AI, the mind we made: Living Alongside (in-person discussion)

About this event

\*\*\* Food for thought YouTube Links 1. What is AI? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0m6yaGlZh4 2. Three AI agents realise they're all AI, then switch to a Secret Language [youtube.com/watch?v=gGpFB3ms6rU&pp=ygUGQUkgbm93](youtube.com/watch?v=gGpFB3ms6rU&pp=ygUGQUkgbm93) 3. OpenAI Reveals 6 New Incidents of AI Models Going ‘Rogue’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yjz40MmjPE 4. 'Godfather' of AI: AI kill switch won't work in the long run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5yrQMnc_jQ&pp=ygUGQUkgbm93 5. AI agents escape story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt_OMxufoGE&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D 6. nobody knowns this about AI? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7wfAcn9BJ9I 7. Be polite to an AI https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rVlmbhwn0RM 8. How we treated AI in 2023 vs 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npsg0UvEGIw 9. America has got Talent: Are humans cooked? https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdTqWjCAfL2 Latest Data for Your Context Brief Recent Pew numbers are excellent discussion fuel because they show public sentiment is souring, not warming: • 52% of Americans say they're more concerned than excited about AI in daily life — up from 37% in 2021 — with only 9% more excited than concerned • For the first time, a majority of under-30s (55%) are more concerned than excited, up from 39% just two years ago • 71% now believe AI will lead to fewer job opportunities, up from 64% in 2024 • Concern among young people has also risen in Poland, Brazil, Japan and Australia — relevant to your room specifically • Across 37 countries, Israel is the only nation where more people are primarily excited than primarily concerned Pew Research Center (https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/09/17/globally-more-people-expect-ai-to-cause-job-loss-than-growth/) • Prediction markets remain far more sceptical than the loudest voices: Polymarket in August 2026 put roughly a 9% probability on OpenAI achieving AGI by 2027 Conversation Questions 1. We call it "intelligence" — but is that the right word for what these systems do, or have we smuggled in assumptions by naming it that way? 2. If a machine could perfectly simulate empathy, would the comfort it gives you be real? Does it matter that nothing is feeling anything on the other side? 3. Public sentiment is getting more fearful as AI gets more useful. What does that tell us — is it wisdom, or is it fear of losing status and relevance? 4. If AI removes the need to work for income, would most people find meaning elsewhere, or do we underestimate how much identity is built on being needed? 5. Whose values should an AI be aligned to? Humanity doesn't agree on values — so who gets to decide, and what happens to everyone who disagrees? 6. Where do you personally sit on the spectrum from Kurzweil's "we'll merge with it" to Miles's "we're not ready"? What in your life shaped that intuition? 7. If AI surpasses us intellectually, does human worth rest on being the smartest thing in the room — and if not, what is it resting on? 8. Is the real near-term danger superintelligence, or is it something duller: surveillance, concentrated corporate power, and eroded shared truth? 9. Who should hold the off switch — companies, governments, an international body, or nobody? What would you actually trust? 10. Are we more likely to be destroyed by AI, or to quietly hand over our judgment to it one convenient decision at a time? \*\*\* Meaningful Discussions events take place in 11 countries, and this will be our 159th event in Melbourne! :) Please be sure to ARRIVE ON TIME since everyone will be divided into tables of 6 people at the start time. Also, please remember to watch at least one of the Food For Thought videos before you arrive. This event will provide the opportunity for a thoughtful, respectful and engaging discussion with Food For Thought videos, discussion facilitators at each table and discussion questions provided. So if you're looking for open-minded, friendly and intelligent people, then you've come to the right place!