On 7-8 November 2024 the inaugural Australian AI Safety Forum 2024 was held at the Sydney Knowledge Hub at the University of Sydney, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives to discuss AI Safety as documented in the Interim International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI.
Gradient Institute is honoured to have contributed to the organisation and support of this event.
Helen Wilson, Deputy Secretary of Science and Technology from the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources (DISR), opened the event.
Invited speakers included Hoda Heidari, Marcus Hutter, Atoosa Kasirzadeh, Ryan Kidd, Seth Lazar, Nitarshan Rajkumar, Chelle Adamson, Karl Berzins, Qinghua Lu, Soroush J. Pour, Johanna Weaver. The organising committee comprised Liam Carroll, Tiberio Caetano, Daniel Murfet, Greg Sadler, Alexander Saeri, Kimberlee Weatherall.
The Forum is in line with and follows from recent global developments in AI Safety, including the establishment of state-backed AI Safety Institutes and the release of the Interim International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI.
The two-day event covered technical, socio-technical and governance aspects of AI safety, as well as discussions on Australia's potential contributions to international AI safety efforts.
The event was made possible thanks to the support of the Sydney Knowledge Hub, the Digital Sciences Initiative, Arts and Social Sciences - University of Sydney , Faculty of Engineering - University of Sydney, Open Philanthropy, Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI), Timaeus and Gradient Institute.
The enthusiastic participation and rich discussions at this inaugural forum have helped catalyse Australia's AI safety community. Building on the success of this event, we envision this as the first of a series of forums dedicated to furthering collaboration. We are committed to contributing to and helping nurture this emerging community alongside many others.