Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
RSNSW and Learned Academies Forum 2025—AI: The Hope and the Hype
Government House Sydney, 6 November 2025
Program brochure: https://www.royalsoc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/RSNSW-Forum-2025-AI_Hope_and_Hype-20251106-full-program.pdf
Governor's Address commences at 03:20
Introductory Address commences at 24:22
Keynote Presentation commences at 36:23
00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to the Governor: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade FRSN, President, Royal Society of New South Wales
00:03:20 Official Opening and Governor's Address: Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales
00:18:01 Vote of Thanks and Introduction to the Program Chair: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade
00:19:17 Overview of the Forum: Professor Sally Cripps FRSN, Co-Director, Human Technology Institute, University of Technology Sydney and Chair, Forum Program Committee
00:24:22 Introductory Address: The Honourable Victor Dominello, CEO, Future Government Institute and Former NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government
00:35:30 Introduction to the Keynote Speaker: Professor Sally Cripps
00:36:23 Keynote Presentation: Professor Pascal Van Hentenryck FAAAI, A. Russell Chandler III Chair and Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
01:02:05 Audience Q&A: moderated by Professor Sally Cripps
01:06:37 Session Close
Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the presenters or forum participants in this video, do not necessarily reflect those of the Royal Society of New South Wales.
Summary: Artificial intelligence today sits at the crossroads of grand hopes and rampant hype. Optimists point to extraordinary investments—tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure—as catalysts for growth and efficiency. In the U.S., AI-driven capital expenditures in the second quarter of this year accounted for nearly half of that quarter’s 3% GDP gain. McKinsey forecasts an astonishing $7 trillion in global AI investment over the next 5 years, fueling narratives of transformative potential.
This wave of optimism has also reached Australia. Political leaders—including Treasurer Jim Chalmers— note “We see AI as a huge opportunity for Australia, it’s a key part of our productivity agenda, an absolute game changer”, aligning with Productivity Commission projections of AU$116 billion in gains over the next decade and a 4.3 percentage‑point boost in labour productivity. This marks a significant shift from the earlier priority on safe, ethical deployment to one of economic opportunity.
This shift extends beyond Australia. In the United Kingdom, the new Labour government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan—backed by £14 billion in private-sector investment—marks a clear pivot from previous safety-centred messaging to one emphasising “opportunity and growth.” However, history offers a cautionary note—productivity gains are rarely distributed evenly. A recent Nature paper, Bridging the Digital Divide, examined data from 59 countries over 25 years and found that while technological innovation can enhance connectivity and efficiency, it has often exacerbated income inequality, especially in developed economies.
And then there is the question of whether these forecast productivity gains are realistic. Many economists urge caution. Torsten Sløk, Apollo’s chief economist, warns the AI bubble may rival the 1990s dot‑com boom, while Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu estimates AI may automate only 5% of jobs and contribute approximately 1% to global GDP this decade, a non-trivial but modest effect, and certainly much less than the revolutionary changes some are predicting. Emily M. Bender’s The AI Con also challenges techno‑optimism by characterising many AI systems as “sophisticated illusions” that mimic understanding without genuine comprehension, underpinned by invisible labour and structural inequality.
A more balanced view is given by Narayanan and Kapoor, in AI as Normal Technology, urging us to understand AI as akin to electricity or the internet—transformative but gradual, institutionally mediated—not as a sudden rupture, tempering both utopian and apocalyptic visions.
This evolving discourse on AI’s impact is at the heart of the upcoming Royal Society of NSW Forum Day: “AI: The Hope and The Hype.” The event’s sessions, AI in Communities, AI for Health, AI and the Law, AI in Practice, and AI Research & Future Directions, offer a timely platform to explore how AI’s promise intersects with productivity, equity, governance, and societal impact.
At its core, the tension remains between hype — exuberance untethered from evidence, and hope — grounded optimism shaped by governance, ethics, and fairness. As we confront this new technology, a critical question emerges: Is AI truly different from previous transformative technologies—like electricity or the internet—or is it simply another innovation riding waves of hype?
RSNSW and Learned Academies Forum 2025—AI: The Hope and the Hype
Government House Sydney, 6 November 2025
Program brochure: https://www.royalsoc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/RSNSW-Forum-2025-AI_Hope_and_Hype-20251106-full-program.pdf
Governor's Address commences at 03:20
Introductory Address commences at 24:22
Keynote Presentation commences at 36:23
00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to the Governor: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade FRSN, President, Royal Society of New South Wales
00:03:20 Official Opening and Governor's Address: Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales
00:18:01 Vote of Thanks and Introduction to the Program Chair: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade
00:19:17 Overview of the Forum: Professor Sally Cripps FRSN, Co-Director, Human Technology Institute, University of Technology Sydney and Chair, Forum Program Committee
00:24:22 Introductory Address: The Honourable Victor Dominello, CEO, Future Government Institute and Former NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government
00:35:30 Introduction to the Keynote Speaker: Professor Sally Cripps
00:36:23 Keynote Presentation: Professor Pascal Van Hentenryck FAAAI, A. Russell Chandler III Chair and Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
01:02:05 Audience Q&A: moderated by Professor Sally Cripps
01:06:37 Session Close
Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the presenters or forum participants in this video, do not necessarily reflect those of the Royal Society of New South Wales.
Summary: Artificial intelligence today sits at the crossroads of grand hopes and rampant hype. Optimists point to extraordinary investments—tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure—as catalysts for growth and efficiency. In the U.S., AI-driven capital expenditures in the second quarter of this year accounted for nearly half of that quarter’s 3% GDP gain. McKinsey forecasts an astonishing $7 trillion in global AI investment over the next 5 years, fueling narratives of transformative potential.
This wave of optimism has also reached Australia. Political leaders—including Treasurer Jim Chalmers— note “We see AI as a huge opportunity for Australia, it’s a key part of our productivity agenda, an absolute game changer”, aligning with Productivity Commission projections of AU$116 billion in gains over the next decade and a 4.3 percentage‑point boost in labour productivity. This marks a significant shift from the earlier priority on safe, ethical deployment to one of economic opportunity.
This shift extends beyond Australia. In the United Kingdom, the new Labour government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan—backed by £14 billion in private-sector investment—marks a clear pivot from previous safety-centred messaging to one emphasising “opportunity and growth.” However, history offers a cautionary note—productivity gains are rarely distributed evenly. A recent Nature paper, Bridging the Digital Divide, examined data from 59 countries over 25 years and found that while technological innovation can enhance connectivity and efficiency, it has often exacerbated income inequality, especially in developed economies.
And then there is the question of whether these forecast productivity gains are realistic. Many economists urge caution. Torsten Sløk, Apollo’s chief economist, warns the AI bubble may rival the 1990s dot‑com boom, while Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu estimates AI may automate only 5% of jobs and contribute approximately 1% to global GDP this decade, a non-trivial but modest effect, and certainly much less than the revolutionary changes some are predicting. Emily M. Bender’s The AI Con also challenges techno‑optimism by characterising many AI systems as “sophisticated illusions” that mimic understanding without genuine comprehension, underpinned by invisible labour and structural inequality.
A more balanced view is given by Narayanan and Kapoor, in AI as Normal Technology, urging us to understand AI as akin to electricity or the internet—transformative but gradual, institutionally mediated—not as a sudden rupture, tempering both utopian and apocalyptic visions.
This evolving discourse on AI’s impact is at the heart of the upcoming Royal Society of NSW Forum Day: “AI: The Hope and The Hype.” The event’s sessions, AI in Communities, AI for Health, AI and the Law, AI in Practice, and AI Research & Future Directions, offer a timely platform to explore how AI’s promise intersects with productivity, equity, governance, and societal impact.
At its core, the tension remains between hype — exuberance untethered from evidence, and hope — grounded optimism shaped by governance, ethics, and fairness. As we confront this new technology, a critical question emerges: Is AI truly different from previous transformative technologies—like electricity or the internet—or is it simply another innovation riding waves of hype?
