Victoria gets AI minister

By the Orchestra editors · 4 min read

TL;DR

Victoria appoints a dedicated AI minister, only the second Australian state to do so
Canva is now the world's second most-visited AI platform, behind only ChatGPT
Anthropic signs a $10B cloud deal with Volta and hires its first global affairs chief
Kmart's $89 smart glasses sell out nationally, raising privacy concerns

Australian Tech

Victoria appoints dedicated AI minister in cabinet reshuffle

Newly installed Premier Ben Carroll has given Anthony Carbines a portfolio covering artificial intelligence and the digital economy, making Victoria the second Australian state with a dedicated AI minister.

Canva overtakes Claude, Gemini and Grok in global AI traffic

Canva has climbed to become the world's second most-visited AI platform behind ChatGPT, overtaking standalone chatbot products as the AI market consolidates around tools people already use for work.

Kmart's $89 smart glasses sell out, sparking privacy debate

Kmart's Anko-branded camera glasses have sold out across stores and online. Digital rights experts warn the cheap devices create a "privacy nightmare" by letting wearers film people without obvious consent cues.

AI · Worldwide

Anthropic signs $10B cloud deal with startup Volta

Anthropic continues its infrastructure spending spree with a reported $10 billion agreement with AI cloud provider Volta, and separately appointed its first chief global affairs officer to navigate the shifting regulatory landscape.

EU AI transparency rules now in effect

New obligations under the EU AI Act require companies to label chatbot interactions and disclose when content has been generated or altered by AI. The rules apply to both providers and deployers, and could signal the direction for other jurisdictions including Australia.