Delving into the realm of generative AI ethics can present challenges, which is why we were delighted that Cremorne Digital Hub sought to shed light on its implications and offer practical insights. Leading the discussion was Juliette Connolly, a seasoned human-centered designer and expert in the field of generative AI at IBM iX. Above image supplied by Cremorne Digital Hub. Juliette Connolly human-centred technologist Passionate about fostering inclusive workplace cultures, Juliette is a vocal advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, championing the integration of human experiences into every aspect of business operations. Her commitment to revolutionising engagement strategies has positioned her as a respected thought leader in the industry. With over two decades of experience, Juliette serves as the Customer Strategist and Customer Transformation Leader at IBM iX, where she leverages her expertise in Experience Leadership, Strategic Experience Development, Human-Centered Design, Culture and Change Management, and Measurement to drive significant business value. During the session, Juliette shared invaluable insights into the ethical considerations surrounding Generative AI, offering practical perspectives on navigating its complexities. Here, we dive deeper into Juliette's expertise as she addresses some of the key questions surrounding this transformative technology. Can you share a bit about your journey and how you became involved in the field of generative AI? I’ve been an experience designer in various iterations for almost my entire career, with the past ten years having a focus on how digital technologies can make the experience of customers and employees more seamless and easier. Generative AI or GenAI is the most exciting technologies to hit the landscape since the emergence of the smart phone in 2007, and possibly since desktop computers emerged in the mid 1980s! Just look at the impact that ChatGPT has had, it’s the fastest growing consumer internet app of all time – racking up 100 million users in just two months. For context, Facebook took over four years to get that sort of penetration. This enthusiasm from consumers about the power of Generative AI has also carried over into the business world, and with IBM’s history of being at the cutting edge of Artificial Intelligence for well over 50 years, it’s been an exciting time to explore the opportunities that this GenAI can unlock. How do you see Generative AI impacting the way companies engage with their employees and customers? Fundamentally, GenAI has the potential to revolutionise the way we engage with organisations and the way we work. Let’s look at Customer Service, which is one of the first areas which are ripe for transformation. It means that GenAI can likely fulfil most of our service needs through powerful self-service portals, this means that customer service agents – the humans at the end of the phone – can be freed up from routine, process-oriented queries and instead refocused to the deep and complex problem solving that customers need from time to time. What are some practical strategies for navigating the ethics of Generative AI in today's digital landscape? This is one of the most important questions around the use of Generative AI, and frankly it’s the question that we strongly encourage every organisation to consider before they start down the path of using the tools. Right now, the GenAI landscape as there are no regulations surrounding it’s use, however it’s important to note that the Australian Government have indicated in their preliminary report into the usage of GenAI that there are up to 11 different regulatory areas where they are considering enacting legislation. In the meantime, there are some fundamental ethical considerations. – at the start the technology should be both transparent and explainable. You need to be clear on what trained your AI systems, what data was used in the training, and what went into the algorithm’s recommendations. Remember, the heart of all of this is trust – the trust of both your customers and your employees. You cannot afford to jeopardise that trust, so ethics need to come first in your considerations. What role do you see human-centered design playing in the development and deployment of Generative AI solutions? I think that human-centered design is fundamental to the development and deployment of AI – it’s how we ensure that the AI systems are designed with the needs, preferences, and limitations of the users in mind. It involves understanding the users' context, tasks, and goals, and incorporating their feedback throughout the development process. By focusing on human-centered design, AI developers can create solutions that are more useful, effective, and accessible to the users. This can lead to increased user satisfaction, improved adoption rates, and a more significant impact on the intended audience. Additionally, human-centered design can help address ethical considerations, such as fairness, accountability, and transparency, by involving users in the decision-making process and ensuring that the AI systems align with their values and expectations. Can you share any memorable experiences or lessons learned from your work with Generative AI that have shaped your approach to the field? I think that the narrative is changing rapidly as companies start to understand what the possibilities are. One crucial learning is that GenAI is unlocking new employment possibilities and driving the possibilities for new skills and capabilities. Yes, there is a lot of talk about how GenAI is coming for people’s jobs, but we are starting to realise that the tools and technology will take the boring, routine, and repetitive parts of people’s jobs – augmenting their tasks and freeing them up to focus on creativity, innovations and areas of work that provide more value to both customers and the organisation. The phrase I’ve heard used is “Generative AI won’t replace people, but people who use Generative AI will replace those who don’t.” You can find Juliette Connolly on LinkedIn, and follow Cremorne Digital Hub for more information on future Cremorne Connect events. The Cremorne Digital Hub aims to drive Cremorne's transformation into a top technology hub by developing talent, creating jobs, and fostering business growth. Their Cremorne Connect event series is a platform designed to bring together the local tech community for collaborative discussions on emerging challenges and practical solutions.
Introducing Peter Osborne, the newly appointed CEO of Cremorne Digital Hub, an innovative tech hub bringing together venture capital, training and education, and industry to supercharge Victoria’s digital ecosystem. With a career spanning three countries and 25 years in senior leadership roles across global corporations, Peter brings a wealth of experience and a passion for nurturing innovation to his new role. Having collaborated with some of the world's most innovative companies and leaders, including Philips, Seek and Harvard University, Peter is well-equipped to guide Cremorne Digital Hub towards becoming a hub of collaboration, talent development, and digital innovation. We met with Peter to discuss his vision for CDH and how he plans to use his expertise to help propel Victoria's tech ecosystem to new heights. What inspired you to take on the role of CEO at Cremorne Digital Hub? We’re on the verge of a changing tide in and around Victoria with building a sense of momentum. Over the years, some great luck has allowed me to live abroad and work with some incredibly entrepreneurial big businesses and scale-ups across Australasia, the USA and Europe. However, Melbourne is my home and I want to do my best work here. We have extraordinary talent, visionary leaders, and world class educators all willing to step in to put Victoria on the world stage as best practice for technological innovation. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here, now. Can you share your vision for the future of Cremorne Digital Hub under your leadership? Cremorne Digital Hub can help build out the local digital innovation ecosystem... Australians tend to be very humble, but I believe we should think bigger, be bolder and back ourselves a bit more than we do now. Melbourne and Victoria are a breeding ground of best-in-class innovators and problem solvers, backed by the brightest entrepreneurial future leaders and known around the world as a landing place for industry and tech talent. [We can provide the] right support [to help them on their] way, which is where Cremorne Digital Hub can play our part. How do you plan to foster cross-industry collaboration within the Cremorne Digital Hub ecosystem? I often say that great ideas don’t have a birthright, they need to have the life breathed into them. Industry is looking for business solutions, and for people who understand that solving worthy problems through a commercial lens is the key to successful scalability. Creating an environment where we convene to solve “burning platform” problems allow everyone involved to hit the ground running and land on commercially viable collaboration pathways. Also, when we overlap on challenge areas that combine industry, education, talent, and venture capital priorities, it’s the perfect formula for creating value. Our partners are incredible, and highly supportive of Cremorne Digital Hub taking on the challenge, because everyone wins in this scenario. What specific initiatives do you have in mind to attract and nurture tech talent in Victoria? We’re starting with a Scaleup Program and co-delivering it with our friends at Boab AI. Five businesses have been selected to participate, all with AI playing a significant part in their product, and we’re going to help them find scalable pathways. Around the end of March, we’re also opening our newly renovated collaboration space in Balmain Street, Cremorne – in the old Gravox building. We’ll be inviting select scale-up ventures and experts in to use this space as a collaboration hub with our industry and training and education partners. What opportunities do you see for Victorian tech companies to expand globally through the Cremorne Digital Hub? Global expansion means solving problems that extend well beyond our own border. We all need to think big, be bold, courageous, and visionary. International expansion is high on most local tech companies’ agenda, and it should be. We believe there are known reasons why local tech companies often fall flat when they look offshore and try to grow into international markets, and we will be addressing them all head on, and modelling the commercial acumen and growth planning needed for successful international growth. This will include up-skilling founders, harnessing our partnerships network, and building new capabilities that allow those with real potential to thrive. How will partnerships between Cremorne Digital Hub and training and education institutions like the University of Melbourne, RMIT, La Trobe, and Bendigo Kangan Institute, benefit industry? Education is a core pillar, and our educational partners are all very keen to help students, and researchers, build commercialisation options. With researchers for instance, what is the commercial potential of their work, and how can universities better align research to industry needs? For undergrad and postgrad students, what is the best toolkit they can learn for when they head into the workforce that makes them valuable and sought after? There are also micro-credentialing opportunities, to quickly up-skill workers in a fast-moving digital world. The possibilities are almost endless and we’re very glad to have our education partners involved. How do you plan to engage with the local community and stakeholders to ensure their involvement and support for the Hub's initiatives? Cremorne is a small suburb, bursting at the seams with tech businesses that have grown to huge multi-unicorn proportions, like REA and Car Group. We know there’s more to come. We’re lucky to be able to almost wrap our arms around our community here, and it’s very relationship driven, so everyone knows everyone else. Regardless, Cremorne Digital Hub exists to serve our stakeholders and community, [in Cremorne and beyond], so our thesis involves proving value in everything we do. That’s a hard ask while we’re building momentum, but that’s certainly the goal, and it’ll help us build and maintain the strong engagement we all need to drive change and model excellence. What excites you most about the future of technology and innovation in Victoria, and how do you see Cremorne Digital Hub contributing to that future? Victoria has everything it needs to be a new epicentre of innovation and venture creation. Places like Tel Aviv in Israel, Shanghai in China, and Phoenix, Chicago and Austin in the USA have all sprung up in recent years to compare in many ways with the likes of Silicon Valley. Why can’t we do that here? I see no reason why not, and so many reasons why we can craft a thriving digital innovation community in much the same way. I believe it’s crunch time for us to get on board, take advantage of all the assets we have here at home, and make that happen. Connect with Peter on LinkedIn, or find out more about Cremorne Digital Hub.
Image: Team photo of the inaugural CDH Cremorne Challenge as part of the DIF2023 Festival on 6 September 2023 [Credit: Cremorne Digital Hub] Tech companies in Victoria are about to receive a significant boost to help them grow and create local job opportunities. The Cremorne Digital Hub (CDH) Scaleup Program is primed to support fast-growing tech firms, particularly in talent acquisition, operations and business development. This new and exciting program is now accepting applications, and is scheduled to commence in February 2024. Beyond industry-specific guidance, successful ventures will have the opportunity to engage with potential investors, corporate partners, and customers all within the tech and startup community. Victoria's startup ecosystem has experienced substantial growth, surging from $50 billion to an impressive $91 billion in the last three years. The CDH Scaleup Program is designed to nurture these tech scaleups and encourage them to thrive across the state. Collaborating with Artesian's Boab AI, Cremorne Digital Hub aims to deliver an unrivalled program. Boab AI boasts a remarkable track record in supporting AI scaleups, resulting in a collective company value of $365 million. Image: CDH in Balmain Street Cremorne is undergoing a transformation ready to open in 2024 [Credit: Cremorne Digital Hub] The Cremorne Digital Hub (CDH) is Victoria’s digital gateway, bringing together business, industry, education, research and technology to generate new pathways for innovation, opportunity and growth in the digital economy. The Director of Cremorne Digital Hub, Matthew Clunies-Ross, emphasised the program's adaptability to tailor to each scaleup’s unique challenges. "All companies in scaleup mode have different challenges and require the most time and cost-effective solutions to meet those challenges. The CDH scaleup model identifies each company’s critical needs and delivers bespoke services." - Matt Clunies-Ross, CDH This initiative promises to invigorate Victoria's tech landscape, foster innovation and strengthen the local economy. With a commitment to addressing the diverse needs of emerging tech businesses, the CDH Scaleup Program is poised to become a cornerstone of Victoria's flourishing tech sector. The Scaleup Program has been created for companies with an existing product that has demonstrable traction. Companies can be based in Australia or anywhere in the world. Applications for the Cremorne Digital Hub (CDH) Scaleup Program are now open. Hurry, as they close the 8 December 2023, 5pm (AEDT) and February 2024 is just around the corner. Find out more at scaleup.cremornedigitalhub.com.au
DIF2023 is just around the corner, and CDH is excited to be an official partner and host the DIF Hub Cremorne! Cremorne Digital Hub are excited to be the host of the DIF Hub Cremorne and have been busy preparing for the Digital Innovation Futures Festival (DIF2023) which runs from 23 August to 6 September. The CDH team has worked hard, in collaboration with the wider community, to design a program that ranges from data privacy and the impact of the upcoming federal legislation changes, through to an immersive experience that shows you what it's like to be under cyber attack. As passionate members of the Cremorne community, the inaugural CDH Community Challenge taking place across Cremorne on Tuesday 5 September. Teams from across the Cremorne digital landscape are gearing up to take out the prize for the best solution to wicked social problems and the competition is already heating up. Talking of problems, it's no secret that getting women into tech and providing them opportunities to advance their careers at the same rate as their male counterparts is a huge challenge for the digital sector. As highlighted in the World Economic Forum's 2023 Global Gender Gap Report, women make up almost half (49.3%) of total employment across non-STEM occupations, but just 29.2% of all STEM workers. Mentorship plays a vital role in career progression, and developing meaningful and sustainable mentorship programs will contribute greatly to helping women access and thrive in the industry. On Wednesday 6 September we are delighted to be partnering with Innovation Melbourne to host a co-design workshop geared toward female executives with experience as mentors and mentees. This interactive session will uncover strategies for fostering industry-driven mentoring initiatives that amplify the skills and potential of this sector. La Trobe University will provide an opportunity for Victorian regional high school year 8, 9 and 10 students to participate in a Break IT/MasterTech Day. This experience will provide them with hands-on, digital, cyber and IoT experiences, showcasing the opportunities and career pathways available to them in the digital space and cyber security sectors. For some participating students it will be their very first-time they’ve visited Melbourne so they, and their teachers, are super excited. CDH will be hosting “DIF Live Lunch’n’Learn Sessions”. This will be an opportunity for those of you that are in Cremorne for the day to swing by CDH during lunchtime, watch the livestream while you eat your lunch, and network with peers. Just remember to bring your lunch with you. Check out the dates, and keep up to date with our other events here cremornedigitalhub.com.au/events. DIF2023 - DIF Hub Cremorne program Tuesday 29 August, 12 noon - 1.30 pm Cremorne Connect: Changes to Australia's privacy laws are imminent - are you ready? On Tuesday 29 August you are invited to join us for our DIF edition of Cremorne Connect. The second of our forums aimed at bringing together the ‘doers’ of the industry to share ideas and help each other accelerate progress. In this informative and engaging session, you will have a conversation with founder of Privay Robert Postill and Drew Pearse, Executive Manager – CX Platforms at REA Group. They will give you an overview of what to expect when the Act comes into play as well as constructive and manageable tips on how to implement effective change.If you’re a decision maker that has influence over your organisations privacy strategy, or you work with customer data – you can’t afford to miss this opportunity. It is open for any Cremorne-associated industry professionals to attend. Find out more Wednesday 30 August, 1 pm Transforming the future - LLM workshop with NVIDIA Boab AI and CDH are thrilled to be hosting an afternoon with NVIDIA Chief Technologist, Dr. Ettikan Kandasamy Karuppiah. This two-part event, for the Victorian AI start up community, will include a workshop starting at 1 pm, followed by a fireside chat and a Q&A session with the NVIDIA experts. Find out more Tuesday 5 September, all day CDH Community Challenge Cremorne will come alive with the inaugural Cremorne Digital Hub Community Challenge. The Community Challenge will bring together Cremorne’s most influential digital organisations in an all-day hackathon style challenge, tackling some of the key social challenges facing Victoria at the moment. Teams should consist of 6 – 8 people and organisations need to be Cremorne based. Find out more Wednesday 6 September, 9.45 am - 1 pm Women in tech: What is good mentorship?Co-designing mentorship to elevate the tech sector. This co-design workshop focuses on the current state of mentoring within the local digital sector, particularly among women professionals, and delves into the promising opportunities for designing targeted mentoring programs. Geared toward female executives with experience as mentors and mentees, this dynamic event aims to uncover strategies for fostering industry-driven mentoring initiatives that amplify the skills and potential of this sector. To kick off the day, an esteemed panel of senior women in tech will share insights from their personal career journeys, shedding light on their experiences both as mentors and mentees. Their wisdom will encompass strategic preparations for a successful path within the tech industry. Subsequently, the workshop will transition into an engaging co-design session. Here, we will address the pressing issues influencing the employment, retention, and advancement of women within the sector. We encourage experienced individuals of all genders to participate. Find out more Wednesday 6 September, 3 - 5 pm Cyber Security Escape Room: Immersive business cyber-attack experience To wrap up our DIF2023 program, the team from La Trobe University will be hosting a Cyber Security Escape Room experience. This immersive activity provides the experience of being under a whole of business cyber-attack. Identify theft, meta-data, phishing, authentication, and ciphers – the world of cyber security can be a bit perplexing. Cyber security isn’t just for the IT department though, everyone is responsible for keeping information safe and the bad guys out. This session gives a primer of the fundamental concepts and techniques for keeping your organisation safe and is aimed at the normal employee not just the IT-whiz. The activities are based around educational escape rooms to create a memorable, collaborative learning environment where you can nut-out all the puzzles together. Register The Cremorne Digital Hub is a unique platform, that brings together the brightest minds in business, industry, education, research and technology to generate new pathways for innovation, opportunity and growth in the digital economy of Victoria. Specifically, the Cremorne Digital Hub provides Businesses with bespoke project-based services, that connect them to the digital expertise, tech, talent and partners they need to maximise their growth in the digital economy. Entrepreneurs and founders with an ecosystem of connections and services, that provide the expertise, funding pathways, networking and talent access they need to design, launch and/or scale their startup in the digital economy Individuals help to take the next step in your digital career by providing mentoring and professional development to identify new opportunities New career pathways in the digital economy through advice, training and opportunities. CDH is here to benefit all members of the community navigate their pathway through the Victorian digital economy. Stay up to date with Cremorne Digital Hub news, networking events, and other exciting activities, follow CDH on social media, and subscribe to their newsletter.