While We Still Can: The AI Revolution and Our Last Chance to Steer the Future
Artificial intelligence is advancing at extraordinary speed. It may bring real benefits, from scientific discovery to better public services, but it also brings deep uncertainty about where it is leading, who will control it, and whether our institutions can keep up. As AI moves from the margins to the centre of public life, the stakes are no longer just technical. They are civic, political, and human.
While We Still Can is a public presentation and discussion about the AI revolution and the brief window we may still have to steer its course. For a civic-minded, non-technical audience, it asks: What has fundamentally changed in AI? How quickly are these systems becoming more capable? What happens when they begin to outpace our institutions, our labour markets, and democratic control? And if the most powerful systems are being developed by a small number of firms and states, what would it take to bring them under real public oversight?
Drawing on the case made by the international PauseAI movement, the talk will examine why many believe advanced AI development is moving too fast for societies to adapt safely, why Australia should take the risks of more powerful AI seriously, and why Australia could help lead the push for stronger international safeguards, including an international treaty to pause frontier AI development until robust safety and democratic oversight are in place. This is not a technical lecture, but an invitation to step back, get your head around what is happening, and consider what the public interest requires before today’s choices harden into tomorrow’s reality.
The presentation will be followed by discussion and Q&A.
The event is presented by PauseAI Melbourne and will be held at Melbourne's Multicultural Hub.
The venue is wheelchair accessible.