Month: September 2021

The Conversation article: Digital tech is the future, but Australia risks being left in the past

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq and colleague Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas have authored this article in The Conversation to accompany the new report released today “Australia’s Digital Future a nation of users or leaders?.” The Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering have jointly issued an urgent call to action, asking the government and industry to recognise the importance of emerging digital technologies as a national science priority.

The report makes several key recommendations:

  1. elevate emerging digital technologies as a national science and innovation priority
  2. include research and innovation in emerging digital technologies in the 2021 Research Infrastructure Roadmap
  3. recognise emerging digital technologies as an independent growth sector.

Read the full strategic plan here.

Second Round of PhD Scholarships at UQ

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Applications closed 24 October 2021.

 

We are seeking highly motivated PhD researchers to join the Centre for exciting projects with the following industry & government partners: Aginic, Max Kelsen, Allianz Partners, Queensland Department of Education, Health & Wellbeing Queensland, Queensland Police Service, and Queensland Health.

Now open for application: 11 x PhD scholarships offered by the ARC Training Centre for Information Resilience [CIRES] .

Only domestic or onshore international candidates are eligible to apply.

PhD Scholarship applications now open!
Deadline 24 October 2021
For January or April 2022 start

This is an opportunity to be part of an innovative HDR training program. As a PhD researcher with CIRES, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with university and industry partner supervisors on research with real world impact. During your degree, you will undertake a one-year placement with the industry partner.

We offer a generous scholarship package of $34,627 per annum (2021 rate) and top up scholarships from $5,000 per annum. We are now recruiting for the following projects. All positions are based at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia Campus. Applications closed 24th October 2021.

For full details and how to apply visit our Study With Us page

If you have any questions about CIRES or applying for these projects, please contact our Centre Manager Kate Aldridge k.aldridge@uq.edu.au

The Brilliant article: How one scientist is cleaning up the world’s dirty data

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq was featured in this piece by The Brilliant looking at how data underlying algorithms is collected and the biases embedded in them. The way to disrupt this cycle of bias is information resilience, which means understanding how information is collected, and identifying all opportunities for bias to be introduced.

When Amazon developed an automated recruitment tool, the hope was that an unbiased, logical algorithm could read a CV and identify the best candidates. The algorithm turned out to be an engine of sexism, which was not only biased towards male resumes, but actively downgraded candidates if they came from one of two women’s universities in the USA. The problem was that the tool sought applicants whose CVs resembled previously successful job seekers; as most of these were men, the algorithm learned to reject women. It was stunning proof that algorithms are not neutral. They work according to the biases of the people who program them – a problem that computer scientist and Professor Shazia Sadiq is acutely conscious of.

Read the full feature article from The Brilliant here.