Abstract: 

AI and machine learning provide some extraordinary opportunities for improving public sector service delivery and policy outcomes, but there are also great risks, both real and perceived. The public sector is accountable to the Government, the Parliament and the general public, and decisions must be explainable, auditable, appealable and traceable back to legal and policy authorities. This talk will explore how to build a trustworthy approach so that the government use of AI and ML aligns with the values of the people and communities we serve.

Bio: 

Pia Andrews is an open government and data ninja who has been driving digital, data, policy and legislation transformation in the public sector for a decade. Pia has been in the tech sector and community for another 10 years before that and has been evangelising “gov as a platform” right throughout. She works within the (public sector) machine to enable greater transparency, democratic engagement, citizen-centric design and real, pragmatic actual innovation in the public sector and beyond.

Pia believes that tech culture particularly open source, has a huge role to play in achieving better policy planning, outcomes, public engagement and a better public service all round. She is also trying to do her part in establishing greater public benefit from publicly funded data, software and research. Pia was recognized in 2018 as one of the global top 20 most Influential in Digital Government and was awarded as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Australia for 2014.