Toby Walsh

AI RESEARCHER

Sat. 05.11, 12:30-14:00
Location: Floor 0

Toby Walsh is one of the world’s leading experts in artificial intelligence (AI). He was named by the Australian newspaper as a “rock star” of the digital revolution, and included in the inaugural Knowledge Nation 100, the list of the 100 most important digital innovators in Australia. Professor Walsh’s research focuses on how computers can interact with humans to optimise decision-making for the common good. He is also a passionate advocate for limits to ensure AI is used to improve, not take, lives. In 2015, Professor Walsh was one of the people behind an open letter calling for a ban on autonomous weapons or ‘killer robots’ that was signed by more than 3000 AI researchers and high profile scientists, entrepreneurs and intellectuals, including Stephen Hawking, Noam Chomsky, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and Tesla founder Elon Musk. He was subsequently invited by Human Rights Watch to talk at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva. Professor Walsh is a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science and of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and was recently awarded the 2016 NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Engineering and Information and Communications Technologies.