Sydney-based Dr Catriona Wallace has earned her stripes as a global expert at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI). He is executive director of the Gradient Institute (Responsible AI) and adjunct professor at the Australian Graduate School of Management.
He is the CEO of Ethical AI Advisory, the Chair of Venture Capital fund Boab AI and he is the Founder of Flamingo AI, one of the first Artificial Intelligence companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, with headquarters in New York and Sydney. And he will release his book Checkmate Humanity: the how and why of Responsible AI.
For us at Women Love Tech, she speaks our language. She is passionate about encouraging women to pursue careers in STEM and leadership, and she has deep insight into the areas of gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
In a recent partnership with ServiceNow, the digital workflow company, Dr Wallace produced the report Australia’s Digital Gold Rush: the technological trends and cultural changes set to influence work and life in the next 10 years. The key trends (see below) outline the importance of embracing AI and how it will become increasingly intertwined with almost everything we do.
Here, we talk to Dr Wallace about his Digital Gold research on AI and workplace trends set to change our daily lives from how we work to how we sleep, ethical AI, human-machine teams, digital identity and how diverse perspectives will change the next decade.
By 2030, he predicts that AI-powered ‘robot’ colleagues will be an integral part of business teams, helping to combat skills shortages, as we undergo significant post-pandemic digital transformation.
Dr Wallace also strongly encourages women to consider a career in tech, particularly AI.
“We really need women at the table,” she said. “We need them at the table designing this technology. We need them at the table assessing the data sets, making sure women are properly represented. We need them tracking the outcomes, the harms and the unintended consequences of AI to make sure women aren’t hurt or discriminated against. This is a huge call to action for women to join the tech community because it’s an amazing career and it’s super cool, but we need you .
He also revealed how his future plan is to focus on the metaverse, or virtual worlds. This week, he launched The Responsible Metaverse Alliance (RMA) with Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello and other international who is a commentator of the metaverse. RMA’s role is to support ‘metaverse development, so that they can be managed responsibly from a design, deployment, safety, culture, integration, operations and functionality perspective’.
Dr Wallace firmly believes that the RMA’s goal of developing a framework to manage the currently unregulated world of the metaverse going forward is an achievable goal.
“I have high hopes,” he said. “I will still play in the Responsible AI field. In fact, I have a book launching on August 16th called Checkmate Humanity: the how and why of Responsible AI and with my co-authors – two other University of NSW professors – and we’re already looking at the Checkmate Humanity: the hows and whys of the Metaverse as the next book. So I’m definitely going to dedicate 150 percent of my time in Australia and around the world to the Responsible Metaverse Alliance, and we encourage people to come and join us.
“We launched the website today https://responsiblemetaverse.org/. This is something that we (Australia) can take the lead on, and build a responsible and safe place, but we will fight the tech giants to do that.
The main findings of Dr Catriona Wallace in Australia’s Digital Gold Rush Report
The report, which includes insights from meta-analysis, primary research, and interviews with business executives, highlights 2022 as a turning point for digital investments, where company spending on technology has increased by 65% compared to 20201, and advances in AI are making it cheaper. and more widely used. At the same time, the pandemic has changed how people think about and engage with technology, providing a catalyst to change the nation’s relationship with all things digital.
The report highlights four societal trends, including the emergence of ‘machine-mates’ (human-AI teams), the rise of hyper-personalization for both employees and consumers, the ethical considerations that will drive the AI-adoption, and the idea of issues. diversity, where businesses will be more proactive in managing employee conflict on some of the nation’s most divisive issues.
- The emergence of ‘machine mates’ (human-AI teams)
AI will move from tools to teammates, with a wide range of virtual assistants helping people complete daily tasks and jobs. Digital employees will be considered intelligent, valuable co-workers, and by 2025, machines will spend more time completing work than humans.
- Be yourself, know me and my digital identity: the rise of hyper-personalization for both employees and customers
The worker of 2030 will prioritize self-care, take ‘me time’ more often and have a side hustle that they openly discuss with their employer. Bosses are expected to know their staff better, value them more and help them find balance – and they’re going to use AI to do it.
- Ethical considerations will drive AI-adoption
The ethics of AI will move from an academic discussion to a business strategy. Employees and customers will choose to work with brands that demonstrate, not just about ethics, accessibility and fairness.
- Diversity of issues will redefine the success of the team
Employers will embrace a “divided, united we work” mentality. “Agree to disagree” will become the norm for social issues such as vaccination, climate change, pandemics and technology. Managers will need to focus on finding value in diverse perspectives.
Dr Catriona Wallace says each of these trends will be supported and enabled by the rapid development of AI: “In the next decade, AI will become more pervasive in life and work; in fact, we interact with it hundreds of times a day, including when we sleep.”
ServiceNow Chief Innovation Officer Dave Wright says embedding AI strategies within the workplace will be a priority for executives over the next 10 years: “How do organizations plan for and respond to This digital gold rush will make or break their future success. With only 16% of executives saying they have a clearly defined strategy for digital, and when the benefits from technology investments are increasing, the opportunity is clear.
The full report can be accessed here: The Digital Gold Rush in Australia