We celebrated International Women’s Day today by hosting Associate Professor Karen Blackmore, Deputy Head of School – Industry Engagement, School of Information and Physical Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia, who talked about artificial intelligence (AI) and automation and what they mean for every business. Thanks to the generosity of Exclusive Event Sponsor Newcastle Australia Institute of Higher Education, we held the event at Tower Club over breakfast.

Building on the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, which is “Embrace Equity”, Karen talked about the importance of getting more women into tech as there are too many men. Another reason why this would be a good idea is because women are interested in solving problems rather than creating the next machine. We are just at the beginning of the AI and automation revolution. There are already a large number of AI solutions in businesses. AI does and will displace jobs but Karen believes the technology will also create many new ones. She argued it is important to think about the skillsets required for these future jobs and how we modify current education systems and curricula to be more fit for purpose. We will have a higher chance of success if humans can work collaboratively with AI. Trust and confidence in AI can be fostered with the right frameworks, regulations and, above all, the right kind of selfless, ethical leadership which is so often is short supply in our world. The good news is Karen is an optimist and believes human beings will attain the right leadership qualities and skills. Let’s hope she is right. Let’s also hope technology will continue to enhance human intelligence but never replace humans. It is up to us.

Many thanks, once again, to Karen for her passion, for sharing her knowledge and to our audience for contributing to a useful conversation.

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