Canberra, ACT, Australia

Hello,

My name is David Gould and I am a PauseAI volunteer in Canberra. I would like to link up with others in Canberra to feed into PauseAI Australia.

You can contact me with a direct message on this Discord, or through the Australia channel.

David

instant-harlequin•6/7/25, 10:19 PM

I'm also from Canberra, but Im still in school so my effect is limited at best haha

uncertain-scarletOP•6/7/25, 10:41 PM

My effect is limited also. But when added together ...

uncertain-scarletOP•6/7/25, 10:41 PM

And welcome.

uncertain-scarletOP•6/7/25, 10:41 PM

I am a teacher at Gungahlin College, so I'm still in school as well ...

accused-moccasin•6/10/25, 8:40 AM

Hi all! I live southside (Kambah) and keen to meetup with whoever's nearby. If it's within 45mins cycling, let's make it happen

Anyone attending the

booksigning with AI prof Toby Walsh? Andrew Leigh MP is there and has openly spoken of catastrophic risk. Good to have AI safety questions if there's a Q&A

uncertain-scarletOP•6/10/25, 10:38 AM

Hi Peter.

I was looking to go, but not the best timing for me, unfortunately.

Iinstant-harlequin I'm also from Canberra, but Im still in school so my effect is limited at best h...

accused-moccasin•6/10/25, 10:40 AM

Could be you have an advantage! You’ve got a flexible schedule so might be only person who can attend certain events / meetings.
Plus politicians might have a more genuine conversation with you, since you can’t possibly be a lobbyist.

Uuncertain-scarlet Hi Peter. 🙂 I was looking to go, but not the best timing for me, unfortunately.

accused-moccasin•6/10/25, 10:43 AM

Same, I do childcare most evenings so miss a lot of these

efficient-indigo•6/10/25, 8:21 PM

I am not in Canberra, but if you organise any meet up events in Canberra and want to advertise them on the Luma event calendar, let me know

accused-moccasin•6/11/25, 9:00 AM

Bring AI safety to Aussies via libraries

ACT Libraries approved attached flyers in every ACT library calling for AISI + legislation, and signing alongside 355 experts / researchers / concerned citizens.

Tuggeranong & Wanniassa done, Woden covered

Need volunteers: Belco, Civic, Dickson, Gungahlin, Kingston, Kippax

Quick task: print attached 1 poster + 50 flyers per library, they have noticeboard & tables set up. Remove by 6th July to keep libraries happy! If this goes well, we can do similar for PauseAI events / general outreach.

AI_FlyersB.pdf215.13KB

AI_FlyersA.pdf354.76KB

AI_PosterB.pdf173.41KB

AI_PosterA.pdf174.75KB

uncertain-scarletOP•6/12/25, 12:13 AM

I can do Kippax, Gungahlin and Belconnen.

accused-moccasin•6/15/25, 5:08 AM

Would we consider applying for an Inspire Australia grant for science communication?
Yesterday I chatted to a few people about AI safety. One was a Questacon officer involved in the program and said we should apply.

instant-harlequin•6/15/25, 5:25 AM

As a wise man said, if its an application, might was well apply (the wise man is me)

accused-moccasin•6/16/25, 7:25 AM

Draft email here, let me know your thoughts before I send tomorrow evening!

TO: inspiringaustralia@questacon.edu.au
SUB: Future Grant Opportunities - AI Literacy in ACT
Hi Jillian,

Your colleague Carrie Bigg suggested I reach out to you about potential funding for AI literacy in the ACT. I volunteer with several organisations focused on public understanding of AI: Australians For AI Safety, AI Safety Australia & New Zealand, and PauseAI.

I understand your grants closed in February. Can you please let me know about future opportunities, both in funding and to collaborate with other science communication organizations in the ACT?

Our work directly addresses the urgent need for public understanding of AI technology - a field advancing so rapidly that leading AI researchers predict transformative changes within the next 5-10 years. By engaging the Canberra community now, we can help ensure our region is prepared for these technological shifts while fostering critical thinking about technology's role in society.

Here are some of the activities we are already doing:
Monthly community meetup in Canberra, online forums, coworking spaces in Sydney, and newsletters to discuss AI's rapid advancement and potential impacts
Coordinating expert-led open letters and consultation submissions by the public to government on AI safety measures
Running educational campaigns about the need for responsible AI development, including our recent federal election scorecard initiative
With future grants, we aim to raise awareness with nontechnical audiences with posters and flyering to invite to the monthly meetup, and bring in guest speakers working in AI safety. <we probably want something cooler here, especially for students or young uns?>

Kind regards,
Peter

P.S. a wise man said I might as well apply, don't prove them wrong.

accused-moccasin•6/20/25, 6:20 AM

Didn't end up emailing - Claude roasted me for not having a clear plan of activities

Let's nail down our availabilities and what we're interested in doing. I've done the traditional letterwriting / flyering / putting up posters and can do more, I can do 1-5hrs a week but it's unpredictable.
We three have a nice cross-section (me in tech, David teaching, Miya student) so makes sense to lean into unique bits of our background. Thoughts on bandwidth and what sounds appealing?

efficient-indigo•6/20/25, 9:05 AM

Hi Canberrans. We have a little bit of money courtesy of a donation. If there is a recruitment or public awareness activity you would like to run, and you need some money for printing or venue hire or similar, please let me know.

instant-harlequin•6/20/25, 9:19 AM

I'm available every evening when I get back from school, and weekends, but I'm going to China for 3 weeks, starting next week, so I won't be able to access discord

uncertain-scarletOP•6/20/25, 10:21 AM

I am going to aim at the local Liberal Party over the next week, after having a good discussion with Jo Clay of the Greens.

This is what she is going to be doing as a result:

Jo will discuss with the ACT Greens party room and with Federal Greens on AI regulation and how we can drive that from within our separate Parliaments, focusing on:

An AI Safety Institute and clear regulations on AI in Australia
Call for the Australian Government and Parliamentarians to join the International Treaty to Pause AI until it’s evaluated as safe
Jo will deliver a short speech on these matters in the Legislative Assembly sitting week next week (24-26 June)
Julia will provide an update when Jo’s actions have progressed
David to engage with workers unions, who often hold a degree of influence within the Labor party

accused-moccasin•6/22/25, 12:25 AM

Have a good trip Miya! Let us know what's the AI safety scene there

accused-moccasin•6/22/25, 12:41 AM

My local MP David Smith agreed to a 45min meeting this Tuesday on AI safety. Here's my rough agenda, keen for your thoughts!

[5min] Reintroduce myself

I am a dad, tech worker deploying AI, volunteer in AI safety.
Volunteering with AFAIS, also member of AISANZ, and helping set up Canberra chapter of PauseAI.

[10min] Overview of AI safety

Assume he hasn’t looked into it
Go over expert opinion (e.g. CAIS statement, AI Impacts surveys)
Go over public opinion (e.g. Ipsos surveys 2025 & 2024, Uni QLD survey)

[5min] Framing of AI Safety

As solving both midterm catastrophic risk & nearterm economic impacts
“We’re at an early stage where the same approach will reduce the catastrophic risk, and the economic impacts, and be very popular with the public, and matches what peak business bodies are asking for.”

[10min] AFAIS whitepaper

Dropped off at his office ~3wks ago but presumably he didn’t read
Gives specific policy recommendations Labor could implement within few months

[5min] The ask - which one should I prioritise?

Reach out to Ayres to communicate there is public concern about AI risks, and Ayres’ adoption agenda needs credib;e action on safety.
Send letter to Ministers Ayres and Charlton asking for AISI timeline?
Setup a channel for meeting with AI safety orgs? With reps for PauseAI (DavidG?) , AISANZ, AFAIS (Greg Sadler) to give update every few months on AI capabilities, public sentiment.

[2min] The close

Any other colleagues he thinks would be interested? Which of his staffers are dealing with this topic?
Any committees he expects to be on & is AI relevant to any?
Would he like to be connected to other MPs interested?
Which of the things discussed can I share with fellow volunteers?

accused-moccasin•6/22/25, 12:43 AM

Some printouts I plan to bring:

News articles on AI worry, e.g. Anthropic one where it tries blackmailing engineer, need to find more.
CAIS statement with Aussie signatories highlighted
Charts of AI Impacts surveys
BCA recommendations from “Accelerating Australia’s AI Agenda”
Spare copy of AFAIS Whitepaper & infographic

efficient-indigo•6/22/25, 4:46 PM

Few thoughts from a Melbournian. First of all, congratulations on getting the Meeting. That's a huge win in and of itself. It demonstrates to a connected influential person that there are real people concerned about AI safety.

Second, although everything you've listed there seems relevant, I would say this: prepare to listen. There's a good opportunity to meet this MP where they are at. You might be surprised at the questions this person might have for you.

Third, some questions you might pose: what concerns are you hearing from People? What would it take for you to get involved in this issue? Who and what influences you're thinking on this issue?

I have not yet succeeded in getting a meeting with any politicians, so I do not speak with any Experience. I look forward to hearing how your meeting goes.

uncertain-scarletOP•6/22/25, 10:17 PM

Let him know that Andrew Leigh is concerned about this risk also.

accused-moccasin•6/27/25, 10:19 AM

Meeting went well! Got postponed to today, and ended up 25min with them promising another meeting to make up for it.
Did my best to pause

and give them space for questions. They seemed aware of some mundane risks, but the extinction bit to them was scifi until we went over CAIS statement.
Concerns they had heard about were privacy and bias. They asked what steps could the govt take on this, and we went over recommendations from Good Ancestors whitepaper.
These folks in the UK reckon easiest way to get a meeting is to cold email a lot and follow up regularly. I might try regularising my messaging, e.g. every 2-3 weeks followup with my 2 senators and 5 MLAs.
We got cut short and I didn't mention Leigh, I had even brought his book on extinction with me

What We Learned from Briefing 70+ Lawmakers on the Threat from AI ...

Between late 2024 and mid-May 2025, I briefed over 70 cross-party UK parliamentarians. Just over one-third were MPs, a similar share were members of…

accused-moccasin•6/27/25, 10:21 AM

Every week I get newsletters from ControlAI + AI Frontiers, and I keep delaying forwarding them to the politicians cos I want to personalise the message to each. This weekend I will just get it done!

Aaccused-moccasin Meeting went well! Got postponed to today, and ended up 25min with them promisin...

efficient-indigo•6/27/25, 1:45 PM

Don't forget to share your success on the global #did-a-thing-

Channel as well, because they really do inspire other people in the movement

wet-aqua•7/21/25, 3:22 PM

Hey oh.

wet-aqua•7/21/25, 3:23 PM

So... taking on this, are you instantly a crackpot in this country?

wet-aqua•7/21/25, 3:23 PM

Be honest.

wet-aqua•7/21/25, 3:23 PM

Why do I not hear about this?

wet-aqua•7/21/25, 3:23 PM

It is housing housing housing

accused-moccasin•7/22/25, 9:36 AM

My programmer dad-in-law thinks it's crackpot

Won't even use chatbots for code review.
But of ~20 other people I spoke to about it, ~10 were surprised at the quotes and said they were concerned. (rest were noncommittal, e.g. "so nice to see you're passionate about this")
Reckon reason you're not hearing about it is, not directly impacting most people's lives yet whereas everyone knows someone with housing/groceries/medical issues.

accused-moccasin•7/22/25, 9:38 AM

Many people also feel awkward with seeming strange, so until there's social proof (i.e. you regularly hear politicians / news anchors / volunteers chatting about it, you don't wanna risk being the first. One of the ways to contribute, is to be the first ones in our social circle to speak openly!

uncertain-scarletOP•7/22/25, 8:31 PM

It is indeed tricky, and I certainly feel awkward and clumsy at times. But when you get a good conversation about it going, it feels awesome, so that makes it very worth it.

then-purple•7/29/25, 9:33 AM

@Xander

then-purple•7/29/25, 9:33 AM

Hey @David Colin Gould , you can ask Xander a bit more about the AI safety meet up.

then-purple•7/29/25, 9:35 AM

Given that the community is Canberra is so small and given that there would be substantial dispositional overlap between the two groups, some effort should be made to make a union of them.

developed-pink•7/29/25, 10:01 AM

Hi, I went to the AI Safety ANZ meetup twice before it recently went on hiatus. I could attempt to put people in contact with each other, idk.

uncertain-scarletOP•7/30/25, 3:30 AM

Hi @Xander

:). I went once in April, I think. It would be fantastic to link the groups. Greg Sadler is a regular attendee at our PauseAI Australia meetings.

developed-pink•7/30/25, 4:07 AM

Ah, Greg is the one person I could've put in touch. My job here is done. :P

uncertain-scarletOP•7/31/25, 9:17 PM

But you are also in touch.

accused-moccasin•8/19/25, 5:28 AM

Have we considered ANU Food Coop for events? They might not require fees.
Or the Conservation Council ACT, although they are strongly political as pictured.
Both are few mins walk from my workplace, so can reach out if we agree.

uncertain-scarletOP•8/19/25, 10:01 PM

ANU is a good option.

accused-moccasin•9/10/25, 6:07 AM

Senator Pocock has Town Hall on 16th focused on transparency. Questions can be sent & upvoted here. Most have 2-3 upvotes, reckon we could get an AI risk-themed one near the top.
e.g. why isn't Productivity Commission & Govt transparent about x-risk from frontier AI

Join Slido: Enter #code to vote and ask questions

Participate in a live poll, quiz or Q&A. No login required.

accused-moccasin•9/10/25, 6:08 AM

I'm on childcare that evening, will try to dial in. Great if we can get someone in a PauseAI tshirt into the audience.

uncertain-scarletOP•9/11/25, 12:13 AM

One suggestion: "What are you and the Senate doing to ensure that the government is transparent about the risks from artificial intelligence, including the existential risk that top AI researchers such as Yoshua Bengio are warning about?"

uncertain-scarletOP•9/11/25, 12:16 AM

I will attend.

uncertain-scarletOP•9/11/25, 12:16 AM

With my PauseAI t-shirt.

uncertain-scarletOP•9/11/25, 8:10 PM

It looks as though the question I entered has not been approved, as it is no longer in the list that I can see. Previously, it was 'waiting approval'.

uncertain-scarletOP•9/11/25, 11:07 PM

However, now that I am back at my work computer, I can still see my question. So not sure what is happening there.