The Political-Economic Risks of AI

A public talk by Jean-Paul Carvalho, Professor of Political Economy, University of Oxford

13 April 2026, 6pm-7pm | Woolnough Lecture Theatre, UWA

The political and economic risks of artificial intelligence have been overshadowed by fears of malicious superintelligence and killer robots. Due to AI’s distinctive features - automation of cognitive tasks, global scalability, general-purpose technology, and importance to national security - its impact could be unlike earlier rounds of automation. It is possible that AI creates a superabundant world with unprecedented human freedom. In this public talk, Professor Carvalho will explore a tail risk in which human-level artificial general intelligence (AGI) results in massive concentration of the global economy, retreat from democratic and egalitarian institutions, and collapse of human productivity. The closest precedent would be the cultural devastation of indigenous societies under colonialism. He will describe how this process might unfold and propose measures to ensure AI has widespread benefits. Competition policy emerges as a critical tool, as do adaptive changes to political institutions. Without appropriate measures, there may be no AI-driven growth take-off and the inequality that emerges would dwarf anything experienced to date.

How are personal values transmitted to the next generation in everyday situations?

A public lecture by Anat Bardi, Professor of Social/Personality Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London

21 April 2026, 6pm-7pm | Fox Lecture Hall UWA

Personal values are the life goals that matter to us, such as being kind, curious, or open to new experiences. They shape how we see the world and how we act, and they begin to form early in life. How are values formed and what can you do about it? In this talk, we’ll explore how everyday experiences play a powerful role in shaping what children end up caring about. The talk will be particularly about processes relevant to childhood, but many also apply to value change in adulthood, like the effects of work environments and bosses. For the most part, we’ll look at how parents, teachers, and other important adults may influence children’s values, often in small, everyday situations. From the environments we create to the behaviours we model, adults have important effects on what children learn to value. This presentation will share research-based insights along with practical ideas to help support the development of positive values in children.

Digital Transformation and Environmental Sustainability

A public lecture by Professor Pradip Dutta, Centre for Energy Research, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science.

Tuesday 5 May 2026, 6pm-7pm | Woolnough Lecture Theatre, UWA

Digitalisation continues to move at warp speed, transforming lives and livelihoods. At the same time, rapid digitalisation is leading to exacerbating environmental and climate challenges. This talk highlights the direct environmental impact of our increased reliance on digital tools – from raw material depletion, water and energy use, air quality, pollution, and waste generation. These are accentuated by emerging technologies such as internet of things (IoT), blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), and digital services ranging from emailing to video streaming. At the heart of the expanding digital economy lie the data centres, for storing and processing vast volumes of data for consumers, businesses and the public sector. Data centres are characterised by huge computing capacity and cooling requirement, and accordingly consume large amounts of both energy and water. This talk also highlights the projected growth in energy demand for data centres, and the corresponding need for scale-up of decarbonised electricity grid capacity.

UWA Music presents The 2026 Callaway Lecture

Paul Kelly in Conversation

Friday 8 May 2026 | 6.30pm - 8pm
Octagon Theatre, UWA

This event is supported by the Forrest Research Foundation and the Institute of Advanced Studies.

The Callaway Lecture is one of the UWA Conservatorium of Music’s most prestigious annual events, welcoming distinguished speakers who explore music’s place in culture, creativity and public life. This year’s event features Paul Kelly in conversation. One of Australia’s most celebrated songwriters and storytellers, Kelly’s career spans more than four decades, with a catalogue of songs that have become part of the nation’s musical landscape.
Join us for this rare opportunity to hear from a truly iconic Australian artist as he reflects on his life in music, songwriting, and the stories behind the songs.

Tickets $25.00

Thermochemical Energy Storage and Multifunctional Thermal Batteries

An Interdisciplinary Seminar with Professor Pradip Dutta, Centre for Energy Research, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science.

Thursday 16 April 2026, 10am-12noon
Institute of Advanced Studies

Thermochemical sorption storage systems (TCES) (or sorption-based thermal batteries) have recently gained popularity as a viable alternative to conventional heat pumps for space heating and domestic hot water production. The sorption thermal batteries are suitable when low-grade thermal energy in the form of waste heat or non-concentrating solar thermal energy is available; they are thus ideal examples of clean energy. The present study demonstrates the use of two types of gas-solid pairs as thermochemical materials: potassium carbonate hydrate and metal hydrides. The main component is the energy storage bed (ESB) or reactor, which stores thermochemical material (TCM). For any TCES system, the reactor design is most crucial, for which a systematic scaling analysis is presented, addressing the issues of competing phenomena such as reaction kinetics, vapour flow and heat transport. The corresponding CFD and experimental studies are also reported. The dynamics of the systems as functions of various operating parameters will be presented, and the multifunctional features of the thermal battery system will be demonstrated with respect to heating and cooling applications.

How can you incorporate personal values into your research?

Masterclass with Anat Bardi, Professor of Social/Personality Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London

Monday, 20th April, 10am-12noon
Institute of Advanced Studies

Personal values convey broad goals that are important to people in their lives, like independence, kindness, achievement, having power, tradition, or security. Professor Anat Bardi has been studying values for over 30 years, using the Schwartz (1992, 2012, 2017) framework. After a brief introduction to the concept and to the specific value framework, Prof. Bardi will discuss how incorporating values into your research can advance understanding your research topics, as well as how to go about it. The masterclass can be tailored to the varied attendees’ interests and specific research questions, and attendees are encouraged to share their current interests and specific questions.