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Event_

Rise of the machines: how worried should we be about AI?

Thursday 13 July, 6-7pm (AEST)
If there’s a 10% chance that human-level artificial intelligence (AI) would lead to existential risk or an “extremely negative outcome”, what would you do? We get the experts to weigh in on the development of AI and untangle the deep, complex questions it raises.

We use AI every day in our smartphones, home, banking and many other ways. Yet the godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton has warned that AI is an existential threat and the founder of OpenAI – of ChatGPT fame – said AI could lead to human extinction. Just how real is the threat?

And what’s really driving AI – or what should be the drivers to develop AI responsibly? Join our experts to discuss the challenges and consequences of AI:

This event was held on 14 July 2023 at the Charles Perkins Centre Auditorium.

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The speakers

Rebecca Johnson, tech ethics researcher

Rebecca Johnson is an expert on the ethics of Large Language Models and Generative AI. She spent a year at Google Research in the Ethical AI team and Responsible AI division, and is a final year PhD researcher at the University of Sydney. 

Profile image of Dr Sandra Peter

Dr Sandra Peter, University of Sydney Business School

Dr Sandra Peter is the Director of Sydney Executive Plus at the University of Sydney Business School. She has led strategic initiatives and worked on executive programs with business, research organisations, Government and Defence. Her research expertise and practice focus on engaging with the future in productive ways, and the impact of emerging technologies on business and society. She co-hosted one of Australia’s leading Business and Technology podcasts The Future, This Week and The Unlearn Project. She has published in MIS Quarterly, JAIS, JIT and EJIS and worked on a wide range of educational research initiatives and programs, including work with UNESCO and the Department of Education. She has contributed thought pieces, op eds, interviews and research in the Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Australian and the ABC. Sandra has a PhD. in Social Sciences, MA/MPhil. in Organisation and Strategy, BSc (Hons) in Economics and International Relations.

Jose-Miguel Bello Villarino

Jose-Miguel Bello Villarino, Sydney Law School

Jose-Miguel Bello Villarino is a Research Fellow at the Law School and the Institutions programme of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S). He is a member of the Diplomatic Corps of Spain (on leave) and previously worked in different capacities for the European Union. In 2021 he was a Fulbright-Schuman scholar at the Harvard Law School. His current research focuses on regulatory approaches to ADM and Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially on how to deal with risks derived from the operation of AI systems from a comparative approach.

Ariel Bogle

Host: Ariel Bogle, technology reporter

Ariel Bogle is a reporter with a focus on technology, extremism and internet policy. Her reporting and research has been published by the ABC, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Australian Financial Review and Slate, among other outlets.

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Header image: credit Allison Saeng for Unsplash

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