Abstract:

Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic of the day. Governments and industries around the world are rushing to invest in AI with the promise that it will offer competitive market advantages as well as help solve some of the world’s greatest challenges. But what is Australia’s standing in the AI ecosystem? In this talk, I will review Australia’s place in the AI world, celebrate some of our AI successes and discuss some of the new initiatives looking to increase the visibility of Australian AI on the global stage.

Bio:

Jon Whittle is Director of CSIRO's Data61, the digital and data sciences arm of Australia's national science agency. With over 800 staff and affiliates, Data61 is one of the largest collections of R&D expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in the world. Data61 partners with over 200 industry and government organisations, over 30 Universities, and works across vertical sectors in manufacturing, agriculture, and the environment. Prior to joining Data61, Jon was Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University, the largest university in Australia. He was named CEO Magazine's 2019 Education Executive of the Year. Jon is also a former Technical Area Lead at NASA, where he worked on AI software for NASA space missions. Jon has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh, UK.

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