Prof. Maurice Pagnucco: Artificial Intelligence - Embracing the Future

SUMMARY:
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Meet Professor Maurice Pagnucco from the University of New South Wales — a warm, enthusiastic guide to what AI really is and what it isn’t. In this talk Maurice mixes charming personal stories (growing up in a country town, working in the family bakery and buying his first computer at a toy shop) with clear technical insight. He explains core ideas in knowledge representation and reasoning, highlights work in cognitive robotics and belief change, and contrasts the theoretical limits of computation with practical AI achievements from his lab. Maurice frames AI as something to embrace thoughtfully: understand the science, recognise realistic limits, and focus on education, ethics and robust systems. The talk is ideal for students, curious locals and anyone sceptical of AI hype — practical, upbeat and genuinely Australian in tone. You’ll come away better informed, less worried, and keen to learn more about the real future of artificial intelligence.

RUMBLE DESCRIPTION:
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Absolutely thrilled to share this talk from Professor Maurice Pagnucco of UNSW — one of Australia’s most engaging voices in computer science and AI. Maurice blends warm personal stories (growing up in a small country town, working in the family bakery and buying his first computer from the local toy shop) with clear, no-nonsense explanations of what computation can and cannot achieve. It’s a perfect mix of heart and brain.

He opens with a short life story to explain why he fell in love with computing, then moves into some core computer science ideas: what the science tells us is impossible for computers, and what we’ve nevertheless managed to build. Key themes include knowledge representation and reasoning, cognitive robotics, belief change and reasoning about actions. Maurice also shows short video examples from his lab to demonstrate how research has progressed and what practical systems are doing right now.

What I loved was the tone — optimistic but realistic. Maurice urges us to embrace AI with curiosity and critical thinking, stressing education, ethics, robustness and transparency rather than hype or fear. He knows both research and teaching intimately, so the talk is great for students, parents, hobbyists and fellow researchers.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe for more Australian uni talks and AI discussions, and leave a comment with questions or your thoughts on where AI should head next. Want to dive deeper? Look up UNSW Computer Science and Engineering for papers, demos and follow‑up videos. Thanks for watching — a friendly, thoughtful Aussie take on the future of AI.

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