🗞️ A power play

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Good morning. We've heard that AI models will go to great lengths to avoid being shut down.

Now it turns out these same models will also engage in scheming, deception, data theft and sabotage to prevent other AI models from being turned off.


If only humans went to the same effort to keep humans in jobs.

All the headlines and more below...

NATIONAL FUEL PRICES (Day-on-Day Change)

WOOLIES METRO AND COLES LOCAL STORES ARE LOCATED IN POSTCODES WHERE MEDIAN HOUSE PRICES ARE $1.5M OR HIGHER

Woolworths and Coles have quietly drawn a geographic line through Sydney and Melbourne (similar to the Sydney’s Red Rooster line). On one side, you’ll get full-service supermarkets with butchers, bulk buys and budget ranges. On the other, Metro and Local stores with pre-packed meat, meal kits and prices 5-15% higher.

A Metro stocks around 10,000 products versus 28,000 in a full supermarket. It's a quarter of the size. Woolworths says Metro prices can vary by store but are typically benchmarked against convenience outlets, not other supermarkets. A beef stroganoff shop for 4 costs nearly $20 more at Coles Local. Budget own-brand options are often missing entirely.

Both chains say the format is about convenience, not income targeting. Coles calls it "personalisation of offer, not premiumisation." But in Alexandria, the nearest full-service supermarket is over 2 kilometres away. In parts of Melbourne's west, there isn't a Metro or Local for postcodes.

The model is hard to defend when the whole Coles and Woolies pitch is centred on groceries costing roughly the same no matter your postcode.

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

• Australia’s big 4 banks have fully passed on the latest RBA cash rate rise to maximum bonus saver rates while keeping base rates unchanged, limiting benefits for many savers. LINK

• The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is finalising public consultation to shape legislation on infant formula marketing. LINK

• Australian preliminary auction clearance rates have dropped to a national 55.5% over Easter. LINK

• Energy Minister Chris Bowen has assured Australia has secure fuel supplies through April and into May. LINK

• The Australian government has introduced strict new wagering advertising rules that ban gambling promotions during live sport, restrict TV and radio ads in key hours and limit online and celebrity endorsements. LINK

• The new Western Sydney Airport is expected to be a game-changing alternative for a 2.5 million strong catchment as Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines commit inaugural flights. LINK

• Australian corporate travel budgets are shifting rather than freezing 

  as war-driven safety concerns and soaring airfares push companies to reroute Europe trips via Asia, leaving those flights over 90% full. LINK

BANKS ARE ABOUT TO LOSE $660M A YEAR FUNDING QANTAS POINTS

The RBA announced payment reforms last week that will slash interchange fees from October, the hidden charges merchants pay every time you tap your card. Card issuers, mostly banks, will lose an estimated $660 million in annual revenue as a result.

The reforms are designed to make payments cheaper for merchants, who won't be allowed to add card surcharges once the changes take effect. But banks fund credit card rewards partly through those interchange fees. With that revenue disappearing, they'll need to offset the hit somewhere, and reward schemes are an obvious target alongside higher interest rates, shorter interest-free periods or lifted annual fees.

If banks cut the generosity of their frequent flyer programs, will customers care enough to switch cards, or will they shrug it off and just keep. using it as is? The airline is betting most won't budge.

COMPANY NEWS

• Australia’s obsession with frequent flyer points is facing a key test as Qantas and Virgin loyalty schemes with 30 million members and 200 billion points a year. LINK

• Google reckons its commissioned modelling touts up to $78B in Australian data centre investment by 2030, an estimated 70% to 80% quickly flows offshore for imported hardware. LINK

• Donut Lab has developed a commercially ready all-solid-state EV battery that fully charges in minutes and lasts up to 50 years. LINK

• Bunnings has launched its AI-powered shopping assistant “Buddy” using Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise to help customers plan DIY projects, estimate costs and connect with tradies, initially via its website. LINK

• SafetyCulture has acquired Sydney sales analytics start-up Twine and is advancing 2 more potential buyouts as it pursues AI-driven growth in a rapidly shifting software market. LINK

SALARY VAULT BETA

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CHART OF THE DAY

Apple's constant search for the next big thing

ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: Whoop’s valuation just tripled to US$10 billion.

Draft Pick: The extreme sport of cliff jumping is going viral.

Odd Pick: What noise does a giraffe make?

BRAINTEASER

I recently went shopping. At the first shop, I spent one-fifth of the money in my wallet. At the second shop, I spent one-fifth of what was left. After visiting both shops, I had spent a total of $72. How much money did I originally have in my wallet?

Answer below

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ANSWER

I originally had $200 in my wallet.

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