Artificial Intelligence (AI) is predicted to be worth $115 billion a year to Australia’s economy across the next decade. For this reason alone, it’s not surprising that last week’s AI Summit sold out, drawing over 600 attendees to the Brisbane Convention Centre.
Presented by the QLD AI Hub with the support of Advance Queensland, the summit was the perfect opportunity to connect with the latest machine learning, natural language processing and robotics technologies and hear from visionary thought leaders to understand the opportunities AI offers for business transformation, workforce preparation, ethics, and governance.
The AI Summit featured an impressive line up of speakers and panellists discussing the pace and transformative potential of AI, including representatives from Xero, Canva, SAP, Google Cloud, and OpenAI, the US company that created ChatGPT.
Kicking off the Summit, Jamila Gordon, Founder of Lumachain, spoke of her inspirational journey from surviving civil war in Somalia to establishing a tech startup in Australia, and along the way her impressive career as CIO at Qantas and an executive at IBM. Jamila’s company Lumachain is driving positive global change by leveraging AI and blockchain technology to address a critical issue – the identification and tracking of food supply chain items that may be linked to unethical sourcing or forced labour practices.
In his keynote address Zack Kass, OpenAI's Head of GTM, shared his insights about the future of AI and its safe integration into businesses. He addressed the pace of technological advancement, emerging opportunities, associated risks, and strategies for adaptation. Dr Stephanie Chaousis, Chief Customer Officer, Datarwe facilitated a Q&A session with Zack to get the behind-the-scenes story of the launch and scaleup of ChatGPT.
Local Queensland tech scaleups VALD and SplashAI joined Australian unicorn Canva on a panel discussion hosted by Dren Xërxa, Program Director at QLD AI Hub, and discussed new product launches, user testing, research and development, privacy considerations, and a glimpse into the anticipated changes over the next decade.
Natalie Piucco, CTO from Google Cloud was another crowd favourite session, discussing her extensive experience with Google. Natalie provided her insights on strategic vision, the introduction of Google AI tools, tips on building innovative teams, and her journey as the voice behind Australia's "Hello Google" campaign. The session was brimming with valuable knowledge and captivating visuals.
In their session, Dr. Samantha Horseman (Head of Innovation Labs, James Cook University), Dr. Kim Oosthuizen (Chief Innovation Officer, SAP), Brent Richards (Co-Founder, IntelliHQ), and Dr. Olivier Salvado (Lead, AI for Missions at CSIRO’s Data61) highlighted how AI has permeated virtually every industry, leading to significant disruptions across the board. Their insights shed light on the transformative impact of disruptive technologies on entire industries, reaffirming the relevance of AI in today's world.
Thank you to all the incredible experts that provided everyone with plenty of deep thinking and insights into current and future opportunities for AI.
Keep up with the latest AI new, programs, and upcoming events through the Qld AI Hub website.
