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Cori Moran
- We are living through a seismic wave of technological change that is reshaping every
facet of how we work, connect and thrive.
- Just as the internet, mobility and cloud once forced us to rethink how we do business
and live - artificial intelligence is now taking this transformation to an entirely new scale.
- AI is no longer just an idea on the horizon; it is already driving unprecedented new
demands on our digital infrastructure and beginning to disrupt every industry, workflow
and business model.
- The latest Reserve Bank of Australia research (published last week) shows Australian
firms are reporting a marked acceleration in technology investment and AI adoption.
- Firms see AI as critical for productivity and competitiveness but face major challenges
around integration, skills and the pace of change, including upskilling their workforce
and managing risks like data privacy and cyber resilience.
- In Queensland, these shifts are even more pronounced, with 2,000 people moving to
Southeast Queensland each week, creating both promise and pressure.
- This growth, combined with momentum toward the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic
Games, provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build digital and physical infrastructure for the AI era and create a lasting legacy.
- The acceleration of AI brings new risks around security, privacy and trust. Queensland’s
new Cyber Security Strategy (2025–2027) focuses on resilience, workforce development and governance.
- Realising the promise of these innovations requires collaboration across industry, government, educators and the community.
- We need to nurture talent, embrace data-driven transparency and maintain a relentless
focus on measurable impact to ensure infrastructure is innovative, resilient, sustainable
and inclusive.
- Today we are exploring how to:
- Turn bold ideas and emerging technologies into real, lasting outcomes
for Queensland.
- Manage risk while staying ahead in a fast-changing landscape.
- Build a legacy that empowers every Queenslander now and for decades to come.
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You’ve helped shape Australia’s national strategy for AI and technology. Could you set the scene
for us - what are the megatrends reshaping science, technology and business in the world and in
Queensland right now?
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Dr Stefan Hajkowicz
- Sixteen years ago, I was asked by a senior CSIRO executive to fi gure out the future
for the coming 20 years for CSIRO, which led me to the megatrends concept by US
academic John Naisbitt.
- The philosophy behind megatrends is using evidence and data to explore trajectories of
change so industry and government can make smarter strategic choices.
- The megatrends we are now seeing are climate change (with a focus on adaptation as
emissions continue to rise), chronic illness linked to diet, exercise and sleep, the ageing
population and geopolitical change.
- But recent geopolitical analyses show a challenging pathway over the next 10 years,
particularly for Australia around supply chain resilience.
- In science and technology, I started working on AI in 2018 when we were asked to write
the National Roadmap and the National Ethics Framework – which is now published by
the Australian Government.
- If you’d asked me twelve months ago, it would have seemed that we would have been
getting an AI Act in Australia, but this seems unlikely now.
- When we wrote the roadmap, none of us foresaw the world of 2025 or the capability of
the models now emerging.
- Gemini 3 has just been released today and hit new benchmarks; the models are far
better than we expected - and most people in the room will use one of these tools today.
- Looking to 2030, there are exciting and somewhat scary prospects; groups like Epoch
AI in the US are analysing how good AI can get.
- Some experts believe that scaling laws are ending, but others - including EPOCH AI -
believe there are still returns to scaling with more powerful compute.
- Quantum technologies are hovering in the background and could reshape things
further, along with algorithmic breakthroughs like the 2017 transformer architecture and
DeepSeek R1’s reinforcement-learning approach.
- New discoveries and algorithmic improvements could shift what is possible again.
- We are moving into a world where we should neither overestimate nor underestimate
where AI can take us – it seems that much more powerful AI by 2030 is a feasible scenario.
- Importantly, each of us is now asking how to turn AI into practical value for our business
and work.
- Our workflows increasingly involve tools like Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity and others - providing multiple ways to integrate AI into workflows to create entirely new ways of working.
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As we see increased investment in AI and Queensland’s new Cyber Security Strategy announced, how
should organisations balance the drive for productivity with the need to manage regulatory, privacy
and cyber risk? What’s your practical advice for leaders right now?
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Leah Mooney
- There is a challenge in that we don’t have a ‘north star’ in the form of an AI Act in Australia.
- We are adopting more of a Mid-Atlantic approach: on one side, the EU has a riskbased
AI Act, and on the other side, President Trump has released directives removing regulatory red tape so the US can win the AI arms race against China.
- I agree with Stefan that a year ago, it seemed we would have an AI Act by now - but this
hasn’t been realised.
- My advice to organisations is that you absolutely need to be embracing AI. Although there
are certainly risks, if you’re not riding the AI wave then you’re going to get left behind.
- While there is no specific AI legislation, existing Australian laws still apply - mainly
privacy and intellectual property laws.
- It looks like Australia will soon be examining those privacy and IP laws and considering
whether tweaks are needed.
- In the absence of legislation, organisations need to look at available guidance – so this
legislative gap is leading to more regulatory action.
- For example, ASIC and the Australian Privacy Commissioner have been very active -
whenever AI falls within their remit, they are using all tools available in their regulatory
toolkit. But this can have adverse consequences.
- My advice is to look at legislation and compliance as a starting point and follow the
guidance for your industry. There is director guidance, industry-specific guidance and
the six Australian ethics principles which have just been released.
- Organisations should also look at frameworks like ISO to see how they can support AI use.
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You’ve built and deployed AI-first solutions. What are the most common barriers you see to
responsible, real-world AI adoption and what can Queenslanders do to build both capability and trust?
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Derek Sheerin
- What we all see today - Copilot or ChatGPT - are the first instances of what AI can do,
but they’re not truly agentic.
- An agent is an LLM or a model (vision or text) that has access to tools like SharePoint
or internal systems and can work in the loop.
- An agentic system is multiple agents working as a team in partnership with humans to
deliver outcomes and end-to-end workflows.
- At Davidson, we have a delivery business, a labs business that builds AI and a risk
business combining business and technology risk considerations.
- We’ve been building AI for clients and focusing on very easy, high-ROI business cases
that are low risk from both a customer and internal perspective, especially around data.
- For example, we’ve used AI to automate parts of the delivery lifecycle for implementing
core systems.
- We built our own product - an agentic system for vendor-risk compliance for boards and
the C-suite, particularly for CPS230 in financial services.
- We’ve also built automation solutions for miners to manage capital projects and
feasibility studies that usually take over a year, and we’re finding agentic solutions can
substantially reduce time to first draft.
- We don’t say an agentic solution should be used end-to-end without humans – so
human expertise, context and experience will remain essential.
- However, basic knowledge work which we would have typically assigned to junior or
mid-level staff is now already available to AI. This will clearly have a social impact.
- On barriers to AI usage, firstly, you need a very clear data and governance policy -
you don’t need perfect data, but you do need AI policies and clarity on where you are
comfortable strategically.
- Secondly, you need to start shallow, not wide – focusing on low-hanging fruit workflows.
AI will require a complete transformation in how you think about running processes and
the organisation. This is a ‘crawl-walk-run’ scenario, where we must build capability
slowly, learn where AI is strong, and learn where it is risky to stay clear of those paths.
- Thirdly, there is a change-adoption barrier. Copilot opens our eyes but also limits our
sense of what can be done.
- Because AI is such a new technology, we need a new way to train our employees and
ourselves. We’re going to have to change the skills we bring to the table because AI is
coming for the things we’ve been doing for the last 10 to 20 years.
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Queensland’s growth and the 2032 Olympics create both pressure and opportunity for digital and
physical infrastructure. What’s needed to ensure we turn this moment into a lasting legacy, and what
lessons can we learn from past mega-events or innovation hubs?
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Matthew Gooden
- Bringing the Olympics to Brisbane is an amazing opportunity for us to develop our city
and our state.
- We will host 35 events across 17 locations - some built, some not - with seven local
councils, multiple state departments, the federal government and Olympic governing
bodies all involved in planning, strategy, funding, execution and operationalisation.
- That complexity is part of the challenge, both physically and digitally, in how we
operationalise the Games before, during and after the event.
- History from recent Games shows that physical and digital planning must be done
together - there’s no point having a smart stadium without the smarts.
- We therefore need the technology and construction sectors working in lockstep.
- While we prioritise legacy in planning the Olympics, we sometimes think too much about
legacy and not enough about the experience we deliver at the Games.
- Digitally enabled Games often don’t execute to expectations, so we must operationalise,
improve and industrialise technology and digital services well before the Games begin.
- My work at Data#3 is about engaging on how we play a part in enabling the Games -
we advise, design, implement and manage technology systems.
- What I’m not seeing is a unified digital vision for creating an amazing experience for
spectators in stadiums and those viewing remotely.
- We need to consider that Paris had around 10 million ticket holders; with 4 million
people in Southeast Queensland, that scale could be 2.5-3 times our local population.
- We will face an enormous peak in digital communications and digital compute.
- We also need to service 5 billion viewers across broadcasting environments, allowing
them to view content how and when they want.
- For me it’s about creating that digital vision, noting that all participating bodies
have their own digital aspirations – across digital business, local government and
community engagement.
- I believe there is an opportunity to turn on some digital capabilities early as building
blocks toward the Olympics, proving that unified digital engagement for transport
systems or ticketing works before the Games.
- Seven years is not a lot of time to build a stadium, but it is a long time in technology
given we don’t yet know what capabilities will exist to create the spectator experience.
- We need a digital blueprint or architecture based on current capabilities and what we
can see coming - and then iterate with technology vendors as new technologies emerge
and mature.
- On AI - it’s worth highlighting that the energy infrastructure required is astronomical -
around 40% more compute compared to traditional compute. We therefore need large
investments in AI infrastructure, communications to support data transmission and the
power to run data centres.
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Are there unique opportunities you see for Queensland to position itself as a national or global
technology leader as we head toward 2032?
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Dr Stefan Hajkowicz
- I think the data centre boom is real and huge; in total investment terms it is like five Olympics’ worth of dollars going into data centres.
- There is no future where we don’t need a lot more compute than we have today.
- The key issue for Southeast Queensland is that most data centres are going to Sydney
and Melbourne, with only around 10% being developed in Queensland.
- We should look at the UK AI Growth Zone strategy, where government has partnered
with OpenAI and other tech companies, allowing local governments to nominate
themselves as AI Growth Zones. These zones allow for fast-tracked data centre
approvals, and the development of business ecosystems around them.
- For example, some companies co-locate with data centres because many have low-latency requirements - they need responses back to their systems very quickly for applications to run. We will likely these kinds of companies emerge around data centre hubs.
- Space and place play a really important role in tech-industry development – this is something CSIRO has studied in mapping Australia’s “Silicon Valleys.”
- We found major spatial concentration and specialisation. For example, in Maroochydore,
many companies specialise in social media AI applications, likely because they are
close to where the cable comes out of the water.
- In Burleigh Heads, there is a huge population of graphic and web designers - a major
employer and part of the Gold Coast industry.
- Like Silicon Valley, small geographic clusters can generate a lot of activity. As such, we
should ask space-based and place-based questions about how to grow these hubs.
- We can leverage the Olympics because a lot of tech is needed to deliver them. We have an
opportunity to build the tech for the Games and build industry capability at the same time.
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Technology is only as strong as the people and culture behind it. What are the critical skills and
mindsets Queensland needs to develop for a future-ready workforce, and how can leaders drive that
cultural shift?
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Derek Sheerin
- People should consider this as an individual as much as whether you’re in corporate or
public sector.
- For me, this is an unprecedented change in the economy, akin to the industrial revolution.
- We are at the dawn of a new type of intelligence that may never reach full human
capacity but can already do a huge amount of what we’ve been doing for a long time.
- We appear to be on an exponential curve in intelligence growth, and an exponential
decrease in cost per token - around a 200x reduction in the last 12 months (according to
the ARC-AGI-2 price benchmark).
- This means intelligence is rising while the cost to serve is dropping rapidly.
- Model labs are now training on knowledge work; teams are doing tasks like discount-factor analysis in investment banking to train models to perform highly complex, high-value jobs.
- These agents will start replacing parts of some jobs or whole jobs.
- If something can be done by a human and can be given a reward signal, it will
eventually be done by an AI.
- Knowledge work as we know it is at risk - though not guaranteed to be fully replaced.
- This presents an opportunity for our kids and education. The fundamental attribute the
next generation needs are curiosity and problem solving – and the ability to use tools to
solve new problems and generate new data and science.
- We need the capacity to learn difficult new things and solve real- world problems.
- In the corporate sector, you need both a defence play and an opportunity play.
- A defence play is essential because bad actors will use AI - and you must defend
against that whether or not you actively adopt AI.
- The opportunity side includes making employees’ lives easier, improving customer
experience and creating new products.
- Distribution, brand, and marketing are already undergoing major disruption - people
now prefer using AI to find products rather than searching on Google.
- Major shifts are occurring in how customers access products, presenting both disruption
and opportunity.
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With new cyber and AI challenges, how can we nurture the next generation of digital talent and ensure governance keeps pace?
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Leah Mooney
- The need to nurture the next generation of cybersecurity professionals was one of the
key objectives in the Queensland Cyber Strategy.
- At the Commonwealth level, we also have an Australian Cyber Security Strategy, which
we’re currently in horizon two of.
- I have concerns around entry-level staff and investment in junior talent because generative AI is currently pitched at tasks that junior employees would previously have done.
- If organisations use AI instead of juniors, those junior employees don’t get trained, don’t
progress, and we don’t develop the mid-level or senior leaders of the future.
- So, it will become important that we continue to nurture early-career talent.
- From an AI perspective, I encourage organisations to allow staff to responsibly use AI.
- If you’re not providing staff with AI tools, you create a significant shadow-AI problem -
they will use AI themselves, and you won’t have control over how.
- Businesses should provide staff with AI tools and invest in training them in how to use it,
because the best results come from combining technology with human oversight.
- This won’t be a ‘set and forget’ approach – and businesses should continue to reassess
the model they use and whether it remains appropriate or if additional training is needed.
- From a governance perspective, businesses must ensure policies and governance
frameworks - acceptable-use policies and technical controls - are in place to minimise
shadow-AI risk and ensure staff are appropriately trained and skilled.
- Where AI can remove minor administrative tasks, that frees time for senior leaders to
think through ethical and human-centred considerations, and importantly, to invest that
time in mentoring and nurturing staff.
- In this sense, there is a real opportunity to use AI-driven efficiencies to better
support and develop people.
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You’ve led digital transformation at scale. What’s one actionable way industry, government and
educators can collaborate to accelerate Queensland’s digital maturity?
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Matthew Gooden
- For me, the key is the continual integration of industry certification into the curriculum.
- We all talk about job-ready graduates from tertiary education, but much of the
transformation happening in organisations is being driven by tech platforms.
- Back in my day we used to customise technology to fit the busine ss process; now, tech
platforms are driving transformation through ‘as-a-service’ models with industry best practice built into them.
- The gap is having skills that understand the tech platforms and how they integrate
into businesses.
- We need a workforce that understands these technology platforms and technology
directions, and we need to build that into the curriculum so graduates are job-ready and
can fill the market gap.
- The second part is the role of integrators and the technology-provider ecosystem to
create opportunities for placements, graduates, internships and job-creation schemes.
- In a former life, we created a cybersecurity degree co-sponsored by the Victorian
Government and a local university to build cybersecurity resources.
- We used our customer ecosystem to guarantee jobs for graduates at the end of
the program.
- This model injected industry certification into the cybersecurity curriculum, trained
graduates, provided internship opportunities and offered job pathways.
- It worked well, and we need to push that model further.
- Particularly with technology transformations driven by tech platforms, it will remain
critical to stay across emerging capabilities and how they are being adopted.
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What’s the single most important step / action organisations or leaders should take today to ensure
technology delivers meaningful and inclusive outcomes for everyone?
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Leah Mooney
- I would say mind the governance gap. It is important that leaders - just as with cybersecurity - are expected to understand the technology; it’s not enough to say, “I don’t
understand it.”
- Leaders must understand the technology to properly identify risk and implement
appropriate governance measures so it can be used safely and responsibly.
- A human-centred approach is also critical. There is an opportunity to create efficiencies
and productivity gains, but also an opportunity to nurture the next generation through
those efficiencies.
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Derek Sheerin
- The most important action is to build new skills.
- The skills that got us to where we are won’t necessarily be the skills we can rely on to
take us into the future.
- We need to think about our learning adaptive rate - our ability to learn new skills in
our current jobs as leaders. We also need to role model adaptive learning for the next
generation coming through.
- We used to talk about the ‘T’ shape of skills and about how wide and deep your skillset
was. With new technologies, the ‘T’ is getting wider and deeper.
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Dr Stefan Hajkowicz
- Skills development is key.
- We have analysed 75,000 AI jobs in Australia from 2015 to 2024 and conducted text
analysis on them to understand what skillsets were needed to get one of these jobs.
- This found that the number one skill was communication - you always have to be a
great communicator. Number two was artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Number three was Python coding.
- We classified these skills as red or blue - red skills are the technical ones (Python,
data science, machine learning) and blue skills are business acumen, communication
and strategy.
- The analysis found that the person you want to be is the purple person – with a blend of
people and technical skillsets.
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Matthew Gooden
- I take a back-to-basics approach. For technology investment and focus, I ask: what is the problem we’re trying to solve, who is the problem for, and what value are they trying to elicit from the technology solution?
- Technology solutions are far more complex now; it’s no longer just delivering a customer
portal. We must factor in legislation, compliance, data governance, security, microsegmentation, scaling, containerisation, virtualisation - all of which must come together to create a robust, scalable, secure capability the business can use.
- We have technologists who are smart people – but their technical excellence is focused
on their part of the stack.
- As leaders, we need to bring business impact to the front of mind, supported by true
enterprise and solution architecture - and rally the team around that.
- With so much noise around technology advancements, we can forget about the
business impact we are trying to create.
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