Humankind stands at a crossroads: will artificial intelligence make us superhumanly productive, liberating us from life’s most mundane tasks? Or have we opened Pandora’s box, unleashing sentient technology that will eventually destroy us? 

In a colossal contest of persuasion and wit, two teams of our best and brightest debate whether artificial intelligence is better than the real thing.  

Listen and help us decide once and for all who wins in the battle of man vs. machine with team captains Annabel Crabb and David Marr, as they duke it out alongside teammates Matilda Boseley, Rhys Nicholson, Tracey Spicer and Toby Walsh.

Presented by Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Centre for Ideas.

Humankind stands at a crossroads: will artificial intelligence make us superhumanly productive, liberating us from life’s most mundane tasks? Or have we opened Pandora’s box, unleashing sentient technology that will eventually destroy us?  In a colossal contest of persuasion and wit, two teams of our best and brightest debate whether artificial intelligence is better than the real thing.   Listen and help us decide once and for all who wins in the battle of man vs. machine with team captains Annabel Crabb and David Marr, as they duke it out alongside teammates Matilda Boseley, Rhys Nicholson, Tracey Spicer and Toby Walsh.
Presented by <a href="https://www.swf.org.au/">Sydney Writers' Festival</a> and supported by <a href="https://unswcentreforideas.com/">UNSW Centre for 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…

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UNSW Centre for Ideas

Great Debate: Artificial Intelligence is Better Than the Real Thing

Physician and writer Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone, crafts a masterly narrative of three generations of a family in Kerala, through the eyes of a young girl, from her arranged marriage at the turn of the 20th century to her emergence as the matriarchal figure, Big Ammachi.

Solving the mystery of a family affliction – in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning – the book brings to life a vanished past and the impact of change on lives and communities. 

Examine the marriage of medicine and literature with Abraham, joined by host Roanna Gonsalves.



Presented by Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Centre for Ideas.

Physician and writer Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone, crafts a masterly narrative of three generations of a family in Kerala, through the eyes of a young girl, from her arranged marriage at the turn of the 20th century to her emergence as the matriarchal figure, Big Ammachi. Solving the mystery of a family affliction – in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning – the book brings to life a vanished past and the impact of change on lives and communities.  Examine the marriage of medicine and literature with Abraham, joined by host Roanna Gonsalves. 
Presented by <a href="https://www.swf.org.au/">Sydney Writers' Festival</a> and supported by <a href="https://unswcentreforideas.com/">UNSW Centre for Ideas</a>.

Abraham Verghese: The Covenant of Water

In the popular imagination preppers are eccentric, hoarder types with a fondness for tinned pineapple and a belief that ‘the end of the world as we know it’ is on its way. But as we move into an era that marks time by the rate and severity of disasters – with a pandemic in the rear view and more black summers out ahead – isn’t it about time we all started to prepare? 

As heat records break and the weather becomes wilder, are we preparing hard and fast enough for the climate changes that are coming? And what’s happening at UNSW and beyond to get us ready? Investigative humorist and climate action enthusiast Dan Ilic, presents Preppers, a new podcast by the UNSW Centre for Ideas. 

Are you getting ready?  

In the popular imagination preppers are eccentric, hoarder types with a fondness for tinned pineapple and a belief that ‘the end of the world as we know it’ is on its way. But as we move into an era that marks time by the rate and severity of disasters – with a pandemic in the rear view and more black summers out ahead – isn’t it about time we all started to prepare? 
As heat records break and the weather becomes wilder, are we preparing hard and fast enough for the climate changes that are coming? And what’s happening at UNSW and beyond to get us ready? Investigative humorist and climate action enthusiast Dan Ilic, presents Preppers, a new podcast by the <a href="https://unswcentreforideas.com/">UNSW Centre for Ideas</a>. 
Are you getting ready?

Trailer: Preppers

In the wake of a shift in the global power balance, how can Australia best protect itself?

Two of Australia’s most interesting foreign policy thinkers take a fresh look at Australia’s place in the world and come to some surprising conclusions. Clinton Fernandes (Sub-Imperial Power) and Sam Roggeveen (The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace) tackle the big questions about the US alliance, the threat of China, and underneath it all, what kind of country Australia really is.  

Listen as Sam and Clinton reshape Australia’s understanding of itself in the international arena, in conversation with Verity Firth AM, Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement at the University of New South Wales.

Presented by Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Centre for Ideas.

In the wake of a shift in the global power balance, how can Australia best protect itself? Two of Australia’s most interesting foreign policy thinkers take a fresh look at Australia’s place in the world and come to some surprising conclusions. Clinton Fernandes (Sub-Imperial Power) and Sam Roggeveen (The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace) tackle the big questions about the US alliance, the threat of China, and underneath it all, what kind of country Australia really is.   Listen as Sam and Clinton reshape Australia’s understanding of itself in the international arena, in conversation with Verity Firth AM, Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement at the University of New South Wales.
Presented by <a href="https://www.swf.org.au/">Sydney Writers' Festival</a> and supported by <a href="https://unswcentreforideas.com/">UNSW Centre for Ideas</a>.

Great Debate: Artificial Intelligence is Better Than the Real Thing

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