Our future with AI:
From science fiction to social fiction
The Social Innovation Conference 2023
October 16th - November 16th
Brought to you by
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SICON2023 is back with Our future with AI: From science fiction to social fiction.
The Social Innovation Conference, or SICON, is about celebrating and showcasing social innovations that are making a difference in Australia and around the world and exploring possibilities for future social innovations.
Rapid advances in AI present an opportunity to harness the power of technology to help solve a wide range of real-world problems and improve social outcomes. However, advances in AI also pose threats that can have devastating impacts. As AI becomes increasingly entrenched in society, we must ask ourselves: How do we collectively design a world where AI is used for good?
SICON2023 will feature seminars (and webinars!) from renowned thought leaders between October 16th and
November 16th. The sessions will cover the impacts of AI across different areas of social outcomes such as health,
education, jobs and skills, amongst others.
The flagship event, 'AI and Poverty alleviation' will be an all-day event hosted at the National Museum of Australia on October 16th, timed with Anti-Poverty Week. Webinars will bring together international and national AI experts and changemakers harnessing AI to create social good. The conference will close with 'Creating Connections: closing session and networking event' at Café Stepping Stone on 16th November.
Join us in transcribing what is possible with AI for social good from the abstract into the tangible, from science fiction to social fiction!
SICON2023 events
Flagship event:
AI and Poverty alleviation
Rapid advances in AI present an opportunity to harness the power of technology to help solve a wide range of real-world problems and improve social outcomes. However, advances in AI also pose threats that can have devastating impacts.
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To kick off SICON2023, and timed with Anti-Poverty Week, we are bringing together renowned thought leaders to explore the impact of AI on poverty. In this full day Flagship event, we will seek to answer the question: How do we collectively design a world where AI is used to advance social good?
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Join us at the National Museum of Australia on October 16th from 9am to 4pm.
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Sessions
Welcome to Country and Opening Remarks
Panel session 1: Latest developments in AI and the threats and opportunities for social outcomes
Panel session 2: AI's potential impact on poverty
Panel session 3: Exploring a world of possibilities - AI and social innovation
Design Jam: How do we collectively design a world where AI is used for social good?
Webinar:
Democracy, AI and the Future of Work:
The Promise, The Pushback and The Shadows
As AI technologies proliferate across industries and sectors, they carry profound implications for the nature of work, especially within democratic systems. This webinar offers a comprehensive exploration of the transformative potentials presented by human-AI collaboration, the friction arising from resistance to AI adoption, and the challenges posed by AI subversion. Engage with national and international experts to understand the depth and breadth of AI's impact within democratic workspaces.
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Panelists: Chun-Yin San, Dr. Shamaruh Mirza, Shazeeb M Khairul Islam, Associate Professor Ahmed Imran, Nazia Ahmed (facilitator), and Shadab Parvez (facilitator)
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*This webinar has been POSTPONED due to unforeseen circumstances. We have not locked in a new date yet so stay tuned and hang tight!
Webinar
Generative AI and Education:
Leveraging generative AI to improve educational outcomes
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Generative AI has the potential to address some of the biggest challenges in education, from innovative teaching and learning practices to increasing support for students with additional support needs. But generative AI also has the potential to widen current education inequalities. Engage with Leon Furze, a leading expert on generative AI in education, to understand how generative AI can be leveraged to improve outcomes in the education sector.
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Join us on Thursday 16th November from 9:30am to 10:30am.
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Panelists: Leon Furze, Annie Brett (facilitator).
Creating Connections:
closing session and networking event
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Join us for one final night of transcribing what is possible with AI for social good at Café Stepping Stone Dickson. At this closing session and networking event brush elbows with renowned thought leaders and fellow AI changemakers. Listen to a panel discussion with Associate Professor Jenny Davis, the Deputy Director of ANU's Humanising Machine Intelligence Program, and Associate Professor Ahmed Imran, the research lead and Founder of the Research Cluster of Digital Inequality and Social Change at UC. And delight your taste buds with unique dishes from talented, culturally diverse women.
Thank you to our partners
Meet the panelists
Professor
Israr Qureshi
Director, Australian Social Cohesion: Exploring New Directions (ASCEND) at the ANU
Associate Professor
Ahmed Imran
Research lead and Founder of the Research Cluster of Digital Inequality and Social Change, UC
Associate Professor
Jenny Davis
Deputy Director of ANU’s Humanising Machine Learning Intelligence Program
Our AI and Poverty alleviation experts
André Diez de Aux
Senior Education Leader at CIT and international expert in Vocational Education and Training
Ben Gales
Chief Delivery Officer at Paul Ramsay Foundation and economist
Matt Noffs
CEO of the Noffs Foundation and co-founder of Street Universities
Nancy Chang
Executive Director, Strategy and Policy NSW Environment Protection Authority
Dr Shamaruh Mizra
Co-founder of SiTara’s Story and Senior Regulatory scientist at the Department of Health and Aged Care
Kylie Flament
CEO of the Social Enterprise Council of Australia NSW & ACT
Dr Shyam Barr
Education consultant, Coach, and Speaker, and Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences at Faculty of Education UC
Monica Kempster
Executive Branch Manager, ACT Government Data Analytics Centre
Chun-Yin San
General Manager, Strategy, Foresight & Futures at Thinkplace and Licensee of TedxCanberra
Nazia Ahmed
CEO and Founder of the Social Outcomes Lab, economist and social entrepreneur
Dr Jananie William
Senior Lecturer in Actuarial studies, Research Affiliate with the Global Institute of Women's leadership (ANU), and SOULAB consultant
Shadab Parvez
Social Innovation Development Consultant, and MD, Advisor & Mentor at Tradeshi
Our facilitators
Shazeeb M
Khairul Islam
Founder of YY Ventures, Co-founder of Impact Hub Dhaka, and Obama scholar
Leon Furze
Generative Artificial Intelligence education consultant and author, PhD candidate, Director at Young Change Agents, and Director at Reframing Autism
Annie Brett
Social Impact Officer at the Social Outcomes Lab
Kristina
Popova Livrinski
Social Impact Consultant at the Social Outcomes Lab
SICON2023 is supported by
