Self-experimenter, author and BBC television presenter Dr. Michael Mosley will be returning to Sydney in November to speak at the World-Changing Ideas Summit Sydney, a one-day event presented by BBC Future that will provide an entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of how technology, science and health will transform the human experience.
The World-Changing Ideas Summit Sydney, in association with NAB and IBM, will take place on Tuesday November 15, 2016 at Dockside Pavilion, Darling Harbour, Sydney. The theme of the day is Your Life, Your Tomorrow which will encompass three main topic areas; The Grand Challenges, looking at cities and how we live, energy, resources, food and water; Understanding Humanity, covering psychology, health, augmentation and artificial intelligence; and Out-of-this-World, exploring space travel and aerospace.
Dr. Mosley joins an already impressive line-up of speakers including former astronauts Dr. Andrew Thomas and Ron Garan, and Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Alan Finkel. Dr. Mosley will appear across two sessions, looking at the future of food as well as the new science of exercise.
Having worked at the BBC for over 30 years, producing, directing and presenting numerous science and history documentaries, Dr. Mosley came to prominence following the success of his BBC documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer. This programme popularised his 5:2 intermittent fasting diet, leading him to co-author the best-selling book The Fast Diet in 2013. He has gone on to write the 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet and has developed a huge international following, with many experiencing the benefits of intermittent fasting and HIT (high intensity training).
Joining Dr. Mosley for his session on the future of food, is Dr. Pia Winberg, a Marine Ecologist and CEO at Venus Shell Systems whose core interest is the development of seaweed in Australia and its value to human food, health, biotechnology, animal health and agriculture.
The fascinating world of artificial intelligence will be explored by Dr. Alex Gillespie, Associate Professor in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Gillespie will explore what artificial intelligence means for us – particularly how we interact with machines. And to make his point, will demonstrate what happens when an AI takes control of a human being.
In this live demonstration, Dr. Gillespie will be joined by Kevin Corti, behavioural scientist at Uber. Kevin will also be speaking at the Summit on big data and tomorrow’s transport, looking at how the data Uber collects from cars can reveal new patterns in how people navigate cities.
Dr. Heather Hendrickson, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biosciences at Massey University in Auckland, will be discussing one of the greatest threats to our future health – the ‘antibiotic apocalypse’. This is when bacterial resistance means drugs no longer work. Dr. Hendrickson is exploring a radical and counter-intuitive solution: infecting patients with special viruses that could save people’s lives.
In another compelling Understanding Humanity session, Professor Helen Christensen, Director and Chief Scientist of the Black Dog Institute at the University of New South Wales, will look at new ways technology can be used to detect mental health issues and deliver therapies. Professor Christensen will be discussing her current research, which focuses on how websites, apps, sensors, social media and smartphone tools can be used as large-scale prevention and intervention programmes for anxiety, depression and suicide.
Commenting on the speaker line-up, Richard Fisher, Editor of BBC Future and curator of the World-Changing Ideas Summit Sydney said: “We are fortunate to have assembled a remarkable group of speakers for the upcoming World-Changing Ideas Summit Sydney. We have so many fascinating subject areas to explore and I’m looking forward to a day of innovative ideas and discussion.”
To cover some of the fascinating subject areas on the day, Jen Copestake, presenter on BBC World News’ flagship technology programme Click will be recording segments for an upcoming episode. BBC Radio 4’s Claudia Hammond will also be travelling to Australia to record a special live edition of her programme All in the Mind.
For the full speaker line-up and to register your interest in attending, please visit.
