Good evening, it’s great to be here at an event that sounds a lot like speed dating for techies!
I was 12 years old when the first Australian web server was created, so I don’t remember the first Australian website I visited.
But I do remember my first email account, which I set up while studying at RMIT. My first test email was to my dad because he was the only other person I knew who had an email account.
Tech has certainly changed how we live and interact with one another.
There’s an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry wishes he could leave messages on answering machines rather than talk to the people. I think we’ve all been there.
The answering machine was an example of how information could be exchanged without the need for immediate human interaction.
We can do a lot without ever physically seeing, or talking to, a human. Even our kids will sit next to each other while playing computer games but play like they are in separate rooms.
My point is that tech is now ingrained in our daily lives, but we must ensure humanity and humans remain at its heart.
I am a tech optimist. I don’t believe the Terminator will rise or that AI will kill us in 40 years.
Tech threats will be ever persistent, but we can meet these challenges if there is collective effort – beyond companies, governments and countries. It must be a collective human effort.
Predicting where tech will be in a year’s time, let alone in 40 years, is impossible. However, speculating is fun.
I look forward to the AFP creating the first police station on the moon. No doubt we will have to enter into a lease agreement with Elon. It will be interesting to navigate an IR framework for the first sentient robotic police officer. I wonder if it, too, will spend lots of time in the gym getting jacked. We joke that police love laws. I wonder what offences we will need on the books to lock up a rogue AI agent.
In all seriousness, the actions we take today will shape the next 40 years.
Closer relationships across industry and law enforcement will be critical. We need to prevent crime through product design, governance and technology controls, rather than relying solely on investigations and takedown requests after harm has occurred.
Through sustained collaboration, government and industry can co-design safer platforms, improve the detection and disruption of criminal activity, and ensure emerging technologies are deployed with appropriate safeguards and accountability.
The future looks bright, but we are at a crossroads. We need to get cracking because the clock is literally ticking.
