What is a human?: Toby Walsh, Inga Simpson and Cadance Bell in Conversation with Rae Johnston

Did AI write this event copy? Can you tell, and does it matter? And as machines grow ever more capable, what – if anything – remains uniquely human? Drawing on expansive imaginations and deep research, our panel considers how AI is reshaping our identities, work, ethics and creativity. 

In The Thinning, Inga Simpson imagines a future where mass extinctions and dwindling diversity threaten what's left of our environment, introducing us to a new breed of evolved humans, the Incompletes. In Cadance Bell’s Letters to Robot Son, we are thrust even further through time to a desolate world devoid of humanity, where a robot with no memory embarks on a quest to understand its existence. Meanwhile, back in 2025, Toby Walsh’s global advocacy for limits to ensure AI enhances – rather than threatens -- our lives, has led to him being banned indefinitely from Russia.

Don’t miss these big, bold, deeply human brains, in conversation with ABC Sydney’s Rae Johnston.