In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Luna Park
1 Olympic Drive Milsons Point
North Bondi
Sydney, New South Wales, 2061
Australia

Alexis Weaver

ALEXIS WEAVER (she/her) is a composer, sound artist and educator based in Sydney, Australia. A passionate composer of electroacoustic music, Alexis has also composed soundtracks for animation, short film, theatre, dance, and podcasts. Alexis’ electroacoustic works have been broadcast in Australia, the US, the UK, and Europe, as well as featured on New Weird Australia’s Collapse Theories (2022), Solitary Wave (2019) and RMN Classical’s Electroacoustic and Beyond II (2017) compilation albums. Recent highlights include her residency in Venice for La Biennale di Venezia throughout 2023, where Alexis composed an immersive electroacoustic work featuring poetry by Dr Geosmin Turpin. She also collaborated with Kopi Su Studio to premiere a new, AI-generated work for the Sonic Mutations livestream at the Sydney Opera House, which was revisited for the 2023 Sydney SxSW Festival. Alexis is an Associate Lecturer in Music Technology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She is also a PhD candidate with the University of Sydney's School of Chemistry, studying the role of music and sound design in science communication.

Chris Andrew

Chris Andrew is currently working with First Nations enterprises committed to nation (re-)building. With an early career in global investment banking and the oil sector - Now — his focus has shifted to focus on supporting people and businesses that accelerate community and environmental outcomes. Chris is an invited non-Indigenous advisor to a number First Nations organisations. Including The Waluwin Foundation: which was founded by Paul Girrawah House. The Waluwin Foundation is a social enterprise working to establish new banking and finance systems to support the purchase of freehold title farmlands by First Nations people. To revive traditional agricultural practices that care for Country and support communities.

Claire O'Rourke

Claire is an author, environmentalist and advocate, with two decades working in journalism, communications and campaigns across Australia and around the world. Her work lies in helping others take action on climate change. Claire’s Dad worked at coal fired power stations all his career, and now she spends her days working on how we can replace them in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Her work focuses on how we can ensure workers, communities and First Nations peoples share in the benefits as the world quickly transitions to clean, renewable energy. Currently she is the Australian Program Director at The Sunrise Project — an organisation set-up to drive the transition from fossil fuels to renewables as fast as possible. Her first book, Together We Can, was published in 2022. And very shortly, she will be moving to a new role, to lead The Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network.

Kai Riemer

Dr Kai Riemer works with boards and executives to bring foresight expertise and deep understanding of emerging technologies into strategy and leadership.

Kartini Ludwig

Kartini is the Director and Founder of Kopi Su, a digital design and innovation studio, and Koup Music, a startup focused on building a platform to help audio artists create, control and customise their own AI music. Kartini is also, the driving force behind Sonic Mutations, an AI and music performance series originally commissioned by the Sydney Opera House for the Outlines Festival in July 2023. With over eight years’ experience as a seasoned Producer and Digital Strategist, Kartini has an impressive track record of delivering projects at the intersection of arts, culture and technology. Her other past contributions include working on projects for organisations such as Google's Creative Lab, Creative Australia and the Biennale of Sydney.

Nadia Lee

Nadia Lee is an ethical AI advocate and the founder of ThatsMyFace, an AI company which detects key assets and people in malicious content for businesses. She is the Industry Partner at Reclaim Coalition, one of the largest global coalitions against image-based abuse. She is also a member at the Content Authenticity Initiative, a global alliance led by Adobe and Microsoft to protect digital provenance. She has a background as an AI policy researcher and start-up entrepreneur. Nadia recently appeared on ABC’s Q&A program on the topic of AI.

Pete Ceglinski

Pete is an entrepreneur working in environmental technology, innovation and systems design. In 2014, he co-founded the Seabin Project, a revolutionary method of cleaning up our oceans with floating bins designed to catch rubbish, oil, fuel and microplastics. Pete’s work has been featured in Time Magazine, and he was recognised by GQ as Person of the Year for sustainability. He’s presented technology and innovations at the United Nations, plus many more awards and recognitions over the years. Before starting Seabin in 2016 — Pete’s first career was as an Industrial Designer, specialising in plastic injection-moulded products (ah the irony). His second career was as a high-performance boat builder, working at the highest level for Americas Cup yacht racing teams.

Sandra Peter

Dr Sandra Peter leads executive and leadership development in cutting-edge areas of business, technology, and society. As an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Business School and Co-Director of Sydney Executive Plus (SE+), Sandra spends her time thinking about the future, researching the future, consulting on the future, and speaking about the future. Alongside Dr Kai Riemer, she heads Sydney Executive Plus (SE+), which focuses on preparing leaders for what comes next. So far, SE+ has helped upskill executives and leaders across 20+ industries in areas ranging from AI Fluency to Geopolitics and Business to Net Zero. Her research focuses on engaging with the future in productive ways and the impact of emerging technologies (including AI) on business and society. Most recently, she co-authored The 2025 Skills Horizon, a new, annual, global initiative that brings these focuses together. It explores what leaders need to know next and features insights from conversations with dozens of executives and leaders—from heads of government to head chefs—about our changing world. Previously, she has led strategic initiatives and worked on executive programs with business, research organisations, Government and Defence. Sandra has published in leading business journals and worked on an array of educational research initiatives and programs, including with UNESCO and the Department of Education. On the media front, she regularly contributes commentary, interviews, and research to national and international media. She has spoken around the world and been told that she should do stand-up. Be warned: some of her presentations may contain AI-generated cats.

Simon Carlile

Simon has a BSc (Hons) and PhD from the University of Sydney, held a Junior Research Fellowship in Oxford (UK) and was a Lecturer in Neuroscience for Pembroke College. Simon later established the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Sydney, where he was Professor of Neuroscience in the Faculty of Medicine. Simon is currently an Honorary Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University. Simon has published more than 120 articles in peer-reviewed international journals, edited a foundation volume on Auditory Virtual Reality and is Associate Editor for Nature’s Scientific Reports. Simon has led two spin-off companies in the audio space, one of which brought new processing algorithms for listening devices to market. As Vice President for Research at Starkey Hearing Technology based in Berkeley, Simon developed a user centred research and technology strategy to reposition the hearing aid as a platform for health and wellness using biosensing. In 2018 Simon joined Google [X], The Moonshot Factory in Mountain View CA, and was the technical lead for a major moonshot project, now incorporated as a VC backed startup in Silicon Valley. Most recently, Simon joined Google Research (Australia) as a Senior Staff Research Scientist and is based in Sydney.

Stefan Harrer

Dr Stefan Harrer is the Director of AI for Science at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. He is on a mission to revolutionise scientific discovery by harnessing the power of AI agents. In senior leadership roles at IBM Research, he led groundbreaking work on AI-driven epilepsy management and developed the world’s first AI-powered wearable for seizure prediction. An inventor with 73 granted patents, a passionate advocate for ethical AI, and a mentor and advisor to startups and governments, Stefan inspires the next frontier of AI innovation and use.

Will Liang

Will Liang is a contrarian thinker and seasoned technologist with a deep passion for AI. He strongly believes in its transformative potential for work and life. Will Liang is an Executive Director at MA Asset Management, where he is responsible for overseeing the company's data, technology, and Al initiatives. His extensive career includes a decade at Macquarie Group, fulfilling several key roles-notably, he served as the head of technology for Macquarie Capital in APAC and spearheaded the technology strategy for the innovative Moonshot initiative. Will's career path led him to Harvard to further enhance his expertise in data analytics and artificial intelligence. Upon returning to Australia, he joined KPMG in a pivotal role, becoming the National Leader of Regulatory Technology. Besides his executive commitments, Will serves as a non-executive director and treasurer for the Reg Tech Association's board and participates as a member of the Financial Services Council technology expert group. Will is also a member of the Forbes Technology Council. As of 2023, Will has earned recognition as a Linkedin Top Voice in Al and was distinguished as the most influential Asian Australian under 40 in the corporate category.