The AI at Melbourne Colloquium Series, presented by Melbourne Connect and the University of Melbourne, is delighted to welcome Professor William C Regli, an internationally distinguished leader in artificial intelligence, autonomy, innovation and national security. His visit to the University is hosted by Melbourne National Security and Defence (MNSD).
Today's developments around AI are being driven by opposing forces. One views AI as humanity's grasping of Promethean fire whereas others see existential risk and threats to human safety, privacy and wellbeing. We might hope the reality is somewhere in between – and we might suspect the reason for these extreme views are we may have the problems around AI framed incorrectly.
The bottom line, upfront:
• Current AI narratives are techno-philic and need to be re-framed. This is because the thorniest problems are decidedly non-technical - they are mostly about AI's interaction with, and influence on, people and society
• Unlike physics and engineering, we do not yet have the required level of scientific understanding about AI and its effects on people and society needed to establish rigorous engineering practices and manage its use
• The impacts of AI, operating at various levels in our society (ranging from individuals to our planetary community as a whole), are going to be uneven in scale, speed and effect.
Professor William C Regli outlines intentions for this session:
I would rather not merely admire these problems; hence I will try to re-frame them as inherently socio-technical. I will provide a practical methodology for identifying emerging scientific and engineering questions related to the ongoing integration of AI with humans and society. Using this approach, I will provide several examples of research questions that merit investigation. In the end,
I hope to provide a unique perspective on recent developments in AI and a tangible means by which we might address these daunting emerging challenges.
Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland; Founding Director of the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security
William Regli, PhD, is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Founding Director (Emeritus) of the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS). A computer scientist working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, engineering, and manufacturing, he has published more than 300 technical articles, advised over 50 graduate students, co-founded two technology companies, and holds five foundational U.S. patents on 3D CAD search. Professor Regli previously served as Deputy Director and Acting Director of DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (2014-2017), and as Senior Advisor for AI Risk in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (2023-2024). He has also served on the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and as a scientific adviser to the Department of Energy. He is a Fellow of the IEEE Computer Society and of the AAAS, and holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland.
