University of Melbourne Events Calendar

Real-time predictions, from autonomous driving to supply chain management, leverage the increasing datafication of our lived environments with the impressive power of today’s computers. Rather than predictions that help us prepare for action in a likely future—like a weather forecast of rain—real-time predictions allow us to make decisions in the present based on a stream of futurist calculations. Through a variety of examples that track from chess to algorithmic beauty filters, this seminar will argue that the use of these machine learned, real-time predictions have changed not only our relationship to transportation, production, and subjectivity, but also to our conception of time itself.

As the planet enters dangerous levels of warming, corporations face increasing pressure to measure and report their carbon emissions and climate action strategies. The pressure to improve reporting has seen investors take companies to court, governments move to mandatory reporting, and regulators require risk testing to protect whole systems. This places new and unique pressures on corporate reporters to get it right by navigating the new requirements and transitioning to sustainable business models while maintaining profitability.

This panel event will feature 2024 Gourlay Visiting Professor of Ethics in Business, Mette Morsing, Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Professor Morsing will be joined by experts from the University of Melbourne, Associate Professor of Accounting and a Director of the Centre for Accounting and Industry Partnerships, Brad Potter, and ARC Laureate Professor of Climate Law, Jackie Peel, Director of Melbourne Climate Futures.