Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of New South Wales are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/royalsocnsw.

Ideas@theHouse: Ideas for marine stewardship and sustainability in a time of acceleration

The eighth in the series of Ideas@theHouse events — joint presentations of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales, and the Royal Society of New South Wales — was held on the evening of Thursday 10 August 2023 in the Ballroom of Government House Sydney. Professor Emma Johnston AO FRSN FAA FTSE, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney, presented “Ideas for marine stewardship and sustainability in a time of acceleration” to a face-to-face audience of approximately 100 people, which included Society members and invited guests including students from NSW universities and school teachers, together with an online audience of approximately 60 people. In a thought-provoking talk, Professor Johnston described the key drivers of ecological acceleration, discussed how they act in concert and the implications for marine and coastal social-ecological systems, and went on to present ideas for converting vicious cycles to virtuous ones through effective environmental stewardship. A recording of her presentation is now available on the Society’s YouTube channel.

Convergence: the hybridisation of the future

On Wednesday, 2 August, an audience of more than forty people enjoyed an outstanding presentation titled “Convergence: the hybridisation of the future“, delivered as a conversation between Dr Catherine Ball — Futurist, Author, Researcher, and Rebel, and Maria MacNamara — Director, Government Affairs and Innovation Strategy at Kyndryl. Their thought-provoking presentation discussed convergent technologies, and particularly artificial intelligence, that are accelerating business model evolution and simultaneously changing our tolerance and social licence.  A key focus of their conversation was around the dangers implicit in the extraordinarily rapid rise of technologies such as generative AI, and the slowness of regulators and governments to keep up.  The presentation, which is now available on the Society’s YouTube channel, is must-see viewing for those who seek to demystify the future in this “convergent” world.