2026 AI Ethics & Social Justice Collider

AI will change everything we know about our lives, for better and worse.

This technology erodes expertise, short-circuits decision-making, and isolates people from one another. It destroys institutions and accelerates the tipping of already fragile ecological balances. It creates a divide between adopters and non-adopters in ways from which we may never fully recover. And yet, it is the most exciting and promising technology of our age, offering possibilities for solving human-made problems we haven’t even imagined.

Is it possible to have it all?

Through three provocative lightning talks and facilitated table discussions, we'll explore this question and design an AI Manifesto for the Regenerative Futures Institute.

What to expect: Fast-paced provocations, collaborative strategising, and genuine dialogue about how institutions can navigate AI's promise while honouring human rights, worker dignity, copyright protections, and environmental responsibility.

Agenda:

2pm - 2:40pm: Speakers present provocations

2:40pm - 3:40pm: Groups ideation session

3:40pm - 4pm: Groups present their ideas

Speakers:

Lisa Given: Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences, Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, and Director, Centre for Human-AI Information, RMIT 

Tim Fawns: Associate Professor (Education-Focused), Monash Education Academy

Ascelin Gordon: Senior Lecturer, Sustainability & Urban, RMIT

David Roussell: Associate Professor of Regenerative Education, RMIT

When: Fri 20 Mar from 2pm to 4pm

Where: RMIT Building 85, Level 8, Room 1

Street address: RMIT, Building 85, 97/99 Franklin St, Melbourne VIC 3000


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This event is organised by:

RMIT Regenerative Futures Institute (RFI)
RFI works to find practical solutions that help rebuild and improve social, environmental, and economic systems, making the world fairer, more inclusive, and more sustainable for everyone.

RMIT Generative AI Lab for Education (GAILE)
GAILE was established to guide and enable human-centred adoption of AI in education at RMIT and beyond.

Centre for Human-AI Information Environments (CHAI)

CHAI pioneers transdisciplinary research for reliable information systems by combining expertise in information retrieval, artificial intelligence, interaction, evaluation, and human behaviour.