ComplexitySalon

About the event

This workshop will be guided by world-leading experts from industry and academia. We will explore your questions, your work and lived experience with AI through panel discussion, small-group working sessions, and facilitated reflection.

Our facilitators will be guided by one question: what does AI mean for us? It is a revolutionary development that supports our collective wisdom and work - but in synthesising and representing our knowledge to us, is something lost? Are we outsourcing and disconnecting from what makes us uniquely human? We will create the space to discuss your experience with AI, including hopes, fears, and concerns.

❇️ Look forward to:

🧑‍🎓 Panel conversation with Q&A featuring expert academic & industry perspectives from Professor Mimi Zou (UNSW) and Dr Grace Chung (Google Australia)
💭 Facilitated reflection in small groups, considering the implications of artificial intelligence for practice with Professor Chris Mowles, Dr Sophie Wong and the Snowmelt team
▶️ A summary and playback of discussion from Professor Chris Mowles
👥 A (voluntary) *experiential group to close the day, focused on reflexive practice
🥐 Breakfast, morning/afternoon tea and lunch throughout the conference
🍸 Cocktails & canapés following the experiential group activity

🎟️ This event will be intimate and conversational - seats are limited, secure your space today. Choose to attend the conference only, or extend your engagement with a voluntary experiential group when purchasing tickets. There is capacity for sponsored places - please contact sophiewong@complexitysalon.com to discuss. Note that this event is intended to break even. Any residual funds will be put towards future Complexitysalon events, or donated to charity.

Speakers

Prof

Chris

Mowles

Chris is Professor of Complexity and Management at the University of Hertfordshire Business School, and has directed the Doctor of Management programme (DMan) for more than 15 years. The DMan is an innovative programme combining insights from the complexity sciences and the social sciences and was the first programme of its kind. Chris occasionally works as a consultant, is an Associate Member of the Institute of Group Analysis, and has published a number of books and articles. He has taught in universities across Europe, including regularly at the Copenhagen Business School.

Sophie

Wong

Sophie holds a Doctor of Management from the University of Hertfordshire, and a Master of Brain and Mind Sciences from the University of Sydney. She has practised as a psychotherapist, volunteering for many years as a social worker and counsellor at homeless shelters across the city, and has served on the NeuRA Foundation Board. Her doctoral thesis on governance in an Australian mental health NGO led to a published chapter on cross-cultural identities in practice-based research.

Mimi

Zou

Mimi is a global expert in law, AI governance, and emerging technologies with a visiting Fellowship at Oxford’s Martin School. She is internationally renowned for her work in the fields of AI governance, legal technology and innovation. She received a Global Australian Award in 2024 for her significant research and policy contributions to these fields, and acts as an expert advisor to the World Economic Forum and others. ‍

Grace

Chung

In her 16+ years at Google, Dr. Chung (BE/BSc UNSW; Ph.D. Elec. Eng. Comp Sci. MIT) has spearheaded major advancements in core products including ChromeOS, Chrome, and Search. Since 2022, she has been a founding member and Engineering Director of Google Research Australia, leading a brilliant team advancing Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning. Her expertise prior to Google includes foundational research in Speech Recognition, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning. ‍

Related Media

Substack

Reflecting on what it means to be human

Chris Mowles

August 25, 2025

Here are some observations I made from the discussion we had throughout the AI and the Art of Management day organised by ComplexitySalon in Sydney on 25th August. The day was governed by Chatham House rules, so I have generalised. I have not attempted a complete summary of what was a very rich day, and some of these remarks carry my own interpretation.

6 months after the complexity salon experience

Addison Born

February 2, 2026

Nearly six months have passed since I was given the wonderful opportunity to be part of the first ComplexitySalon, and I've found myself constantly returning to the ideas sparked in those rooms.

Participants

Stubbs

Murray Stubbs

Oru

Chloé Oru

Born

Addison Born

Rhodes

Carl Rhodes

Harrison

Dreu Harrison

Guo

Joy Guo

Dent

Nuala Dent