Podcast
AI Australia Podcast
Hosted by Mantel · EN
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we work, live, and lead. But what does that mean for Australian businesses? The AI Australia Podcast, hosted by Emma Bromet and Kathryn Collier, is your essential guide to understanding the AI revolution and its impact on Australian businesses. We cut through the jargon to bring you practical discussions and expert interviews on how AI is affecting everything from enterprise strategy to daily life, with a focus on ethical and responsible AI, diversity and inclusion, and AI-at-scale. The AI Australia Podcast is proudly hosted by Mantel, a next-gen consultancy that blends brilliant thinkers with expert engineers, transforming businesses through data, digital, cyber security, and cloud expertise.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 9
Nov 24, 2023Tap to summarizeThis week in AI has been a week like no other - join Natalie & Kobi to mull over the back and forth at OpenAI over the last week as we delve into what happened and what might it all mean. We are saddened about the departure of all the women on the OpenAI board, but wonder if the previous academic-focussed board had found themselves out of their depth as the value of the company grew. We are more than a little curious about the eventual movie that will no doubt be made about this highly dramatic saga! We also talk about the importance of governance around not just data but AI, including processes & accountability rather than just technical aspects. No links this week because there is not enough space on the internet to link to all of the articles covering the happenings of this last week.
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AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 7
Oct 26, 2023Tap to summarizeWe're back! After a brief hiatus, Natalie and Kobi talk about some of the recent developments around the legal world with union agreements and lawsuits due to set some initial precedents in different areas. They talk about the Hollywood Writers strike and the agreement that was reached including use of AI, as well as covering some of the legal action in progress at the moment around IP ownership, copyright and the updated Privacy Act recommendations. They also touch on the right to be forgotten, and the difficulty applying that within vast training data sets. Natalie attended the Aotearoa NZ AI Summit, and covers some of the guardrails & principles that were discussed. Kobi talked about globally the guardrails and principles that will come out of the UN. She also shared a story about Studio Ghibli's director, Hayao Miyazaki's reaction to unthoughtful use of AI in his company. Links: Anna Johnston summarises the Privacy Act proposals on Salinger Privacy Hayao Miyazaki on the use of AI
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AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 6
Jul 11, 2023Tap to summarizeThis week in AI, Natalie and Kobi talk about the global progress on the regulation conversation, and the potential for a global governing body for AI. They talk about the EU AI Act which has passed another major milestone, and hypothesise about the impact of commercial interests on the effectiveness of that. There was also a senate hearing in the US that Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Gary Marcus (NYU) attended, where they proposed a collaborative international body bringing together academics and the public rather than just corporate/tech interests. President Biden has also announced a task force investigating the impact of social media on young people. Kobi wonders if some of these things might be a distraction from some of the most important issues, like climate change and the impact of these models and equipment on the environment. Meta have declared that generative AI is already dead as they go all in on the next generation of AI that is better able to take logic and reasoning into account; however Meredith Whitaker (Signal) has said that while the "godfathers of AI" talk about x-risk (existential risk), they are not talking about a-harms (actual harms), which conveniently means they don't have to take immediate mitigating actions. Links: EU AI Act Explained Yann LeCun of Meta declares generative AI already obsolete Meredith Whittaker on AI Panic in Slate
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AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 5
May 17, 2023Tap to summarizeThis week in AI, Natalie and Kobi tackle some hefty potential societal impacts. They talk about the strange proposition of a young woman "cloning" herself via chatGPT to outsource her "girlfriend experience"; to celebrated American science fiction writer Ted Chiang writing about whether AI is set to become something of a consultant or third party for problem solving; to ex-DeepMind co-founder Moustafa Suleyman calling on governments to find solutions for people who lose their jobs to AI, and the links between all of these activities. Links: https://fortune.com/2023/05/09/snapchat-influencer-launches-carynai-virtual-girlfriend-bot-openai-gpt4/ https://www.newyorker.com/science/allans-of-artificial-intelligence/will-ai-become-the-new-mckinsey https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-28/stage-three-tax-cuts-to-scale/102268304 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/29/fully-automated-luxury-communism-aaron-bastani-review https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/give-us-fully-automated-luxury-communism/592099/
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AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 4
Apr 19, 2023Tap to summarizeThere have been several noteworthy developments in the world of AI this week, and in today's episode, we share our take on the good, the bad, and the WTF. We start off by discussing exciting developments at The Human Technology Institute and how their new project, The Future of AI Regulation in Australia, aims to help laws and regulations catch up with language learning models like ChatGPT. Next, we reflect on the tragic news of the first death directly linked to a chatbot, how little the public truly understands about these technologies, and what can be done to minimize these types of risks in future. Our conversation then delves into the proposed moratorium to halt the development of more sophisticated versions of ChatGPT and key concerns that are being raised around this topic. We also spend some time unpacking the problematic source behind this petition, namely, The Future of Life Institute, before discussing what experts like Emily M. Bender And Gary Marcus have to say about the topic. To learn more about this week in AI, including our top takeaways, be sure to tune in today! Key Points From This Episode: The Human Technology Institute's new project: The Future of AI Regulation in Australia. Reflections on the first tragic death directly linked to a chatbot. Our thoughts on the petition for a moratorium to halt the development of more sophisticated versions of ChatGPT. The problematic elements of the proposed moratorium, including its lack of boundaries and guardrails. A reminder of the controversial origins of the Future of Life Institute and why the fact that they are funding this petition should act as a warning sign. An overview of the discourse around this topic and our key takeaways. Why laws and regulations have failed to keep pace with the language learning models like ChatGPT. How the Human Technology Institute's new project aims to improve regulation, ensure more equitable distribution of wealth, and minimize the potential harm of these technologies. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: 'Man ends his life after an AI chatbot 'encouraged' him to sacrifice himself to stop climate change' 'The first known chatbot associated death' 'Elon Musk Signs Open Letter Urging AI Labs to Pump the Brakes' 'The Future of AI Regulation in Australia' Ed Santow on LinkedIn University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Human Technology Institute (HTI) Emily M. Bender Emily M. Bender on LinkedIn Emily M. Bender on Medium 'On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?' 'Policy makers: Please don't fall for the distractions of #AIhype' The Future of Life Institute Natalie Rouse on LinkedIn Dr Kobi Leins Dr Kobi Leins on LinkedIn Dr Kobi Leins on Twitter Eliiza
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AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 3
Mar 10, 2023Tap to summarizeWe begin this week's discussion on all things AI and its developments over the past few days by talking about love and war. We chat about the Bing chatbot that declared its love for a New York Times reporter as well as concerns over the ease with which these systems can be turned hostile and spread harmful misinformation. This leads to a discussion on liability, governance, and how to hold companies responsible for the harm caused by their AI or algorithms. We also talk about language and how this may impact diversity and inclusion. Our hosts share their thoughts on the importance of being aware of the limitations of AI and keeping in mind that it functions as a mirror without an understanding that not everything online has equal weighting. Tune in to hear all of this as well as the developments we hope to see in AI in the near future. Key Points From This Episode: The changes we've seen in AI in the past few days. Thoughts on the New York Times article about a chatbot that declared its love for a reporter. Concerns over getting these systems to spread misinformation or turning them hostile. Questions on liability and holding companies responsible for the harm caused by their AI or algorithms. Coming back to the problem statement and questioning why you are using the services of a chatbot in the first place. Thoughts on language and how this will impact diversity and inclusion. The hype and how it creates market fluctuations. The importance of being aware of the limitations of AI. Developments our hosts hope to see in AI in the near future. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web Two frightening things before breakfast Amazing "Jailbreak" Bypasses ChatGPT's Ethics Safeguards - Futurism.com AI Search Is a disaster As AI race heats up, let's pause and ask: "ChatGPT is the answer to what problem?" Why the Tesla Recall Matters Getty Images Sues AI Art Generator Stable Diffusion for Copying Millions of Its Photos Natalie Rouse on LinkedIn Dr Kobi Leins Dr Kobi Leins on LinkedIn Dr Kobi Leins on Twitter Eliiza
Transcribe →AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 2
Feb 16, 2023Tap to summarizeAs we continue our discussion on everything that has happened in the world of AI in the past week, we begin today's episode with what the public is currently saying about ChatGPT-3 and Google's new alternative, Bard. The recent circumvention of ChatGPT's ethics guardrails has sent shockwaves through the industry, and we talk about why academics are worried about AI chatbots as well as other general concerns about the technology. Then, we dive into the "why" of AI, paying particular attention to who decides what we want from AI and whether the current state of AI is valuable to society. The absence of accountability is a major problem in AI governance and we explore the lack of thought in the long-term implications of AI, as well as how the Australian and New Zealand governments compare in their AI protocols. At the end of the day, countries should be working together to provide a universal framework of ethics in AI, but is this possible with so many different cultures to accommodate? To find out the answer, and to gain insight into Kobi's exciting, new collaboration, tune in now! Key Points From This Episode: Discussing the current conversations around ChatGPT-3 and Google's new alternative, Bard. Reiterating the fears of being able to circumvent ChatGPT's ethics guardrails. Why academics are worried about AI chatbots and other concerns about the technology. Exploring the 'why' of AI: Who decides what we want from AI, and is it valuable to us? The lack of thought on the long-term and societal impacts of AI, and the absence of accountability. Outcomes of the Robodebt trial and the thin lines between fear, ignorance, and negligence. How the Australian and New Zealand governments compare in AI law. The need for a framework of principles that can be used to critique governmental decisions. Why countries should work together in creating a universal framework of ethics in AI. The difficulty of creating global systems of compliance within multiple different cultures. An exciting collaboration that Kobi is working on, and why "ego" and "power" threaten this work. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: 'An important next step in our AI journey' 'EU, US step up AI cooperation amid policy crunchtime' 'Amazing "jailbreak" bypasses ChatGPT's ethics safeguards' 'Now is the moment for a systemic reset of AI and technology governance' 'Who decides what conversations are allowed about artificial intelligence?' 'What is the law when AI makes the 'decisions'?' 'Whose doing was it?: what we've learned from the Robodebt Royal Commission' 'Government algorithm transparency and accountability' Sociotechnical Imaginaries Natalie Rouse on LinkedIn Dr. Kobi Leins Dr. Kobi Leins on LinkedIn Dr. Kobi Leins on Twitter AI Australia Podcast Eliiza
Transcribe →AI Australia Presents This Week in AI Vol 1
Feb 7, 2023Tap to summarizeThe AI space is complicated and there are so many questions that we don't have the answers to. Although it may seem like ChatGPT-3 does in fact have all the answers, in this week's episode, Natalie and Kobi explain why this is a potentially dangerous assumption. Although it presents enormous opportunities for societal progress, ChatGPT-3 also has the ability to be used as a form of weaponry, and we need to be careful about using it as a tool for learning. Then there are the issues of exploitation and environmental consequences that don't make the headlines, and the fact that we could be moving towards a world where humans are made redundant, and none of us want that, do we? Key Points From This Episode: The pros and cons of using ChatGPT in school classrooms. Why ChatGPT is viewed as a form of weaponry by some people. The opportunity that ChatGPT presents society as a whole. Exploitation happening behind the scenes at ChatGPT. Why Amazon has asked its staff to stop using ChatGPT. The environmental impacts of tools like ChatGPT. Information that has recently come to light that is a setback for automated vehicles. NIST's new AI risk management framework. Complexities of reviewing a tool like ChatGPT. The importance of having set standards in place in the AI space. Real world circumstances that are played out in the movie M3GAN. Exploring what our purpose as humans is. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: ChatGPT SlidesGPT 'The $2 Per Hour Workers Who Made ChatGPT Safer' 'The Exploited Labor Behind Artificial Intelligence' 'Tesla Video Promoting Self-Driving was Staged' 'This Song Sucks' 'Amazon Warns Employees Not to Share Confidential Information with ChatGPT' 'RoadMap for the NIST Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework' M3GAN Official Trailer 2 'Now Is the Moment for a Systemic Reset of AI and Technology Governance' Proposal for Regulation Natalie Rouse on LinkedIn Dr Kobi Leins Dr Kobi Leins on LinkedIn Dr Kobi Leins on Twitter Eliiza
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