Claude Leads, Telstra Stumbles

By the Orchestra editors · 4 min read

TL;DR

Australia tops global Claude usage per capita according to new Anthropic data
Telstra outage hits businesses and mobile users nationwide
Australia's AI Safety Institute begins probing frontier models
Queensland is the lone holdout on data centre energy principles

Australian Tech

Australia is now the world's biggest Claude user per capita

New Anthropic data shows Australia ranks first globally for Claude usage on a population-adjusted basis. The stat lands as Claude Cowork also expanded to mobile and web this week, letting users kick off tasks on desktop and pick up results on their phone.

Telstra outage disrupts mobile and data services nationwide

A major Telstra network disruption knocked out mobile calls and data for businesses and consumers across Australia. No timeline for full resolution was given at time of reporting.

AI Safety Institute starts testing frontier models

Assistant technology minister Andrew Charlton said Australia's newly stood-up AI Safety Institute is already evaluating the most powerful frontier models, framing the effort as pro-innovation rather than a handbrake.

Queensland refuses to sign data centre energy principles

Queensland is now the only state or territory not signed on to national principles requiring data centre proponents to invest in renewables and firming to fully offset their energy use.

AI · Worldwide

Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs and shifts to its own AI models

Microsoft laid off about 4,800 staff across Xbox and commercial sales, while separately signalling it will rely more heavily on in-house models to cut AI costs. The twin moves reflect a broader industry pattern of trimming headcount and third-party spend as AI budgets mature.