Keynote Speakers

Stephen MacCarthy

Corporate Security Manager, Water Corporation

Stephen has a background as an infantry Commissioned Officer and has held key military roles with qualifications in intelligence, security management and emergency response.

He has extensive experience in critical infrastructure programs and risk management in both public and private sectors.

He is a key member of the Australian Federal Government’s Trusted Information Sharing Network (TISN) and has represented Australia in international security meetings in his current role.

Stephen has led the development of Water Corporations’ corporate security program, ensuring integration with critical infrastructure, and provided leadership during major natural and asset impact events.

Professor Toby Walsh

ARC Laureate Fellow
and Scientia Professor of AI

Toby Walsh is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of AI at UNSW Sydney. He is Chief Scientist of UNSW.AI, UNSW’s campus wide AI Institute. He is a strong advocate for limits to ensure AI is used to improve our lives, having spoken at the UN, and to heads of state, parliamentary bodies, company boards and many others on this topic. One focus of this advocacy has been on the military uses of AI, and this has led to him being “banned indefinitely” from Russia. He is a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science, and was named on the international “Who’s Who in AI” list of influencers. He has written five books on AI for a general audience, the most recent is “The Shortest History of AI: six ideas are all you need to know”.