What's Really Going On In AI And Robotics And What To Believe

Talks on Tuesdays: Real lectures in your favourite venues. 45-min + Q&A with Michael Milford Talks on Tuesdays is a live event series bringing big ideas, real experts, and curious minds together - at your favourite local venues. Think thought-provoking lectures, audience questions, and post-talk mingling over drinks and dinner. This isn’t a uni lecture. It’s a social, intelligent night out.Come alone or with friends, leave with something to talk about. Event Schedule: 6.30pm Arrival & Doors Open 7pm Lecture Starts 7.45pm Q&A 8pm Talk Concludes 8.30pm Event Closes. *Please arrive close to 6.30pm A La Carte menu and full bar available throughout the night - pay as you go. Your Topic: The story of the world-changing AI and technology revolution we're living through is one that is more about humans, than the technology itself. It is the people and the culture of research, startups and tech companies that have shaped this pivotal time in human history. I have had the unique opportunity to work with and interact with this community and its people, more closely than most. In this talk I want to share those human experiences, built up over 20 years, along with key insights around what makes these people tick and some of the upsides and downsides of their incredible talent or ambition. I hope to explain a little of why we are in the situation we're in, why it's both good and bad, and some thoughts for how we can navigate towards a beneficially tech-filled future society, rather than a dystopian one. Your Speaker: Michael conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of robotics, neuroscience, computer vision and machine learning. From 2022–2027, he is leading a major research program developing bio-inspired and AI-based alternatives to GPS that do not rely on satellites. His team has developed patented, award-winning autonomous navigation technology with companies including Ford and Caterpillar, and has collaborated with or been funded by organizations such as Amazon, Intel and Google DeepMind. Michael is a passionate and prolific science and technology communicator and is regularly seen giving talks or advising various organisations around new technologies. He is Director of the QUT Centre for Robotics, an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and one of only three Australians to become a Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow. In 2025, he received the Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Researchers.