AI Uncovered

Are you ready for a candid, no-holds-barred conversation about AI? Whether you're an artist or scientist, business leader or social activist, AI is quietly reshaping your world - often in ways you'd never expect.

"AI Uncovered" is a high-octane panel discussion where we strip away the mystique surrounding Artificial Intelligence and lay bare its profound impacts on industry, arts, sciences, and society at large. From the changes lurking in the wings to the seismic shifts happening right now, nothing is off the table.

Our panelists? A power-packed lineup of industry luminaries who are spearheading the AI revolution. They're ready to pull back the curtain and share their insights, but here's the kicker - they're also ready for a grilling.

This is your chance to challenge the status quo. We want fiery questions, tough debates, and relentless curiosity. This is not a spectator sport; it's a collective journey into the heart of AI's brave new world. And yes, it applies to you - whether you're wielding a paintbrush, a spreadsheet, a Bunsen burner, or a protest banner.

### Our Panellists

​Samantha Floreani (she/they)
​Samantha Floreani is a digital rights activist and writer based in Naarm. They advocate for a liberatory digital future in which everyone can thrive. Sam has a background in politics and data science and is currently the Program Lead at Digital Rights Watch where they campaign for privacy law reform, online safety for marginalised groups, and resistance of surveillance technologies.

​Surya Avala (he/him)
​Surya Avala is a passionate Machine Learning Engineer who has had the opportunity to delve into various subdomains of AI, including computer vision, natural language processing, recommender systems, and time series forecasting. With a strong passion for AI (tech in general), experienced in all stages of ML development, dedicated to solving complex problems and driven by the desire to understand the broader implications of AI, Surya explores the human and social impacts of AI, contemplating its effects on society, consciousness, and intelligence.

​Lucas Sargent (he/him)
​Lucas has been working as an AI engineer consultant for 6 years, helping take AI into production across some of Australia's largest companies, including Telstra, ANZ, Coles and Transurban. Primarily working with CV and tabular models, Lucas remains generally pessimistic of LLMs. Regardless, he supports more discourse about the medium-term socioeconomic impacts of AI and hopes to see more effective regulation in this space.

​Brendan Wilkinolls (he/him)
​Brendan has been working in the ML field for close to a decade, having started his career in Optometry and Neuroanatomy - he made a pivot into Computer Vision research before becoming an ML consultant. He is now Head of ML Engineering at Eliiza, and Head of Advanced Analytics at Data @ Mantel Group. He's lucky enough to touch a lot of what's evolving in the industry currently but has a strong focus on trying to make Responsible & Explainable AI the #1 priority.

### Agenda

18:00 - 18:30 - Arrival and networking
18:30 - 20:00 - Panel discussion and audience questions
20:00 - 21:00 - Networking
*Timings subject to change