NSW: Your brain on AI; The Vagina Bible author; Bull Shark Bandits
National Science Week in NSW
Our early picks of highlights
- Your brain on AI, with Paul Davies and experts – Sydney Opera House
- The Vagina Bible author on menstruation, menopause, and medical mythology – Kensington
- Bull Shark Bandits and coastal scientists come inland to Dubbo
More on each of the highlights below.
National Science Week in New South Wales is coordinated by Inspiring NSW. Visit their website: inspiringnsw.org.au.
Your brain on AI, with Paul Davies and experts – Sydney
“The development of artificial intelligence may well imply that man will relinquish his intellectual supremacy in favour of thinking machines,” says theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and best-selling author Paul Davies.
What makes a mass of cells come together to think, do and become self-aware?
Technologies like DishBrain, brain organoids and organic AI – using the computing power of brain cells – could revolutionise fields from neuroscience and psychology to data science and robotics.
But how do intelligence and consciousness arise? How are emotions and feelings generated? How do our brains adapt to technological evolution?
The University of Sydney AI expert Sandra Peter will explore these topics in a panel event at the Sydney Opera House, featuring:
- renowned British quantum physicist, cosmologist, author and TV presenter Paul Davies
- neuroscientist, DishBrain co-inventor, and Chief Scientific Officer at Cortical Labs Brett Kagan
- cognitive scientist and expert on brain-computer interfaces Inês Hipólito.
Saturday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sydney-opera-house-your-brain-on-ai/sydney
Paul Davies, Ines Hipolito, Brett Kagan, and Sandra Peter are available for media interviews.
Media enquiries: Emily Cook, ecook@sydneyoperahouse.com, 0484 566 133.
The Vagina Bible author on menstruation, menopause, and medical mythology – Kensington
“It’s a vagina, not a piña colada.”
Canadian-American gynaecologist Dr Jennifer Gunter’s 2019 book The Vagina Bible became a New York Times best seller. Then she followed it up with The Menopause Manifesto:
“If we applied that same tone to erectile dysfunction, we’d expect textbooks to declare that the penis is worn out. In medicine, men get to age with gentle euphemisms and women get exiled to Not Hotsville.”
Over half the world’s population have had a period or could be having a period right now – so why do menstruation and menopause remain such medical mysteries?
Jen Gunter is in Australia for National Science Week to demystify female anatomy and women’s health.
She will debunk misinformation, discuss why women are sidelined by the medical profession, and outline the steps we need to take to put women’s bodies and healthcare in the spotlight. She’s in conversation with cancer researcher and STEMMinist Book Club founder Caroline Ford at the UNSW Centre for Ideas.
Thursday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/jennifer-gunter-menstruation-menopause-and-medical-mythology/kensington
Media enquiries: Media enquiries: Todd Eichorn, t.eichorn@unsw.edu.au or 02 9065 0485.
Bull Shark Bandits and coastal scientists come inland to Dubbo
The stars of National Geographic’s Bull Shark Bandits, marine scientists, climate experts, and an astronomer equipped with telescopes are headed inland to Dubbo for ‘Science at Heart’ (S@H) to foster curiosity in this regional community.
A day of interactive sessions and talks will offer Dubbo residents the opportunity to hear about the science of oysters, mangroves, human choice (economics), and the physics of climate change, before seeing the stars through telescopes in an evening astronomy session. Marine biologists Mariel Familiar López and Johan Gustafson, who featured in Nat Geo TV shows Bull Shark Bandits and SHARKFEST, will share their knowledge of frogs and sharks.
Saturday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-heart/dubbo
Media enquiries: Marian Vidal-Fernandez, m.vidal-fdez@sydney.edu.au or 0451 818 612.
Speakers are available for media interviews.