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Bill Simpson-Young

Chief Executive, Gradient Institute, University of Sydney
Bill is co-founder and Chief Executive of Gradient Institute, a non-profit research institute with the purpose of progressing the research, design, development and adoption of ethical AI systems.

Bill has spent his career so far in computer technology research and development working in teams of researchers, software engineers and product designers to develop novel techniques, technologies and products and get these into widespread use.

He started as a software engineer and research assistant in machine learning (ML), working on the c4.5 library, one of the world’s first ML technologies used commercially. He has led R&D for global technology companies (Canon and Unisys) and government-funded research institutions (CSIRO and NICTA) and been on the executive teams of three leading Australian science and technology organisations (CiSRA, NICTA and CSIRO’s Data61).

Until 2018, he was Director of Engineering and Design at Data61 where he led a team of 100 data scientists, engineers, user experience designers and product managers, developing new techniques, technologies and products. This included work in areas incuding ML (including ethically-aware ML), data privacy, computational law, geospatial systems and more.

He designed and taught a Masters course in IT Innovation at University of Sydney for seven years to 2016 covering topics such as technology life cycles, disruptive innovation, open innovation, open source strategies, organisational culture for innovation and innovation ecosystems. He has sat on several government data-related committees influencing approaches to data sharing, data privacy, data analytics and open data as well as advisory groups at two Australian universities. He has degrees in computer science, history of art and cognitive science.

Artificial intelligence can deepen social inequality. Here are 5 ways to help prevent this

Jan 14, 2021 06:30 am UTC| Technology

From Google searches and dating sites to detecting credit card fraud, artificial intelligence (AI) keeps finding new ways to creep into our lives. But can we trust the algorithms that drive it? As humans, we make...

Economy

JPMorgan Sees ECB Raising Rates to 2.75% in December

JPMorgan now expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise interest rates for a third time in December, lifting its policy rate to 2.75% as persistent inflation, higher energy costs and resilient eurozone growth...

Asian Currencies Rise as Yen Surges on Fed Rate Outlook

Asian currencies strengthened on Friday, led by a sharp rally in the Japanese yen as the U.S. dollar weakened following dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. The yen was heading for a weekly...

US Oil Blockade Deepens Iran’s Economic Crisis

Iran is facing mounting economic strain as a U.S. campaign targeting its oil exports, financial networks and sanctions-evasion channels increasingly restricts Tehrans access to foreign currency and essential imports,...

U.S. Payrolls Seen Rebounding in August as Labor Market Stays Soft

U.S. payroll growth is expected to have recovered in August as local government education employment rebounded, although job losses linked to changes in immigration protections could limit overall gains. Economists...

Gold Prices Hold Near $4,500 as Fed Rate Hike Bets Ease

Gold prices hovered near $4,500 an ounce on Thursday, extending a strong rebound as Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Wallers comments reduced expectations for a September interest rate hike. A softer U.S. dollar and...

Politics

Milei Threatens Falkland Oil Firms With Sanctions

Argentine President Javier Milei has threatened sanctions against oil companies operating around the Falkland Islands, escalating Argentinas long-running sovereignty dispute with Britain over the South Atlantic territory....

South Korea, US Discuss Chip Investments Amid Tariff Plans

South Korea and the United States are holding discussions over semiconductor investments in U.S. manufacturing as the two countries navigate broader economic and trade negotiations, a senior Seoul official said Friday. The...

Trump Seeks Europe Repayment for U.S. Ukraine Military Aid

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to ask European nations to reimburse the United States for military aid and munitions previously supplied to Ukraine, while signaling that U.S. weapons sales to allies...

Brazil Warns EU of Retaliation Over Animal Products Ban

Brazil has warned that it could impose reciprocal measures against the European Union if negotiations fail to resolve a new EU ban on Brazilian animal products, raising the prospect of fresh trade tensions between the two...

Pacific Leaders Raise Alarm Over China Missile Test as Nauru Dissents

Pacific Island leaders have raised concerns over Chinas latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test in the Pacific, although Nauru formally rejected the regional blocs position during an annual summit in Palau....

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic Nears $15 Billion Credit Deal Ahead of IPO

Anthropic is reportedly close to finalizing an expansion of its revolving credit facility to $15 billion, strengthening the artificial intelligence companys financial position ahead of its widely anticipated initial public...

Xiaomi Shares Jump on Europe EV Expansion Plan

Xiaomi shares climbed sharply on Friday after the Chinese technology giant confirmed plans to begin selling its electric vehicles in Europe in 2027, marking a major step in its international EV expansion. Xiaomi Corp...

Nvidia Eyes $2.5 Billion Investment in Thinking Machines Lab

Nvidia is reportedly in discussions to invest about $2.5 billion in Thinking Machines Lab, the artificial intelligence startup founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati, as the chip giant continues to expand its...

Chinese AI Stocks Rally After OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra

Chinese AI stocks rallied on Friday after OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra, its latest artificial intelligence model, fueling investor optimism over accelerating AI development and the commercial potential of advanced AI...

OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra With Advanced AI Agent Capabilities

OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra on Thursday, describing it as its most capable artificial intelligence model yet as the company confronts growing concerns over the safety and control of increasingly autonomous AI systems. The...