A Scientist, A Believer, a Sceptic and a Diplomat: What Should AI Safety Prioritise Now?
8 July 2026 · 11:00 am–11:25 am · Refectory
This panel is designed to unpack different perspectives on AI Safety priorities. For some, the greatest risks are immediate: bias, misinformation, labour disruption, surveillance, concentration of power, and threats to democracy and human rights. For others, the greatest danger lies ahead: increasingly capable frontier AI systems that may eventually exceed human capabilities and create catastrophic—or even existential—risks. Governments and decision makers cannot afford to focus exclusively on either. They must make decisions today under conditions of uncertainty, balancing immediate harms with longer-term risks, while recognising that resources, political attention and regulatory capacity are finite. Rather than asking who is right, this session will explore why reasonable people arrive at different conclusions, where genuine consensus exists, where disagreement remains, and what that means for Australia's approach to AI safety.
Speakers
Johanna Weaver
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Tech Policy Design Institute
Johanna Weaver is Co-Founder and Executive Director of TPDi. She is a reformed commercial litigator, a recovering diplomat, and an escaped professor. Johanna concluded her term as Australia’s independent expert and chief cyber negotiator at the United Nations in 2021. In 2022, she was appointed Professor in the Practice of Cyber and Tech Policy at ANU. She has served to numerous boards, including the ICRC Global Advisory Board on Protecting Civilians from Digital Threats, the Minister for Government Services’ Independent Advisory Board, and the Data Standards Advisory Committee.
Sean Peters
Founder & Researcher, Lyptus Research
Lizzie O'Shea
Founder and chair, Digital Rights Watch
Lizzie is a lawyer, writer and is a founder and the chair of Digital Rights Watch.
Greg Sadler
CEO, Good Ancestors
Greg Sadler is CEO of Good Ancestors Policy, an Australian charity working to reduce catastrophic and existential risks, including from advanced AI. Greg has 15 years' experience in the Australian Public Service, including in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Attorney-General's Department, and the Department of Home Affairs. He also served as a senior national security adviser to the Home Affairs Minister. He holds a BA/LLB(Hons) from the Australian National University, majoring in philosophy.
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