Shaping the future of our digital world
Artificial intelligence, machine learning and data are changing the world but it’s vital to keep humanity in technology. So, Professor Genevieve Bell is creating a new branch of engineering.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning and data are changing the world. But there’s still so much we don’t know about them. That’s why Professor Genevieve Bell is creating an entirely new branch of engineering – to help us understand and manage these emerging technologies and their unprecedented impact on humanity.
“Devastatingly simple, ridiculously ambitious” is how she describes her mission.
Genevieve is an anthropologist, technologist and futurist who works at the intersection of cultural practice and technology. She’s the Director of the Australian National University’s new School of Cybernetics, and she co-founded the University’s 3A Institute, which has set out to create a new field of engineering focussed on cyber-physical systems and AI.
"We are moving into a world where the possibility of things being genuinely artificially intelligent is real … But there’s no one actually saying, ‘we need to build a whole new branch of engineering to accommodate this."
Genevieve and her team want to build the skills and knowledge needed to help shape a safe, sustainable and responsible future in a world of self-driving cars, drones and deep space exploration. They’re asking big questions and facilitating new ways of thinking.
What will this new type of engineering be called? Genevieve doesn’t yet know. But she knows it’s vital for a future that keeps humanity in technology. And she’s bringing in voices and insights from a diverse range of sources – including Australia’s First Nations people.
Genevieve’s ground-breaking work is helping to define the new AI-driven frontier, and cementing Australia’s position as a global leader in artificial intelligence.
Watch the video above to learn more about how Professor Genevieve Bell is creating a new academic discipline to help the world navigate our digital, data-driven future.
