Reimagine STEM

Indigenous approaches to AI? Pattern thinking, Country-centred design, robotics and diverse understandings of networks are explored by Palawa woman and CEO of Old Ways, New, Angie Abdilla. Indigenous knowledges could help make AI better, and better for everyone, by challenging the assumptions, patterns and stereotypes present in underlying datasets. Explaining the interconnection that makes Indigenous lore an ‘action guide to living’, Angie champions the emergence of genuine, two-way learning and collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing. By listening respectfully and sharing divergent ways of thinking, we can ‘come together…to design the future we want’. 

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Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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What happens when you allow an AI to decide key ethical dilemmas? Exploring this through an interactive role-playing game, Logic Error Detected, Gretchen Miller and Kiara Bruggeman discuss community, social Darwinism and deep moral questions of life and death. Callie Doyle-Scott’s game, which forms part of the new Master’s course for the ANU Cyber Institute, had players questioning systems of governance, the dire consequences of underlying (and often unintentional) biases in AI input data, and how even the best of intentions can lead to perverse, even deadly, outcomes…

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Stuck for words? Florence can help you, but only if you want her to. Dementia sufferers sometimes need a hand to make their days go better. Enter Florence, the personalised AI that aids dementia sufferers to remember words, set reminders and conduct their affairs, in a manner that is sensitive to their own personalities, wants and needs. Having dementia sufferers and their carers form the core reference group drastically reconceptualised the way that the University of Queensland Co-innovation Lab developed this product. Peter Worthy explains the difficulties, and very worthwhile rewards, of co-creating with end-users from the very beginning.

Peter Worthy, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Queensland Co-innovation Lab, works in social robotics.

Further reading:

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Why are tram handholds so high? Diverse workplaces mean diverse opinions, thoughts and experiences. Without these, products are designed that suit some people, but not all. Diversity & Inclusion officer Cathy Ayres outlines the challenges to engaging, and maintaining, women and other diverse groups in STEM. Without this diversity, many of us can’t even reach the handholds, let alone the world’s greater goals…

Cathy Ayres is the Senior Project Officer – Diversity & Inclusion at the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science. She describes the barriers such as time, mobility and stereotypes that stop the demographic make-up of engineering and computer science disciplines reflecting the societies they exist in.

Further reading:

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Theory without practice? Not at University College London, where engineering exchanges, flipped classrooms and co-learning are changing the way engineering students, teachers and community partners interact. Abel Nyamapfene explains how real-world projects, with community and industry partners from the UK to Ethiopia, are creating graduates who are ready to help the world, cognisant of its startling complexity.

Abel Nyamapfene is a Principal Teaching Fellow at the Department of Engineering Science, University College London.

Further reading:

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Computing in history class? Integrating computer science education to benefit existing curricula is one way that Kathi Fisler and Shriram Krishnamurthi are bringing equitable, scalable and rigorous computer science education to school classrooms. Their program, Bootstrap, is designed to be modular and not necessarily require computing hardware, so all students and schools can participate. Educational research and teaching are not always well-rewarded in academia, but Kathi and Shriram demonstrate the profound importance of designing curricula carefully, and reflecting on them thoroughly.

Kathi Fisler and Shriram Krishnamurthi are Professors of Computer Science at Brown University (USA) and helped co-create the school-based computing education program Bootstrap.

Further reading:

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Is wanting to do good, good enough? It’s a great start, says Jeremy Smith, but not sufficient to ensure that your well-intentioned engineering projects actually do good. Communication, contextualisation and partnerships are key to understanding what the problems are, and what would be a culturally, contextually appropriate solution. Encouraging diverse, cross-disciplinary teams can help practitioners understand that people, not technology, are key to positive engineering outcomes. We must continually ask ourselves, ‘is this the right thing to be doing?’

Jeremy Smith is a senior lecturer and engineer at the ANU Research School of Electrical, Energy and Materials Engineering. He introduces us to the principles of engineering for social benefit, where building a brighter collective future is a social process.

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Appropriate technology, or appropriating technology? Developing and distributing solar panels, energy meters, and nifty mobile-phone hotspots, the Centre for Appropriate Technology regularly asks this question. Working and co-innovating with remote Indigenous communities increases sustainability, prosperity and ability to care for Country, in a way that is appropriate for people and Country. Arrernte man Peter Renehan and Andre Grant discuss the innovations, drawn from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, that are improving people’s lives in Australia and overseas.

Peter Renehan, Chairman of the Centre for Appropriate Technology, explains how communities will buy in and shape projects if given the opportunity, such as through the highly successful Bushlight program. 

Andre Grant, from the Queensland branch of the Centre for Appropriate Technology, reminds us that technology is only part of the solultion – the people are much more important.

Further reading:

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Who decides what’s a problem? The community should, argues Sam Perkins, Head of Education, Research and Technology Development at Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB). Being values-driven, cross-disciplinary and empathetic can merge community development with engineering, to mutual benefit. Sam discusses the innovative approaches EWB is taking, reminds us to prioritise the needs of the people we are working for, and to think about how our own upbringings shape our perspective.

Further reading:

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

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Ever felt like you don’t belong? Welcome to the club – only this one helps everyone find their place. Workshops, mentoring programs, industry partnerships and cultural audits have changed the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science for the better, for all genders. Fifty50, the student organisation behind the changes, was founded by Francesca Maclean and Emily Gentilini. Outlining the social justice case for diversity, our guests question how engineers can lift their game, and continue the process of making STEM more inclusive for all students.

Francesca Maclean is a Senior Consultant at Arup, public speaker and co-founder of Fifty50.

Emily Gentilini is a Graduate Engineer at Arup. A regular presenter, she co-founded the student organisation Fifty50 at ANU.

Further reading:

Music credits: Our theme music, Anders by Blue Dot Sessions, is licensed under an attribution non-commercial licence.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.