Alan Kohler

Oil prices are jumping. The budget is getting closer. And the global economy just got a whole lot messier.

Australia this week made an important step forward in grappling with the AI revolution. Meanwhile, in Melbourne a company is making humanoid robots. 

When it comes to AI, Australia is a spectator at a UFC cage fight between the United States and China, except the spectators are inside the cage with the combatants. 

The paradox of a strong economy and stock market with very low consumer sentiment is not close to being resolved. Quite the opposite, the disconnect is, if anything, widening.

Two things happened last week that give us a much clearer picture of what the world is going to be like from now on.

The problem for both the Coalition and Labor is that things are only going to get more difficult for ordinary families in the years ahead, and the economic environment is likely to keep favouring One Nation's message.

To get a sense of the difference between the Tesla and SpaceX IPOs, consider that 1.7 billion seconds ago was 1972, when Elton John released Rocket Man, while 1.7 trillion seconds ago was 52,000BC, when we shared the planet with Neanderthals.

Anthropic wants caution as AI intelligence surges but the stock market can't get enough. 

Why has Labor decided to spend the political capital of a large majority on a minor change to capital gains tax on businesses? 

Arthur Calwell argued migration was essential to national survival. Today, the Coalition says it should depend on how many homes get built, but the economics are far from straightforward. 

The Albanese government and the opposition both want to turn back the clock on the Australian tax system.

If it's serious about improving intergenerational fairness and housing affordability in this week's budget, perhaps the federal government should just build some houses.

Is AI conscious? Richard Dawkins is asking the wrong question.

Artificial intelligence might be driving growth for data centre companies, but society is unprepared for the long-term risks posed to the rest of us. 

Accompanying the oil shock unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz is a profound change in the way fiscal and monetary policymakers operate. And as the government prepares the budget with the impact of the Iran war still unfolding, a recession may be ahead.

While the rest of us count the cost in higher fuel costs, higher inflation and a weaker economy,  China — the actual winner of the war — will be enjoying a surge of global interest in its solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles. 

Australia definitely won't nationalise child care, even though the data suggests there's a strong case. Perhaps a more feasible idea would be to copy what Canada has done.

If Iran's idea of charging ships to pass through maritime choke points catches on, we are entering a new era of much more expensive, more dangerous global shipping.

The early 2010s were the years of peak globalisation, when it seemed all trade barriers were on a one-way trip to elimination. That was before Donald Trump arrived and ruptured the global order. 

The markets' benign assessment of the Iran war is wrong and the damage to the global economy could get worse.

A war in Iran has led to a cost-of-living spike in Australia and as petrol prices rise, interest rates are likely to be next.

Investors seem calm, relying on Donald Trump's reputation as a deal maker but the reality is this conflict could be long and destabilising. 

An entire retail and wholesale ecosystem has sprung from nothing in about a year, in a way that most people don't yet understand. 

Intergenerational inequality will only be dealt with by taxing the people that have the money, not by cutting the taxes of those who don't have it.

A fake news story about me, a series of AI breakthroughs and a resignation in the tech world show that 2026 could be pivotal for AI.