What we’re about
Welcome to GenAI in FinTech & EdTech Meetup!
This is the commuity where we discuss and share the latest Gen AI application industry trends, best practices, use cases, and regulatory considerations in FinTech & EdTech in Australia and globally.
Upcoming events
3
•OnlineDeploy Change Like You Would Deploy Code
OnlineWelcome to the 10th virtual event of the “Gen AI in FinTech & EdTech” meetup in 2025: “Deploy Change Like You Would Deploy Code”.
Gen AI in FinTech & EdTech is dedicated to discussing and sharing the latest trends, best practices, use cases, and regulatory considerations for Gen AI applications in FinTech and EdTech industries in Australia and globally.
Event Description:
If only interacting with humans was as easy as writing code. Although humans have more variables than systems, the same deployment discipline we use for code can be applied to change management. In this interactive session, we will show you how to deploy change that actually sticks, which becomes increasingly critical and in-demand in today fast moving AI-driven tech world.
Learning outcomes:
- The real barriers to change adoption. Spoiler alert, it’s not another PowerPoint presentation.
- How to align change practices with your software deployment cycles
- Testing and iterating change as you would test code.
- Speaking the languages of your stakeholders, translating between C-Suite priorities and end-user concerns.
Featured Speakers:
Valentina Lazarevska (guest speaker)
Valentina is a neuroscience informed change lead who balances human behaviour and commercial drivers to deliver meaningful change across complex organisations. Deploying evidence-based change methodologies, she takes pride in her ability to meet people where they are while successfully helping turn around projects and mobilising cross-functional teams to achieve project objectives. Balancing business objectives with a core focus on people, processes, and continuous improvement, she has successfully led the change stream on transformation programs across public, private and not-for-profit sectors while looking for new ways to add value and engage with others.
Recognised for her strong communication skills, she enjoys working in tandem with teams and stakeholders, understanding their perspectives and creating the space for them to engage, learn and adopt new ways of working with confidence. Partnering with executives, teams and end users to build trust, capability and understanding, she is skilled in demystifying technology and process changes. Grounded in neuroscience, this approach recognises people’s natural resistance to change while creating a space that delivers comfort and growth. Her unique approach consistently fosters engagement, strengthens capability and delivers enduring outcomes while bringing a human-centred perspective to change, ensuring solutions are practical, responsible and sustainable.
Kurt Yang (host)
Kurt is an experienced product leader, passionate about leveraging innovative digital technologies and lean product management methodology to help organisations and customers solve their problems effectively. Over the years, Kurt accumulated solid product management experience from companies like CBA, VMware, and Cashrewards.
Kurt also provides lean product management consulting to startups and product coaching to individuals through kurtyang.com, as well as AI consulting for SME organisations through PlusAI Solutions.
Agenda:
- Introduction
- Presentation
- Learnings and tips sharing
- Q&A
Where: Virtual (Google Meet link will be provided upon registration)
16 attendees
•OnlineThe Weaponisation of AI: The Industrialisation of Deception
OnlineWelcome to the 11th virtual event of the “Gen AI in FinTech & EdTech” meetup in 2025: “The Weaponisation of AI: The Industrialisation of Deception”.
Gen AI in FinTech & EdTech is dedicated to discussing and sharing the latest trends, best practices, use cases, and regulatory considerations for Gen AI applications in FinTech and EdTech industries in Australia and globally.
Event Description:
AI has become the most powerful force multiplier in human history. It’s boosting innovation, accelerating research, and reshaping entire economies. But there’s another side to it - AI has also been weaponised. The same tools that help us create are now being used to deceive at scale. Scammers are using generative AI to industrialise fraud, automate deception, and build global operations that run like legitimate businesses. In this session, Ollie unpacks how AI has enabled this shift, why scams have become an industry, and what it takes to flip the script, using AI itself to dismantle the scam economy.
Learning outcomes:
- How AI lowered the barrier to entry for fraud and enabled scalable deception.
- Why scams have evolved into industrialised business models with measurable ROI.
- The hidden economics of the trillion-dollar scam economy.
- How new AI systems can actively engage scammers to disrupt and expose their operations.
- What the future of trust and prevention looks like when AI is used for defence, not exploitation.
Featured Speakers:
Ollie Ryan (guest speaker)
Ollie is a commercial strategist and Growth Lead at Apate.ai, working at the intersection of AI and trust. He focuses on how technology can be used not just to build new industries, but to protect people from the ways it’s being weaponised. He brings experience across cybersecurity, data analytics, fintech, and startups, where he’s spent his career helping emerging technologies find real-world commercial footing. At Apate, he’s helping to turn AI into a tool for fairness by disrupting the business models of scammers and reducing the harm caused by digital deception.
Ollie believes AI has extraordinary potential to make the world fairer and safer, but only if we recognise how it’s being used to create the opposite. His work sits in that tension - turning the same technology that powers large-scale fraud into something that restores trust.
Kurt Yang (host)
Kurt is an experienced product leader, passionate about leveraging innovative digital technologies and lean product management methodology to help organisations and customers solve their problems effectively. Over the years, Kurt accumulated solid product management experience from companies like CBA, VMware, and Cashrewards.
Kurt also provides lean product management consulting to startups and product coaching to individuals through kurtyang.com, as well as AI consulting for SME organisations through PlusAI Solutions.
Agenda:
- Introduction
- Presentation
- Learnings and tips sharing
- Q&A
Where: Virtual (Google Meet link will be provided upon registration)
11 attendees
•OnlineBeyond the Ledger: Crafting a Human-like AI Accounting Assistant
OnlineWelcome to the 12th virtual event of the “Gen AI in FinTech & EdTech” meetup in 2025: “Beyond the Ledger: Crafting a Human-like AI Accounting Assistant”.
Gen AI in FinTech & EdTech is dedicated to discussing and sharing the latest trends, best practices, use cases, and regulatory considerations for Gen AI applications in FinTech and EdTech industries in Australia and globally.
Event Description:
This session dives into the art and science of building a personalized, human-like AI accounting assistant using Large Language Models (LLMs). We will move beyond basic automation to explore how to create an AI partner that truly understands the nuances of your business. This is a product-focused guide for anyone looking to leverage GenAI in serious, high-stakes environments.
Learning outcomes:
- The Three Layers of Understanding: A practical framework for teaching an AI to comprehend not just text, but also business context, professional roles, and human intent.
- Balancing Creativity and Control: Strategies for leveraging the powerful generative capabilities of LLMs in a formal, regulated field like accounting, ensuring both innovation and reliability.
- The Personalization Playbook: How to move from a generic LLM to a bespoke assistant that learns a company's unique financial landscape, workflows, and communication styles.
Featured Speakers:
Shawn Yang (guest speaker)
Shawn is a serial entrepreneur and seasoned product leader with over 12 years of experience at the intersection of technology and business strategy. His career has spanned management consulting, multiple startup ventures, and leading large-scale digital transformation at Ping An Insurance. Guided by a core product philosophy of focus, simplicity, and innovation, Shawn excels at translating complex business challenges into elegant and user-centric technology solutions. With an undergraduate degree from China and research experience in Australia, he brings a unique global perspective to building AI products that are not only intelligent but also deeply human-centered.
Kurt Yang (host)
Kurt is an experienced product leader, passionate about leveraging innovative digital technologies and lean product management methodology to help organisations and customers solve their problems effectively. Over the years, Kurt accumulated solid product management experience from companies like CBA, VMware, and Cashrewards.
Kurt also provides lean product management consulting to startups and product coaching to individuals through kurtyang.com, as well as AI consulting for SME organisations through PlusAI Solutions.
Agenda:
- Introduction
- Presentation
- Learnings and tips sharing
- Q&A
Where: Virtual (Google Meet link will be provided upon registration)
18 attendees
Past events
19
