Season 3: Episode 4 - The School of Cybernetics with the ANU’s Education Experiences Team

Our guests’ mission is to take cybernetics to the world, through creating and delivering innovative, research-informed educational experiences for industry, government and our communities.

We have 6 amazing humans from the Educational Experiences Team from the School of Cybernetics at Australian National University! They are:

ADRIAN SCHMIDT

A physics graduate with a passion for science communication, a knack for sparking learning moments in tinker spaces, and a fascination for the science behind the minutiae.

ANDREW MEARES

A photojournalist, political communicator and video producer Andrew seeks a future in enabling others to build a better world. He actively seeks patterns and hope to join the dots.

JESS THOMPSON

An engineer, business process designer and facilitator. For over 10 years her passion has been helping people make their work and lives easier, better, quicker and more meaningful.

AMY McLENNAN

Amy has a background is in medical science, anthropology and public policy. She designs and facilitates educational experiences for groups, emphasising context, curiosity and fun.

BEN SWIFT

An academic, educator, artist, musician and maker of open source tools for creative computing. She seeks the intersections between software, creativity and culture in today’s world.

KELLY FRAME

Kelly has experience in secondary, tertiary and adult education. She brings knowledge of English literature and history, a passion for gender-inclusive teaching, and a love of sci fi books.

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If you’ve run out of questions about your toaster, check out Simone Rebaudengo’s Brad the Toaster Addicted products: The story of Brad the Toaster.

Consider how many more questions are raised once systems become sensing, learning, connected and responsive. Questions like: What sensors does Brad have? What data does Brad collect and who has access? What assumptions are made in Brad’s algorithms – could he inspire you to be healthier, or sell you junk food? What infrastructure is needed for Brad to connect to the internet and who maintains that? Who’s responsible for Brad’s safety? And then larger questions again: Who owns Brad and how might we think differently about ‘ownership’ in future? How much agency should Brad have, for instance in communicating with the supermarket? Whose cultural values are designed into Brad? What’s the energy cost of running Brad? Whose job is it to think about all of this?

You can read more about Lynette Wallworth’s incredible work: Lynette Wallworth and Is Lynette Wallworth our most influential filmmaker?.

3AI would love to hear from you, please get in touch! Visit the School of Cybernetics website Home | School of Cybernetics

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