Australia's biggest AI data centre is planned near Dalby. Let's put humans and communities first. A free community forum, and everyone is welcome.

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Let's put humans and communities first!

Australia's biggest AI data centre is planned for Kogan, 37 km north-west of Dalby. At full size it could add around a quarter to Queensland's daily electricity use. And it's being planned while concern about AI safety is growing, here and around the world.

The plans went to council in August, and talk of community benefit deals has already started, advertisements for jobs and orders for materials have already being purchased. But the people who'll live with it haven't had a real say in whether it goes ahead, or on what terms. That includes farmers, families, workers and towns.

We've been here before. Coal seam gas came in fast, with big promises. It turned lives and communities upside down, and the profits went offshore. Let's not let it happen again.

Come and ask:

Who pays for the power, and will our bills go up?
What happens to our water and land?
Will it put pressure on local housing and services?
What do we actually get, long term?
Who gets to switch it off?
What safety precautions do we need for AI?

You don't need to be an expert, and you don't need to have made up your mind. Bring your questions and your neighbours.

Hosted by Western Downs Says Pause, a local and independent community group.

This free forum is a chance to:

hear from researchers and local voices
ask your own questions
talk with your neighbours about what should happen next

You don't need to be an expert, and you don't need to have made up your mind. Just bring your questions. [Around 14,000] people have already signed a local petition, and this is a chance to take that conversation further.

Hosted by Western Downs Says Pause and Lifeworks Uniting Church, a local and independent community group.

Speakers: Toowoomba

Dr Shay Dougall, from Chinchilla, University of Sydney.
Associate Professor Michael Noetel, University of Queensland. Michael researches how to reduce serious risks from advanced AI. His team ran the largest study of how Australians see the risks of AI.
Professor Masoud Kamgarpour, University of Queensland.

Angie Mooney - St John’s Anglican Cathedral Brisbane. Graduate Certificate in Theology -St Francis College and Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Science) - University of Canberra.

Speaker Bios:

Michael Noetel works to reduce the most serious risks from artificial intelligence. His research maps the ways AI could go wrong, measures how much risk the public is willing to accept, and finds where experts agree and disagree on what to do about it. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, a Research Affiliate at MIT, and Chair of Effective Altruism Australia.

Mapping what could go wrong: With MIT FutureTech, he helps run the AI Risk Repository, the field’s reference catalogue of AI risks (cited in the International AI Safety Report), and led Australia’s largest surveys of attitudes to AI risk, which found the public expects aviation-grade safety.
Evidence people trust: Track record of highly cited systematic reviews and meta-analyses (BMJ, Nature Human Behaviour) cited in WHO guidelines and government policy; briefings to ministers and departments in Australia, Indonesia, and Taiwan.
Doing the most good: Chair and Director of Effective Altruism Australia, distributing $7.5M a year to charities with the strongest evidence behind them.

Originally from Sydney, he fell in love with a Queenslander and is a proud dad of three gorgeous boys.

Sources:

Contact the host of Toowoomba Data Centre and AI Risks Community Forum

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