UNSW Centre for Ideas

Our coastal marine habitats are suffering from the man-made degradation of climate change. From coral reefs to seagrass meadows, oyster reefs and kelp forests, these ecosystems are vital nurseries for marine life and natural coastal buffers against storms and we’re losing them at a rapid pace. But all is not lost. We have the tools and the know-how to restore these environments.
Tune in to learn from Ann Flemming Nielsen, a PhD student at the Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, on how we can use human engineering to build back the coastal environments in severe decline and give nature a chance to recover.
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Light has unlocked many technologies over the course of human history. The more we learn about what light is and what it can do, the more applications we find to advance our lives. When we study light at the smallest scale possible, at the atomic level, we can unlock some pretty amazing, pretty weird capabilities.
Find out from Dr Alison Goldingay, an award-winning Postdoctoral Fellow at UNSW in the School of Physics, about how the study of light is making quantum computing a reality.
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Within today's social media landscape, a finely tuned content algorithm is serving up often unhealthy and sometimes extreme views on masculinity. For boys, in particular, the injection of vitriol into playgrounds, classrooms, backyards and wider society has turned the question of what it means to be a man on its head. This is also having far-reaching consequences for young girls and women.
So what do we do when influencers co-opt masculinity for clout? As the dawn of the social media ban for young people rapidly approaches, is this a chance to reframe what it means to be a man?
ABC presenter Siobhan Marin as she explores this topic with award-winning author, human rights advocate and Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo, former Aussie Rules player and Sydney Swans Chief Executive Officer and newly appointed Chief Operating Officer for the AFL, Tom Harley.
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Ask any AI image generator to create an image of a garden and you’re likely to receive a very specific type; manicured English or French, colourful plants, geometric forms and a winding pathway made of stone or gravel. Why is this such a big deal? Millions of AI images are generated every week but they only represent a narrow view of real life because the technology is trained off western-centric perspectives.
In an era of AI slop and Shrimp Jesus’, hear from Dr Charu Maithani, a Lecturer in Media, Journalism and Communication, about how changing the approach to machine learning could have far reaching effects on our visual vocabulary.
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As natural disasters increase in frequency and severity, we are all at risk of one day having our homes and our lives being in danger from fire or flood. Right now, we are seeing an unprecedented level of people needing rescue in the midst of disaster. But rescue shouldn’t just be after the point of no return, when people must evacuate their homes because hazardous conditions overwhelm communities.
Listen to Dr Regina Jefferies, a human rights and refugee lawyer, on how recognising the broad scope of who tends to be a first responder in a disaster, and what it means to truly save people, could offer a fairer, kinder chance of rescue.
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