Toby Walsh: The AI Race: Boom or Doom?

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a distant possibility; it is reshaping our economy, our security, our workplaces, and our democracy in real time. In this talk, Professor Toby Walsh examines the rapid rise of AI. He will explore both the extraordinary opportunities and the significant risks posed by increasingly powerful intelligent systems. As governments race to harness AI’s economic potential while grappling with its societal consequences, critical questions demand answers: How do we ensure AI systems are safe and trustworthy? What policies are needed to protect jobs, privacy, and democratic institutions? Will AI bring boom? Or doom?

Toby Walsh is Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and CSIRO’s Data61. He is the winner of the prestigious Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science and was named on the international “Who’s Who in AI” list of influencers. He appears regularly on TV and radio, has been profiled by the New York Times and has authored five books on AI for a general audience, the most recent ones entitled “The Shortest History of AI” (2025) and “Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World“. He is a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science and was named by the newspaper The Australian as one of the “rock stars” of Australia’s digital revolution. He has won both the Humboldt Prize and the NSW Premier’s Prize for Excellence in Engineering and ICT. His Twitter account was voted in the top ten to follow to keep abreast of developments in AI.