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Ben Reid

AIFNZ Dunedin Connect Event Highlights

Last week, the AI Forum held our first Connect Eventin Dunedin with a packed house, kindly hosted by the Signal ICT Graduate School.

The event showcased AI-related research underway at the University of Otago, together with a presentation on techniques for introducing intelligent agents into gameplay from Rocketwerkz’ Amy Harman.

Researchers Prof James MacLaurin and Joy Liddicoat from the AI and Law in New Zealand Project and Centre of Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy shared some of their work with a highly engaged audience spanning community, university and tech sector.  This was followed by a fascinating presentation by Steven Mills on the use of deep learning techniques in the heritage sector,  for example, to read historical handwritten documents.

The speakers were joined by the AI Forum’s Ben Reid for a panel discussion facilitated by Prof Colin Gavaghan which kept going well into the evening!  Searching questions from the audience kept coming, covering the social, ethical and legal aspects of AI together with topics including the perceived dominance of Chinese and American AI companies, individual privacy in the age of AI and how to get started learning AI skills.

Thank you Otago for your warm welcome, it was a fantastic evening of stimulating discussion and connections.  Let’s do it again soon!

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Ben Reid I head up the AI Forum of New Zealand - working to harness the power of AI to help bring about a prosperous and inclusive future for New Zealand and the world. The AI Forum NZ brings together technology firms, businesses, universities and the government to connect, promote and advance the national AI ecosystem.