In a world where the internet saturates everything, where does the internet stop, and our human selves begin? Nudged and pushed by an endless stream of alerts, notifications and recommendations, our attention and money are pulled in directions that serve the interests of the platforms. The New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose asks, are our personalities and thoughts our own, or are we becoming what the algorithms make us? Roose’s keynote talk is followed by a conversation with UNSW Scientia Professor of AI, Toby Walsh.

For more information, visit unsw.to/CaughtWeb

This talk was a part of the 2022 Festival of Dangerous Ideas.

In a world where the internet saturates everything, where does the internet stop, and our human selves begin? Nudged and pushed by an endless stream of alerts, notifications and recommendations, our attention and money are pulled in directions that serve the interests of the platforms. The New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose asks, are our personalities and thoughts our own, or are we becoming what the algorithms make us? Roose’s keynote talk is followed by a conversation with UNSW Scientia Professor of AI, Toby Walsh.
For more information, visit <a href="unsw.to/CaughtWeb">unsw.to/CaughtWeb</a>
This talk was a part of the <a href="https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/">2022 Festival of Dangerous Ideas</a>.

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Ideas is a thought-provoking program of events and digital content from the globe's leading thinkers, authors and artists.

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Ideas is a thought-provoking program of events and digital content from the globe's leading thinkers, authors and artists.

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Idea…

UNSW Centre for Ideas | All Episodes

UNSW Centre for Ideas

Caught in a Web | Kevin Roose and Toby Walsh

During his first night in prison at 16 years old, Michael Kwan knew it was time to take accountability for the choices he’d made. Now, Michael wants to share the opportunities he made for himself - an education, a part-time job, a place to call home - with other at-risk youth and those already inside the youth justice system. He’s now the CEO and co-founder of Praxis Youth, a non-profit that is translating big ideas into real action for young people.  

On this episode of We built this thing, Michael chats with host Justine Rogers about what drove him to complete an education from behind bars, to graduate from high school, and pursue engineering at UNSW. As if he hasn’t accomplished enough in such a short time, they’ll also dive into Michael’s life as a CEO in his 20s and how he’s turned his life’s mission into an award-winning organisation. 

For more episodes from We built this thing, visit unsw.to/wbtt.

During his first night in prison at 16 years old, Michael Kwan knew it was time to take accountability for the choices he&rsquo;d made. Now, Michael wants to share the opportunities he made for himself - an education, a part-time job, a place to call home - with other at-risk youth and those already inside the youth justice system. He&rsquo;s now the CEO and co-founder of Praxis Youth, a non-profit that is translating big ideas into real action for young people.&nbsp;&nbsp;
On this episode of&nbsp;We built this thing, Michael chats with host Justine Rogers about what drove him to complete an education from behind bars, to graduate from high school, and pursue engineering at UNSW. As if he&nbsp;hasn&rsquo;t&nbsp;accomplished&nbsp;enough in such&nbsp;a short time,&nbsp;they&rsquo;ll&nbsp;also dive into Michael&rsquo;s life as a CEO in his 20s and how&nbsp;he&rsquo;s&nbsp;turned his life&rsquo;s mission into an award-winning organisation.&nbsp;
For more episodes from We built this thing, visit unsw.to/wbtt.

We built this thing Ep3: From incarcerated to CEO: driving change in youth justice from the inside-out with Michael Kwan 

After 17 years at the United Nations, Janet Salem was growing frustrated with the gap between the sustainability data she was gathering, and the information businesses were using to make investment decisions. She saw an opportunity to give business’s crucial insight into their resource consumption and environmental impact to make more informed decisions, the same way food packaging provides nutritional information so that consumers can make more informed decisions. Now, she’s co-founded a start-up to help get sustainable investment a green thumbs up from the CFO.

Her journey from UNSW environmental engineering graduate to UN advisor to start-up co-founder sounds like a perfectly executed career path, but none of it was planned. On this episode of We built this thing, Janet chats with host Justine Rogers about being a first-time founder in her 40s. From getting over imposter syndrome in the tech-bro universe to the benefits of breaking the mould from the traditional ideas of what a fintech founder, UN advisor or engineer should be.

For more episodes from We built this thing, visit unsw.to/wbtt.

After 17 years at the United Nations, Janet Salem was growing frustrated with the gap between the sustainability data she was gathering, and the information businesses were using to make investment decisions. She saw an opportunity to give business&rsquo;s crucial insight into their resource consumption and environmental impact to make more informed decisions, the same way food packaging provides nutritional information so that consumers can make more informed decisions. Now, she&rsquo;s co-founded a start-up to help get sustainable investment a green thumbs up from the CFO.
Her journey from UNSW environmental engineering graduate to UN advisor to start-up co-founder sounds like a perfectly executed career path, but none of it was planned. On this episode of We built this thing, Janet chats with host Justine Rogers about being a first-time founder in her 40s. From getting over imposter syndrome in the tech-bro universe to the benefits of breaking the mould from the traditional ideas of what a fintech founder, UN advisor or engineer should be.
For more episodes from We built this thing, visit unsw.to/wbtt.

We built this thing Ep2: The competitive edge as a first-time founder in your 40s with Janet Salem

As a veteran, Shannon thought his business idea, a machine that filters water from the air, would be a no-brainer for the military. But when the first round of funding fell through, he had to pivot. His next move led Shannon all the way to Buckingham Palace and is transforming countless lives across Australia in the process.

There are over two million Australians without access to fresh drinking water, but Shannon Lemanski intends to change that. On this episode of We built this thing, UNSW Canberra alumnus Shannon chats with host Justine Rogers about his uncertain path to becoming an award-winning founder. From his decision to swap his childhood plan of becoming a pilot to doing an engineering degree at uni, to the trials and tribulations of being a first-time founder, to finding out the secret sauce to start-up success isn’t the invention but the business plan.

For more episodes from We built this thing, visit unsw.to/wbtt.

As a veteran, Shannon thought his business idea, a machine that filters water from the air, would be a no-brainer for the military. But when the first round of funding fell through, he had to pivot. His next move led Shannon all the way to Buckingham Palace and is transforming countless lives across Australia in the process.
There are over two million Australians without access to fresh drinking water, but Shannon Lemanski intends to change that. On this episode of&nbsp;We built this thing, UNSW Canberra alumnus Shannon chats with host Justine Rogers about his uncertain path to becoming an award-winning founder. From his decision to swap his childhood plan of becoming a pilot to doing an engineering degree at uni, to the trials and tribulations of being a first-time founder, to finding out the secret sauce to start-up success isn&rsquo;t the invention but the business plan.
For more episodes from We built this thing, visit unsw.to/wbtt.

On this episode, Shannon chats about pivoting your start-up after funding failure, committing to your mission and transforming lives in the process. 

Caught in a Web | Kevin Roose and Toby Walsh

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