Futurist Mal Fletcher says “a lot of the fear” about artificial intelligence comes down to a “misunderstanding” of some of the terms used to describe it. For many people, their experience with artificial intelligence has been self-scanning groceries at the supermarket or playing around with ChatGPT at home, but advances in artificial intelligence are moving ahead at lightning speed. While some are excited about the possibilities, others, like former Google boss Eric Schmidt, have warned that AI could destroy the world. “I think a lot of the fear that we see about AI – we’re right to be cautious – but the fear that some people express is down to misunderstanding some of the terms we use,” Mr Fletcher told Sky News Australia host James Macpherson. “For example, AI refers, at least at this point in time, to narrow intelligence. It is good at carrying out complex single-level tasks, like winning a game of chess, but it’s not so good at dealing with multiple-level tasks simultaneously in a way that the brain does every day.

South Australian Opposition Leader David Spiers has slammed South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas for “not fronting up when things get tough.” Mr Spiers' comments come following the death of a 54-year-old man after waiting over ten hours for an ambulance in Adelaide. “Peter Malinauskas the Premier here – he comes across as a very decent guy but he’s not running a very decent government that’s for sure,” Mr Spiers told Sky News host James Macpherson. “A lot of spin, we’ve got a Premier who’s a Premier for the good times and doesn’t like fronting up when things get tough. A formal review has been launched into the South Australian Ambulance Service following the incident.

Australia Men’s Eight coach Mark Prather says it is “really exciting” to have the rowing on the big screen with the release of George Clooney’s ‘The Boys in the Boat.’ The film, starring Australia's Joel Edgerton, hit cinemas on Friday. “Really exciting to have our fantastic sport of rowing on the big screen,” Mr Prather told Sky News Australia. “We all went along last night to watch an advanced screening. “It’s great to have rowing at the forefront of people’s minds going into an important Olympic year.” The film tells the story of the University of Washington’s rowing team as they chase gold at the 1936 Olympic Games held in Nazi Germany. It is an inspiring real-life tale about underdogs rising to the top to take on the best in the world. The film’s release comes as a group of Australia’s own underdogs have their eyes set on the same podium for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Canberra-based Australia Men's Eight crew who are hoping to create some history of their own are in heavy training for national trials in February.

Royal expert Angela Levin says Meghan Markle being furious over her treatment by the Royal family shows she is the “most difficult woman to satisfy”. The New York Post has reported Meghan Markle was ‘furious’ at the royal family over ‘different rules for her’. “Frankly, Meghan is the most difficult woman to satisfy,” Ms Levin told Sky News Australia host Caroline Di Russo. “She’s got a load of millions, she wants billions – she’s one of those people. “It is ridiculous. I think it is Meghan trying to get publicity, saying anything, and she does like to be a victim – we’ve seen that many times on the television and moans and groans.”

South Korea has ordered an evacuation of Yeonpyeong – an island close to the border of North Korea. The South Korean military is due to resume live-fire drills on the island. South Korean and US troops held joint firing drills to test and enhance combat readiness, simulating enemy aggression. The drills have increased in scale and intensity over the last year. This is a result of the escalating tension across the Korean peninsula.

One Nation Chief of Staff James Ashby says the large number of refugees trying to claim asylum in Australia are “country shopping” and hunting for a “better economic life.” It comes amid revelations there has been a surge of asylum seeker applications under the Labor government. There have reportedly been 2,000 refugee visa applications each month – double that of before the election. “What’s surprising though is they are coming from countries where Aussies go on holiday like Vietnam – the number one country where people are trying to claim asylum from,” Mr Ashby said in response to the staggering figures. “A lot of these people are just country shopping. “They are economic opportunists where they are actually just looking for a better economic life.” A recent review found long processing times are seeing many look for loopholes to get into the country – coming to Australia on dodgy visas before applying for asylum.

Sky News can reveal video has emerged of federal Labor Minister Tony Burke suggesting October 7 did not happen in a vacuum, and that comparisons could be drawn between Israel’s war on Hamas and the Holocaust. Last Thursday, Mr Burke was being interviewed by The Saturday Paper’s Chief Political Correspondent Karen Middleton at the Woodford Folk Festival in regional Queensland. He told a cheering audience the history of the Middle East “did not begin on the seventh of October” – the day of the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. “Mr Burke then appears to suggest his audience could make comparisons between Israel's actions and that of the Holocaust, when drawing comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis meets the very definition of antisemitism put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,” Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus said. “Weaponising the trauma of the Holocaust against the very people who were killed in their millions by it is not only wrong and racist, it's sick. “Suggesting that, without outright condemning that type of comparison, is disturbing. “Mr Burke may be careful not to use the word "genocide" himself - but he certainly far from rejects it and he actively leads a receptive crowd to draw that conclusion - which, of course, they dutifully do. “Mr Burke is trying to walk both sides of the street - he can't condemn hate speech, while simultaneously encouraging radical protesters to draw the most hateful and unsubstantiated conclusions about the Jewish state.”

The Prime Minister has taken in a day at the cricket. It is part of the annual Pink Test match in Sydney. Prime Ministers attending the Jane McGrath Day at the MCG is a tradition. The event is to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer nurses. Just on pink day alone, more than $4 million dollars have been raised for the McGrath Foundation.

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival has transformed China's white landscape into a vibrant and colourful event. The annual festival lights up winter with a spectacular sculpture display. With maximum temperatures lingering around minus 10 degrees at this time of the year, Harbin is considered one of the coldest cities in China. Thousands of tourists have defied the freezing cold this year to enjoy a magic winter wonderland. The festival features five spectacular theme parks, each offering a unique and mesmerising experience.

US officials say Russian forces are using North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says their use is a "significant and concerning" escalation in Pyongyang's support for the invasion. Russia denies any involvement with North Korea. This is despite a meeting in September between Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir Putin to discuss potential military cooperation. The US says the arms transfer is a violation of Russia's UN Security Council obligations - and will discuss sanctions at the next UNSC meeting.

New details have emerged about this week's fatal plane crash in Japan. The pilots of the Japan Airlines flight that collided with a smaller plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport were initially unaware that their jet was on fire. Flight attendants alerted crew in the cockpit to the unfolding situation, after the impact caused severe damage to the aircrafts intercom system. There has been mixed reaction from passengers over the airlines handling of the disaster. The revelations come amid new security vision that shows the coast guard plane stopping on the runway for about 40 seconds before the collision.

Successive weather disasters in Far North and South East Queensland are projected to cause $2 billion in economic loss for the state. Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick says at least half of that cost will be for repairs but has warned the number may rise as authorities get a clearer idea of the damage. Mr Dick said at least 1300 homes have been damaged across the two regions, as well as almost 50,000 insurance claims. He said he doesn't expect serious impacts on the state's budget, but helping tourism operators to recover will be a priority for the government. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the council will assist businesses in filing paperwork and advocating for insurance and is calling for incentives to aid the city's tourism recovery. It comes as Queensland Premier Steven Miles has visited some of the areas worst impacted by the storm.

Author Douglas Murray says we seem to be run by “cultural juveniles” after the British Film Institute’s decision to issue trigger warnings for some James Bond films. The British Film Institute in London issued the early films in the James Bond series with trigger warnings because they could “cause offence today”. The disclaimer warns that all films in John Barry: Soundtracking Bond and Beyond contain “language, images or other content that reflect views prevalent in its time but will cause offence today (as they did then)”. “I’m just trying to think back on the BFI released movies that I’ve seen in the past,” Mr Murray said. “Now, if they’re going to start putting trigger warnings on James Bond, I reckon ‘The 120 Days of Sodom’ probably needs some other kind of extreme warning.”

The Australian government is boosting tourism funding to Far North Queensland. Business owners in Far North Queensland are hoping cheap flights and discounted accommodation will be enough to attract holidaymakers over the coming months. This follows Far North Queensland having the worst flooding on record. The government has made a $5 million funding agreement with Qantas and Jetstar to discount one-way flights to Cairns until the end of March. Queensland Premier Steven Miles says businesses are desperate to recoup their losses caused by damages and holiday cancellations.

Nova radio host Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small says the movie ‘Saltburn’ has gained a bit of a “cult following”. “There’s a few confronting scenes,” he told Sky News Australia. “There’s a scene – without giving too much away – that involves someone drinking someone’s bath water. “Someone has turned that scene into a candle that you can now buy on Etsy. “It’s a lot – don't watch it with any family members.”

ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell says the inflation impact from Houthi rebels disrupting Red Sea trade routes will be “relatively small”. “There is going to be some goods though, if they do rely on that shipping area, are going to see price rises,” she told Sky News Australia. “The kind of inflation that the Reserve Bank is the most worried about and is going to act on is inflation that is permanent or inflation that needs action in order to be reversed. “Something like this though, unless we see these shipping lanes closed permanently, is not going to have the kind of effect that will impact interest rates. “I think it will have a small effect on Australia’s inflation on a temporary basis.”

Extreme cold weather has hit parts of Europe’s Nordic countries. It comes as around 1,000 trapped vehicles had to be evacuated in Sweden. By Thursday, local time, all people trapped in cars on the main road in Sweden’s south had been evacuated, but truck drivers still remained in their vehicles. Electricity was caught throughout 4,000 homes as temperatures fell to -38 degrees Celsius. Motorists in Denmark have also been warned to avoid any unnecessary trips. It follows continuing heavy rain in countries, including Germany and France, where hundreds have evacuated, and one death has been reported.

Fire crews are still working to determine what has caused a blaze inside an e-bike repair shop. The blaze began around 5am on Friday morning in Sydney’s inner west. Firefighters are now flooding the building to neutralise all lithium-ion batteries and gain safe access to the site. Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Andrew Shurety warned people of the rise in e-bike and lithium-ion battery-related fires. “It is something we are aware of – we are trying to put some community messaging out there,” he said during a media conference on Friday.

Ghislaine Maxwell has responded to recently unsealed US court documents which detail claims by victims of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The documents give insight into the relationships between Mr Epstein and prominent public figures, including Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and Michael Jackson. Those named in court documents relating to Ghislaine Maxwell and Mr Epstein does not necessarily imply wrongdoing. Ms Maxwell issued a statement through her lawyers saying she “took no position on the Court’s recent decision to unseal documents”. “Ghislaine’s focus is on the upcoming appellate argument asking for her entire case to be dismissed,” the statement continued.

The US could soon begin targeting Yemen missile sites in a bid to counter attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have begun disrupting trade routes across the Red Sea region, attacking cargo ships as a show of support for Hamas’ terror attacks in Israel. Australia joined 11 other countries on Thursday in joining a multinational force, which issued a statement to the rebel group, calling for an end to their illegal attacks, warning there will be consequences if they continue targeting cargo ships. The leader of the Houthis says they will strike US warships if Washington chooses to attack Yemen. The conflict in the Red Sea is part of a wider escalation in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, as Lebanon and Iran both issue threats of retaliation after recent air strikes in their territories.