Ever wondered where one billion dollars a day in AI R&D is going and how these developments might soon reshape your workplaces and lives? Or what it actually takes to power those systems?  This session kicks off with a look behind the curtain at AI R&D, unearthing not just what’s being built, but what it demands from the world around it.

We’ll explore two different timelines:

• Now -2030: The next five years where AI agents improve and embed themselves in white-collar and industrial workflows
• 2030-2040: The timeframe in which many predict AI may outthink us altogether and work for some may be optional unless we design and regulate it differently

For HR and Talent Leaders, the real tension lies in the questions we’ll unpack: How do you redesign jobs when AI takes the “productivity” out of performance? What happens when hiring decisions are made by machines and who is keeping the bias in check? Is your organisation ready for “AI-native” roles, and do your people have the literacy to thrive in them? How do we ensure the right kind of impact on our people, workplaces and society?

You won’t leave with hype or headlines but a frank assessment of the work and opportunities ahead from Australia’s leading AI expert Dr Toby Walsh, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales.