Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant possibility; it is reshaping our economy, our security, our workplaces, and our democracy in real time.
In this talk, Toby Walsh examines the rapid rise of AI. He will explore both the extraordinary opportunities and the significant risks posed by increasingly powerful intelligent systems. As governments race to harness AI’s economic potential while grappling with its societal consequences, critical questions demand answers: How do we ensure AI systems are safe and trustworthy? What policies are needed to protect jobs, privacy, and democratic institutions? Will AI bring boom? Or doom?
Toby Walsh is one of the world’s leading researchers in artificial intelligence. He is Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW Sydney and Chief Scientist at UNSW’s AI Institute. His work explores the foundations and implications of AI, from automated reasoning and machine learning to the ethical and societal impacts of intelligent systems. Walsh has advised governments, industry, and international organizations on the safe and ethical development of artificial intelligence. He is the author of several books on AI for a general audience, including 2062: The World that AI Made (La Trobe University Press, 2018) and Machines Behaving Badly (La Trobe University Press, 2022), which examines how AI is reshaping work, democracy, security, and daily life. He recently published his latest book, The Shortest History of AI (The Experiment, 2025).
The lecture will be moderated by Hannes Werthner (TU Wien).
