With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the media is abound with doom and gloom stories and predications.
From mass job displacement to surveillance capitalism and the existential risk of artificial general intelligence, it is understandable that many people harbour fears for our AI-enabled future. For example, a recent Ipsos survey revealed that products and services using AI make 69% of Australian respondents nervous.
Meanwhile, fears are met with excitement and hope. Silicon Valley executives (among others) present an overwhelmingly optimistic outlook of the revolutionary impact of AI on industries, human productivity, and innovation. And the rapid uptake of generative AI tools, such as Chat-GPT, has given people first-hand experience of the transformative potential of emerging technologies.
Over the coming decades, AI is expected to augment human capabilities and shape many facets of our professional and personal lives. Past technological revolutions have done the same. Importantly, we may also intentionally employ AI to protect and expand the common good. This comes down to how we harness its potential.
How might artificial intelligence be used to solve global challenges and safeguard our collective future?
This Folio Conversation with Lawrence Kusz will explore the role of AI and technological innovation in helping us solve the big issues of our times. We'll delve into real-world applications of AI, its capabilities and limitations, and the many issues arising at the intersection of technology and social impact.
This event is part of a collection of events and curated content on the theme, 'AI Futures'. This theme explores the risks, challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence and how it is shaping our present and may shape our future(s).
Conversation Leader - Lawrence Kusz
Lawrence is the CEO and Founder of Chatstat, an award-winning social enterprise on a mission to make the online world safer, especially for young people. Lawrence’s inspiration for Chatstat is rooted in a personal story — when his niece went through the distressing experience of online bullying and harassment, he saw how deeply it affected her. This spurred him to use his tech skills to do something about it, building a platform that can identify harmful online behaviours early to safeguard youth mental health.
With Chatstat, Lawrence and his team have created an AI-powered tool that empowers parents, schools, and mental health workers stay in the loop about online interactions. Unlike traditional monitoring tools, Chatstat's approach relies exclusively on publicly available social media content. This non-intrusive method respects privacy and eliminates the need for invasive apps on children's devices, while providing real-time alerts on risks like cyberbullying, self-harm and inappropriate content. Lawrence is passionate about making sure that the platform doesn’t just work well, but also respects everyone involved and keeps user privacy front and centre.
In 2024, Chatstat won Social Traders' National Social Enterprise Pioneer Award in recognition of their innovation and social impact to date. Since March 2021, Chatstat's AI-driven system has already safeguarded over 28,000 young people and the team is leveraging the latest advances in AI to enhance its detection capabilities and collaborating with leading social media safety consultants to ensure that its algorithms are constantly refined and relevant.
Conversation Facilitator - John Hibble
John is a facilitator based in Naarm on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country. For more than a decade, John has worked in the field of organizational and systems transformation, and cross-sector collaboration, here and in Canada.
John’s education was in Computer Systems Engineering where he remembers learning about AI, Machine Learning and Genetic Algorithms when it all seemed very theoretical. He has eagerly followed the proliferation of AI models and technologies over the past year in particular and is excited about the possibilities it holds for many fields.
Event Format
Online Folio Conversations are not like your normal webinar or panel discussion.
We bring Folio members and guests — from different sectors, disciplines, occupations, and backgrounds — into connected conversation with leading thinkers and doers from Australia and abroad.
We prioritise interactive dialogue between our Conversation Leader and all attendees. We follow the Chatham House Rule to promote open, honest, and inclusive dialogue.
Folio Conversations are an open invitation to better understand the issues, each other, and the world around us. We encourage all attendees to bring their curiosity and actively listen and share their perspectives and experiences.
