OUR 21st CENTURY BRAIN
Date: Thursday, 2 November 2023, 9.00 am–5.30 pm AEDT
Venue: Government House Sydney (RSNSW member registration required) and live-streaming
Registration: Information to follow
Brochure: Full Program
Summary
The brain is our most complex organ. It underpins our basic instincts and needs and our behavioural responses to the world around us. Our brain mediates the compassion, reason, and imagination that are reflected in great works of the arts and sciences. Yet our brain is also the source of distress, dysfunction, and malice. Despite centuries of recurring impacts of tribalism, racism, dehumanisation, and exclusion of ‘outsiders’, we continue to inflict suffering on others.
At the same time, the 21st century brings new challenges that extend well beyond immediate threats to very complex societal challenges such as global security, climate change, massive demographic shifts, resource management, information overload, and artificial intelligence. Have we reached the edge of our human capacity to respond effectively as either individuals or collective groups?
The context and demands on our brains have been transformed by the very tools we have created, including new information technology platforms, and rapidly developing and deployed forms of artificial intelligence. Diseases of the brain are increasingly prevalent for our ageing population, as are the increasing mental health challenges evident across the lifespan.
Considerable progress across the sciences and humanities has deepened our understanding of genetic, environmental, and social factors that underpin brain development and function, yet the rising demands on our capacity to respond appropriately to globalised threats bring an urgent need for novel, just, and sustainable solutions.
This year’s Royal Society of New South Wales and Learned Academies Forum focuses on recent progress in unravelling the workings of the brain and opportunities to use our emerging understanding to promote human well-being well beyond the 21st Century.
The Forum is held under the auspices of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales. The Royal Society of New South Wales acknowledges the generous support by Her Excellency, the Academies, the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, and Haus Holdings.
PROGRAM: THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2023 (8.30 AM – 6.00 PM
| Time | |
| 08:30–08:45 | Registration and Guests seated |
| 08:45–10:00 | Official Opening Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC Governor of New South Wales |
| Welcome and Acknowledgements Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS President, Royal Society of New South Wales |
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| Keynote Presentations Moderator Scientia Professor George Paxinos AO DistFRSN FAA FASSA FAHMS NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow Neuroscience Research Australia and UNSW Sydney |
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| Speaker The enigmatic brain: from synapses to neural networks Professor Lucy Palmer Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellow Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health University of Melbourne |
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| Speaker via video Lessons from developmental and cognitive neuroscience Dr Joshua Gordon Director National Institute of Mental Health, USA |
SESSION I: THE DEVELOPING MIND
Moderator
Professor Penny Bergen
Head, School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and the Humanities
University of Wollongong
William Wordsworth, a British romantic poet, in 1802 used the expression, “The child is the father of the man.” Psychologists have borrowed the poetry to emphasize the outsized influence of early experiences. Speakers in this session will discuss our contemporary understanding of early life influences from - 9 months to 25 years on the anatomy and physiology of the brain and the development of human cognitive, emotional, and social capabilities.
| 10:00–11:15 | Professor Sharynne McLeod FRSN FASSA Professor Speech and Language Acquisition Charles Sturt University |
| Professor Anne Castles FRSN FASSA ARC Laureate Fellow Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy Australian Catholic University |
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| Professor Adam Guastella Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, Sydney Children's Hospital at Westmead, and The Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health University of Sydney |
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| Associate Professor Kate Highfield Discipline Lead for Early Childhood Education University of Canberra |
MORNING TEA SERVED ON THE VERANDAH (11:15–11:45)
SESSION II: THE BRAIN—SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
Moderator
Professor Phillipa Pattison AO FRSN FASSA
Emeritus Professor
University of Sydney and University of Melbourne
The human brain has evolved an extraordinarily efficient information storage and processing capacity, arguably in response to the increasing social complexity of human life but is also subject to more immediate environmental influences that are social, cultural and technological in character. In this session, we consider what we know of these influences and their individual and societal impacts, and what this means for human capability.
| 11:45–13:00 | Professor Jakelin Troy FASSA Director Indigenous Research University of Sydney |
| Professor Andrew Chanen Chief of Clinical Practice and Head of Personality Disorder Research, Orygen Professorial Fellow, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne |
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| Professor David Braddon-Mitchell FAHA Discipline of Philosophy, School of Humanities University of Sydney |
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| The Hon. Dr Andrew Leigh MP FASSA (by video) Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT |
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| Dr Jennifer Kent DECRA and Robinson Fellow, Urbanism Discipline Research Lead University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design, and Planning |
LUNCH SERVED ON THE VERANDAH (13:00–14:00)
SESSION III: THE BRAIN DISEASE BURDEN IN ADULTS
Moderator
Professor Anthony Cunningham AO FRSN FAHMS
Director, Centre for Virus Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research
Vaccine Theme Leader, Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute, University of Sydney
This session will consider two of the major syndromes affecting the brain in adult life, dementia and long COVID, each with physical, psychological, social and economic impacts for the patient, their families, carers, and society. Both have inadequate treatments. Today there are ~400,000 people with dementia in Australia, expected to double by 2060, and it is now the leading cause of death. Long COVID is a multisystem illness, including ‘brain fog, persisting for weeks or months following COVID infection, often in the mid-adult age group with comorbidities.
| 14:00–15:00 | Professor Glenda Halliday FAA FAHMS NHMRC Leadership Fellow School of Medical Sciences, Brain and Mind Centre University of Sydney |
| Professor Sharon Naismith Leonard P. Ullman Chair in Psychology and NHMRC Leadership Fellow University of Sydney |
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| Professor Andrew Lloyd NHMRC Practitioner Research Fellow, Kirby Institute UNSW Sydney |
SESSION IV: TURBOCHARGING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Moderator
Professor Ian Oppermann FRSN FTSE
New South Wales Government Chief Data Scientist and
Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney
It is argued that one of the major factors that drove the growth in size and complexity of our brains over millennia has been the need to deal with increasingly complex social environments, and increasingly intelligent other members of those social environments – an “arms race” of sorts driven by social interaction If instead of natural intelligence, we are faced with dealing with increased complexity from the interaction with Artificial Intelligence, what are the changes that we face as humans, and what implications does this have for the long-term development of the human brain?
| 15:00–16:00 | Professor Sally Cripps Director of Technology, Human Technology Institute, and Professor of Mathematics and Statistics University of Technology Sydney |
| Professor Lyria Bennett Moses Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Law and Justice, and Director of the UNSW Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation UNSW (Sydney) |
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| Ms Stela Solar Director, National AI Centre CSIRO |
SESSION V: RAPPORTEUR REMARKS—IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
This session aims to bring together the insights emerging from Sessions 1-IV and explore their implications for the future. We consider what actions are likely to be necessary, and what Governments and communities need from research and scholarship to take effective action.
| 16:00–17:00 | Professor Ian Hickie AM FRSN FASSA FAHMS NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, Professor of Psychiatry, and Co-Director, Health and Policy, Brain and Mind Centre University of Sydney |
REFRESHMENTS SERVED ON THE VERANDAH (17:00–18:00)
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Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW
Forthcoming Papers Accepted but not yet Published:
Deborah Beck.
The Governor's scrapbook.
Stephen Gaukroger.
Does science get the credit for too much?
Gus McLachlan and Andrew Condon.
Drones, smart munitions and cyberspace: 21st-century defence of Ukraine & implications for Australia.
Wilfrid Prest.
Review of The Search for Truth: History and Future of Universities by Max Bennett (2022).
James Renwick.
The Russia/Ukraine conflict — developments in war crimes.
These six papers will appear in the December 2023 issue.
ISSN (online): 2653-1305
Contents of JProcRSNSW, Vol. 156, Part 1, June 2023
The complete Volume 156, Part 1, June 2023.
Robert E. Marks
Editorial: White, the Forum, the cosmos "awash" with gravity waves.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 1-4
Refereed Paper:
Hugh White.
This is going to be different: Learning to live with China.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 5-26
The Royal Society of NSW and Five Academies Forum:
Reshaping Australia – Communities in Action
The Governor, Margaret Beazley.
Opening Address.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 27-29
Susan Pond, Stephen Garton, Julianne Schultz.
Welcome and Introduction
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 30-37
Andrew Leigh.
Ministerial Address.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 38
Richard Holden.
I Setting the Scene: Reshaping Australia: some economic observations.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 39-47
Alison Frame.
I Setting the Scene.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 48-52
Kalinda Griffiths.
I Setting the Scene. Visibility, power and equity: using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data to drive equity in Australia.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 53-60
James O'Donnell.
I Setting the Scene: Social cohesion, diversity and inequalities in Australian communities.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 61-69
Schultz, Holden, Frame, Griffiths, & O'Donnell.
I Setting the Scene: Discussion and Questions.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 70-74
Bernie Shakeshaft.
II Health and Communities.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 75-79
Sally Redman.
II Health and Communities. .
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 80-83
Elizabeth Elliott.
II Health and Communities. Communities committed to championing child health
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 84-92
Maree Teesson et al.
II Health and Communities. A mentally healthy future for all Australians.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 93-97
Schultz, Shakeshaft, Redman, Elliott, & Teesson.
II Health and Communities. Discussion and Questions.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 98-103
Louise Adams.
III Natural and Built Environmenrt.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 104-106
David Schlosberg.
III Natural and Built Environment. Communities in action: grounded imaginaries in practice.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 107-109
Tone Wheeler.
III Natural and Built Environment. Inequality in housing, and community solutions..
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 110-125
Angelica Kross.
III Natural and Built Environment. A Western Sydney activist’s presentation.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 126-127
Schultz, Adams, Schlosberg, Wheeler, & Kross.
III Natural and Built Environment. Discussion and Questions.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 128-134
Peter Shergold.
IV Education. Reshaping Australian education.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 135-137
Pasi Sahlberg.
IV Education. Achieving equity in education is contingent on clearly defining it.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 135-145
Kim Beswick.
IV Education. Segregating students in NSW is exacerbating inequities and damaging achievement: We need to change the public discourse.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 146-153
Lisa Jackson Pulver.
IV Education.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 154-158
Schultz, Shergold, Sahlberg, Beswick, & Jackson Pulver.
IV Education. Question and Discussion.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 159-161
Julianne Schultz, Ariadne Vromen, and Lisa Jackson Pulver.
V Summary and Solutions.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 162-171
Stephen Garton, Susan Pond.
Report and Closing Remarks.
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 172-175
Obituaries:
Davina Jackson and Robert Marks.
Ragbir Singh Bhathal FRSN (1936–2022)
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 176-177
Robert Marks.
Christopher Joseph Fell AO FRSN HonFIEAust (1940−2022)
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 178-180
Robert Marks and others.
Jeremy Guy Ashcroft Davis AM FRSN (1942–2023)
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 181-184
The Royal Society of New South Wales Awards for 2023:
Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 156: 185-189
Later
ISSN (online): 2653-1305
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