Beyond the buzz: What can we really expect from a future with AI?

A future powered by artificial intelligence (AI) promises endless possibilities. But what will this reality really look like?   

Join leading Curtin researchers from across the disciplines – including Professor Patrick Dunlop, Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt, Dr Susannah Soon, Associate Professor Kok-Sing Tang and Associate Professor Nik Thompson – as they delve beyond the buzz and share insights into how they’re putting AI into action ethically, responsibly and impactfully. 

The panel will be moderated by Curtin’s Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Gretchen Benedix.

Don’t miss the exciting opportunity to engage with our experts and better understand how AI will shape our world.   

If you can’t make it in person, you can join us online. Please note a link to stream the event will be sent to you via email closer to the date.  

Speakers:

• Professor Patrick Dunlop (Future of Work Institute) 

• Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt (Curtin Institute for Data Science) 

• Dr Susannah Soon (School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences) 

• Associate Professor Kok-Sing Tang (School of Education) 

• Associate Professor Nik Thompson (School of Management and Marketing) 

Presenters & Panellists

Professor Patrick Dunlop

Professor Patrick Dunlop is an organisational psychology researcher in the Future of Work Institute at Curtin University. He specialises in personnel recruitment, assessment, and selection, conducting research on designing and implementing fair and accurate assessments of job candidates and how new technological developments affects recruitment and selection processes.

Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt

Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt is a trailblazing radio astronomer at the intersection of astrophysics, computer science, and big data. As Director of the Curtin Institute for Data Science and the Australian Space Data Analysis Facility, she leads a dynamic, multidisciplinary team of data scientists and software developers that partners with SMEs and researchers to solve cutting-edge, industry-relevant challenges using machine learning, AI, and high performance computing.

Associate Professor Kok-Sing Tang

Kok-Sing Tang is Director of Graduate Research and Associate Professor in the School of Education at Curtin University. He holds a BA and MSc in Physics from the University of Cambridge and a MA and PhD in Education from the University of Michigan. His research examines the role of language, discourse, and multimodality in science education, and more recently in artificial intelligence.

He is also the co-editor-in-chief of the prestigious journal Research in Science Education (RISE). In 2024, he received the Humanities Teaching Excellence Award for HDR supervision and the Humanities Research Excellence Award for his research impact on generative AI in education.

Associate Professor Nik Thompson

Associate Professor Nik Thompson leads the Discipline of Business Information Systems and the Business AI Research Group (BARG) in the Faculty of Business and Law. He is a Senior Certified Professional of the Australian Computer Society and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He specialises in Human-Computer Interaction, conducting both technical and behavioural studies in areas including cybersecurity and AI.

Dr Susannah Soon

Dr Susannah Soon is a computer scientist at the School of Electrical Engineering, Computing, and Mathematical Sciences. She holds a PhD in AI from the University of Melbourne.

Susannah focuses on demand-driven research and is interested in product development and the application of AI, human-centred computing, and user experience. She has led projects in digital health, social impact and community, sustainability and energy, and defence.

Susannah is the Academic Lead of the Healthy Connections project helping to improve health equity in the Pilbara. Susannah works closely with industry partners Optus and Cisco.

Master of Ceremonies (MC) & Panel Moderator

Professor Gretchen Benedix

Professor Gretchen Benedix is the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research at Curtin University. She is a cosmic mineralogist and astro-geologist in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, using the chemistry, mineralogy, spectroscopy, and petrology of meteorites to understand the formation and evolution of asteroids and other planets.