Can Democracy Survive AI?
Event details
Wednesday 8 October 2025, 6pm - 7.15pm
Online & Allan Scott Auditorium, Hawke Building,
UniSA City West Campus, 55 North Terrace Adelaide
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Livestream
08 October 2025
burning platforms:
Can Democracy Survive AI?
Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre and Per Capita's Centre of the Public Square, Burning Platforms Podcast
AI is transforming our world at rapid speed, raising urgent questions about who benefits, who loses, and how we keep control of the future.
Panellists from the Burning Platforms podcast, explore the promises and pitfalls of AI - and what’s at stake for all Australians. Panellists include:
- Lizzie O’Shea: Human Rights Lawyer & Chairperson, Digital Rights Watch
- Peter Lewis: Executive Director, Essential Media & Fellow, Per Capita
- Dan Stinton: CEO and Managing Director, Healthengine
While the boosters of AI are rushing to transform the world, citizens are being left in the slipstream, with little chance to influence how this new technology takes shape.
AI systems are built by harvesting the ideas and creations of others, often without consent, and are already eroding jobs and reshaping culture on the promise of future productivity with little input from those whose livelihoods are on the line.
As the Luddites taught us, the way we adopt technology will be critical to whether it improves people’s lives or cuts a swathe through jobs for the benefit of the few.
Many Australians perceive more risk than upside in this new technology, so why is it being pushed so hard, with so few guardrails or controls in place?
Burning Platforms, is a fortnightly podcast presented by Per Capita's Centre of the Public Square, which decodes the power of politics and Big Tech.
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speakers
Lizzie O’Shea
Human Rights Lawyer & chairperson - digital rights watch
Lizzie O'Shea is a human rights lawyer specialising in public interest litigation. Lizzie has local and international experience in a wide array of court jurisdictions, and is passionate about equality before the law and that the rule of law should be protected, particularly given the incursions on civil liberties that have become a staple part of the war on terror. In 2019, Lizzie received the Human Rights Hero Award for her work campaigning against Australia’s encryption laws.
Peter Lewis
Executive Director, Essential Media & fellow, per capita
Peter Lewis is executive director of the progressive strategic communications agency Essential Media, the founder of the collaborative engagement platform Civility and a fellow with Per Capita’s Centre of the Public Square. He is a regular columnist with The Guardian Australia, as well as the author of five books, including Webtopia and The Public Square Project.
Dan Stinton
CEO and Managing Director, Healthengine
Dan Stinton joined Healthengine as CEO and Managing Director in August 2023 with a mission to improve access to Australian healthcare. He has more than 20 years of experience working in startups, media and technology and has held executive and digital transformation roles at Yahoo, Seven West Media and The Guardian.
Presented by
The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre
and percapita's 'burning platforms' podcast
While the views presented by speakers within The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre public program are their own and are not necessarily those of either the University of South Australia, or The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, they are presented in the interest of open debate and discussion in the community and reflect our themes of: Strengthening our Democracy - Valuing our Diversity - Building our Future. The Hawke Centre reserves the right to change their program at any time without notice.
