in Australian homes.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/8/k/4/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw8jz6.png/1495161674015.jpg)
When it arrives mid-year, talking to Google's attentive benchtop speaker will be more about striking up a conversation than simply issuing commands.
Why bitcoin may soon fall out of cybercriminals' favour
![Getting ransom money in Bitcoin is easiest for cyber-crooks, but it isn't the most secure.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/m/o/1/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw8chp.png/1495150093105.jpg)
Bitcoin is well-entrenched as the preferred payment for cybercriminals like the WannaCry hackers who have hit more than 300,000 computers over the past week, but cryptocurrencies offering more anonymity are threatening to displace it.
Facebook hit with $165 million fine in EU
![Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/7/f/c/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw8bst.png/1495143125271.jpg)
European regulators said that Facebook was not honest about its ability to identify users that had both Facebook and WhatsApp accounts, and link those accounts. At the time of the merger review, regulators were particularly concerned that WhatsApp users would have their information shared with Facebook without their consent.
Google's AI wants to get even deeper into our lives
![Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google Inc., speaks during the Google I/O Annual Developers Conference in ...](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/7/w/v/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7wii.png/1495086852608.jpg)
Google kicked off its annual developers conference Wednesday by outlining a broad vision of how it thinks artificial intelligence will shape the way we communicate, travel, work and play.
US government moves to weaken NSA secret-keeping
![The WannaCrypt warning screen.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/5/x/n/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7n4i.png/1495117026275.jpg)
A bill proposed in US Congress would require the National Security Agency to inform representatives of other US government agencies about security holes it finds in software like the one that allowed the recent ransomware attacks.
Everything new about Android O
![Most of the updates coming to Android involve little tweaks.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/7/l/u/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7mb7.png/1495144977848.jpg)
Today at the annual Google I/O developer conference, we learned about all the updates coming to the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, dubbed Android O for now.
Google Home smart speaker coming to Australia
![Home allows users to interact with Google Assistant around their house using natural language.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/7/f/d/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7er2.png/1495082572635.jpg)
Google's smart benchtop speaker is coming to Australia mid-year, challenging Amazon's Alexa for pride of place in Aussie kitchens.
Google Assistant is coming to iPhone
![Assistant](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/7/d/h/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7dct.png/1495057693956.jpg)
Google's artificial-intelligence-based Assistant is on more than 100 million devices now, and the company is leveraging a longtime competitor to expand the technology to even more people.
Google's new wireless VR headsets work without a phone
![Daydream](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/7/d/b/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7d2n.png/1495082294325.jpg)
Google is taking the fight to the virtual reality giants, unveiling a new standalone Daydream VR headset which doesn't rely on a smartphone or an attached PC.
Have Apple and Microsoft traded places?
![Apple is expected to introduce new versions of its laptops next month.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/f/l/g/i/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw6juz.png/1495065789574.jpg)
Apple is planning to update its line of MacBooks, but will the same machines with minor tweaks be enough to win back mindshare from its fresher competition?
What remains of Edith Finch is a fantastical family plot
![Every room tells a story, literally, in What Remains of Edith Finch.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/1/g/1/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw1cdp.png/1495080275077.jpg)
Beautifully strange and gleefully morose, What Remains of Edith Finch is a singularly amazing work of video game magical realism. Though brief and lacking any gameplay challenge, this is an incredibly special game by virtue of its narrative and creativity alone.
Disney's driverless plans not Mickey Mouse
![Disney's rumoured autonomous vehicles probably won't look like this.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/1/c/y/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw1cm3.png/1495052524645.jpg)
Walt Disney World in Florida appears poised to launch the highest-profile commercial deployment of driverless passenger vehicles to date, testing a fleet of driverless shuttles that could cart passengers through car parks and around its theme parks.
Google Translate surges forward thanks to AI
![Google Translate aims to be your personal translator as you travel the world.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/6/f/v/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw6fnx.png/1494987672706.jpg)
The power of neural network machine learning is helping Google offer faster and more accurate translations when you're lost for words.
Apple set to refresh laptops as Microsoft fights back
![Apple is planning three new laptops, according to people familiar with the matter. The MacBook Pro will get a faster ...](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/c/n/0/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw6fj2.png/1494972801815.jpg)
Apple plans to announce an update to its laptop lineup at a conference for app developers amid competition from Microsoft.
Tetris returns to form, with a Japanese twist
![Puyo Puyo Tetris](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/5/x/1/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw5tt7.png/1494907967333.jpg)
A party-ready puzzle game with heaps of modes and content to keep you busy, Puyo Puyo Tetris introduces Western gamers to an incredibly popular Japanese franchise, while also providing familiarity via its Tetris twist.
Hackers reportedly hold Disney film for ransom
![Disney is due to release <i>Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales</i> on May 26.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/9/g/b/f/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw5qg9.png/1494898965645.jpg)
Even as many businesses are worried about hackers taking control of their computers as part of the worldwide WannaCry ransomware crisis, Disney may be facing a slightly different ransom situation of its own.
Lyft and Google's Waymo team up on self-driving cars
![Waymo's self-driving cars could find more test-riders thanks to the Lyft partnership.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/l/5/0/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw5mnp.png/1494897005804.jpg)
Two key players in Silicon Valley's battle to define the future of transportation are teaming up, taking aim at a common enemy.
RIP MP3: audio format officially terminated
![The MP3 played no small part in the rise of digital music, and of the iPod.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/5/k/0/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw5jy1.png/1495193688020.jpg)
MP3, the digital audio coding format, changed the way we listen to music and drove the adoption of countless new devices over the last couple of decades. And now, it's dead.
Cyber attack rolls into Asia but global spread slows
![A lock screen from a cyber attack warns that data files have been encrypted.](/web/20170520181936im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/5/i/o/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw5inw.png/1494879287298.jpg)
The WannaCrypt "ransomware" cyber attack spread more slowly on Monday.