On Day 2 of the Tech in Gov 2024 conference in Canberra, held July 23 and 24, I was the moderator of a panel of the emerging tech opporunities AI presents for governments and businesses. Below you’ll see the full video, and a summary of what was discussed, so please watch, and read on!

Tech in Gov is an annual conference in Canberra, the capital of Australia, looking at the latest technologies that governments, their departments, ministers and workers can use to do a better job of communicating, protecting Australia, offering better products and services to citizens, and much more.

This panel is all about the emerging tech opportunities AI presents for governments and businesses. The full video is below, after which is an AI-generated summary of the discussion, so please watch and read on!

Here is the summary of what was discussed:

1. Introduction and Panelists

Alex Zaharov-Reutt introduces himself and the panelists, Dr. Nataliya Ilyushina and Dr. Lisa Dethridge, both from RMIT University, and outlines the session’s focus on AI and emerging tech opportunities for government and business.

2. AI and Automation Fears

Dr. Nataliya Ilyushina discusses the fears surrounding AI and automation, attributing them to a lack of understanding and digital literacy. She emphasizes that AI can only automate tasks, not entire occupations.

3. AI Implementation in Business

Discussion on how businesses and governments are implementing AI, with a focus on the slow adoption rate in Australia due to lack of legislative framework and infrastructure.

4. AI as a Colleague

Dr. Nataliya Ilyushina views AI as a colleague that complements employees and business processes. She suggests that AI should be integrated thoughtfully, similar to how a new graduate is onboarded.

5. Training AI and Humans

Dr. Lisa Dethridge shares her experience in training AI and AI trainers, comparing it to dog training and highlighting the subjective nature of the training process.

6. Opportunities for AI in Business

Discussion on the emerging opportunities for AI in business, emphasizing the need for businesses to reassess their goals and adopt a decentralized approach to AI integration.

7. Global CrowdStrike Outage

Discussion on the recent CrowdStrike outage and its impact, with a focus on the need for more resilient and fault-tolerant tech infrastructure.

8. Digital Literacy and Infrastructure

Emphasis on the importance of digital literacy and infrastructure, comparing its importance to roads and electricity supply.

9. Final Thoughts

Dr. Lisa Dethridge and Dr. Nataliya Ilyushina share their final thoughts, encouraging businesses to get hands-on with AI and emphasising the need for government support in AI adoption.