Across six days of SXSW Sydney we averaged more than one cybernetic session a day. Here are our insights from sessions by School of Cybernetics staff and our wider community.
Keynote with Mo Gawdat (Mental Health Advocate & former CBO of Google X), Q&A with Dr Catherine Ball:#
- Mo tells us the way forward for humanity in an AI enabled world is to rethink what value really means
- Mo reminds us that “AI is continually learning from us, if we want good AI, we need to behave like good humans” because AI will amplify our intent – this is a reminder that we choose what directions AI goes in
- Catherine and Mo used technology to weave a discussion on a more equitable and optimistic future for everyone
My First LLM workshop with Ben Swift, Cole Cooney, and Eddie Aloise King#
- Participants found that there is a lot of joy to be found in learning the fundamentals of AI systems
- Ben, Cole, and Eddie highlighted how statistics and training data underpins everything, learning what goes into a system and how that data is used gives you power
- This workshop showed that without human decisions this technology goes nowhere – humans are critical to every step in the development of both AI systems and their outputs
Supercharge work with AI - Hackathon Brainstorming Session with Amy McLennan#
- Reimagining the workplace of tomorrow is a huge topic, but it can be effectively tackled through creative hacking and teamwork
- The top three teams dealt with different aspects of future work from startup investment to safe technology deployment to self-healing AI agent solutions
- Key judging criteria focused on functionality, presentation, and alignment
Cybernetic Studio Launch with Catherine Ball, Matthew Holt, and Ben Swift#
- This launch brought together community to celebrate a dedicated place for making, thinking and transforming
- Catherine, Matthew and Ben spoke to how technology can be designed and built for safe and sustainable futures, embedded in current global technological contexts
- Objects on display showed what it means to bring AI to a human-scale, enhancing our understanding of AI systems and their processing mechanisms
- Learn more about the Cybernetic Studio here
I’m Listening with Dr Ariella: Medicine in a New Era with Amy McLennan#
- Amy and Ariella used a systems perspective to look at women’s health outcomes, and reminded us that health is more than what is just happening in your body, it’s also what is happening in your environment
- They asked how do we correct biased medical data or collect new forms of data to fill in those gaps left by biases?
- This discussion made clear that we need to be mindful of unintended consequences from collecting health data
How Can We Innovate A Disease Like Endometriosis? Panel discussion with Amy McLennan, Karen Ferry, John Fowlie, Anna Lee, and Kate Gunby#
- This panel asked if data can save us from what is probably the most commonly misunderstood chronic condition
- A lot of bias is about who shows up in the statistics
- Discussions highlighted how removing the medical clunkiness can improve patient experience, suggestions included changing the name of endometriosis, assembling a great medical team, using a follow-the-sun teamwork method, welcoming people to the disease and treatment, and looking at how data could transform current systems
Cybernations at Tabletop Showcase with Thomas Biedermann#
- This tabletop game highlighted systems and future thinking
- Players tested their resilience and preparedness in strategising how to create better futures for themselves and others
- Collaborative and competitive gameplay features showcased player responsibiliy
The Next Billion Seconds Podcast with Mark Pesce, Catherine Ball, and Abby Bloom#
- This podcast looked at the personal, societal, and financial costs of care and explores how these can’t simply be outsourced or ignored
- Insights included how AgeTech can shift some of the cost burden as well as enabling and augmenting the human experience
- This discussion asked what would rewriting AgeTech, longevity, lifespan, and health span look like in Australia
