Sinéad Fitzgerald

Our latest #WorkTrendsIndex is here, and it shows Aussies are world-leaders when it comes to adopting #GenerativeAI.  84% of Australian knowledge workers use #GenAI at work, while the global average sits at 75%. It’s great news for skills and productivity, but the 2024 #WTI also found a disconnect between employees and leaders—with employees eager to use AI at work and unwilling to wait for companies to catch up, giving leaders the opportunity to channel this momentum into organisational impact. ​Read the full report and learn more about AI at work: https://lnkd.in/gKKKuJpQ #MicrosoftAustralia #MSModernWorkANZ #WorkTrendsIndex #CopilotANZ

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Te Whatu Ora's Data and Digital (D&D) division is pivotal in enabling the health system's reform agenda in New Zealand. The integration of 29 organisations into a coherent and efficient digital system represents the largest ICT programme ever undertaken in the country. However, this task is complicated by a legacy of underinvestment, leading to significant technical debt and a lack of clarity about the current state of digital services. NZ's health sector has historically underinvested in technology, with only 2.5-3% of the total health spend allocated to IT, compared to 5-8% in other advanced health systems and 10% in digital leaders. This underinvestment has resulted in fragmented and outdated IT infrastructure. Technical debt in Te Whatu Ora's IT systems extends beyond the immediate financial implications. Outdated infrastructure poses risk. Eventually, the deferred costs for upgrades and maintenance emerge, often necessitating emergency expenditures at the worst possible times. This debt includes over 6,000 databases on 1,000 physical servers, 70,000 devices, and a complex network infrastructure. This scenario not only incurs high maintenance costs but also introduces substantial risks of data loss, cyber breaches, and system failures​​​​. In response to these challenges, Te Whatu Ora is focusing on standardising and consolidating its IT systems to form fewer, more robust national platforms. The new operating model, effective from November 2023, organises the D&D division into five major delivery functions: Sector Digital Channels, Integration & Delivery, Cyber Security, Data Services, and Digital Enterprise Services. This model aims to streamline IT operations, improve cybersecurity, and enhance data services across the healthcare system​​​​. Despite these initiatives, several challenges remain. The national and regional tension in implementing IT solutions needs careful management. The reliance on contractors and the difficulty in attracting and retaining skilled staff pose significant hurdles. Additionally, the rapid pace of change in both the health and technology sectors adds layers of complexity to the integration efforts. The current IT landscape's technical debt exacerbates these challenges, making the system harder to protect and less efficient​​. NZ’s journey towards digital modernisation is complex and fraught with challenges. However, with careful planning, robust governance, and adequate investment, the sector can leverage technology to enhance healthcare delivery and achieve its reform objectives. Aceso Health Digital Health Association (DHA) Samantha Ford

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It's been incredible to see the scale and speed of AI innovation across the financial services industry in Australia. Colonial First State (CFS) is among the leaders in unlocking transformative outcomes with the power of cloud and generative AI. Today, our partnership with Colonial First State is strengthened with a five-year agreement to drive AI innovation within Australia’s wealth management sector. With Microsoft technologies including Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot for Microsoft 365 and supported by partner Avanade, Colonial First State is exploring generative AI use cases to enhance the delivery of services to their members. According to Jeroen Buwalda, CFS’ Group Executive of Transformation, Technology and Operations, AI and cloud technologies are critical to supporting the company’s mission to help Australians achieve financial freedom. Great to see the value CFS is deriving from AI as an early adopter and I’m excited for what’s to come. Read more in the story on our News Centre: https://lnkd.in/gvRcKFCs #ColonialFirstState #Microsoft #Copilot #GenerativeAI #Azure James Farrell Soumith Rao Duncan Taylor Rudolf Wagenaar Andrea Acton Dale Lambert Jeroen Buwalda Sean Lee

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Exploring the Impact of Generative AI in Australia’s Public Sector 🤖 Andrew Spiegelman, Head of Data and Analytics at Service NSW, delves into the transformative role of generative AI in reshaping Australia's public sector. In his article, he emphasizes key points: - Innovation in Service Delivery: Generative AI streamlines public services, automating tasks and boosting citizen engagement. - Data-Driven Decision Making: AI's data analysis empowers government agencies to make informed decisions, leading to better community outcomes. - Ethical Use: Upholding ethical AI practices aligns with Australian values, ensuring transparency and accountability. Spiegelman underscores that integrating generative AI goes beyond technology—it's about creating architectures for scalable, secure, and compliant solutions. The future of public service delivery lies in aligning these innovations with community needs. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gzGWBq-X #GenerativeAI #PublicSector #EnterpriseArchitecture #DigitalTransformation #Australia

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Have you tried Copilot yet? If not, you may be wondering what Microsoft’s AI can do to help boost productivity, efficiency, and creativity in your business. The answer? Loads. It’s time to trial the assistant that never sleeps… #Microsoft #Windows11 #Copilot https://lnkd.in/gsCF3_i4

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Earlier this year, the Australian Public Service (APS) engaged in one of the nation’s largest trials of Microsoft 365 Copilot, and we’re excited to see the government release a report today that discusses the trial outcomes and learnings. The independent evaluation, completed by Nous Group for the Digital Transformation Agency, shows that Copilot is popular with users, delivers significant productivity gains and can make workplaces more inclusive. It also highlights how quickly the technology is evolving, and the importance of training and skilling as part of a broader organisational change program to enable users to fully realise the benefits of generative AI. https://lnkd.in/eDxqMwKD #microsoftcopilot #copilot #microsoftai #microsoft #ai

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The performance review season is here —and AI is set to change the game. Our Microsoft ANZ Modern Work Business Director, Lucy Debono, tells Forbes Australia how #GenerativeAI can be used by employees and managers to kickstart written submissions during reviews. Read the full article to get a step-by-step guide on how to use #Copilot to help you get the most out of the review process: https://lnkd.in/gErGY546 #MicrosoftAustralia #MSAIANZ #MSModernWorkANZ #CopilotforM365ANZ #Copilot #AITransformation

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Article in Nine papers on tech skills gap in Australia. "But the hunger for ICT skills is being exacerbated by the need for digital literacy across the entire economy, with technology shaping a wide range of traditional roles and creating new ones across all sectors. A strategic approach is needed, focusing on reskilling mid-career professionals, implementing digital apprenticeship schemes and embracing flexible education models such as VET and stackable micro-credentials, according to AIIA CEO Simon Bush. Failing to address this skills gap could lead to higher operational costs, slower technological adoption and reduced global competitiveness, Bush warns. https://lnkd.in/gSyuYHtp

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🚀 Are you using the cloud to its full potential? 🚀 At Digital Armour Corporation, we don’t just talk about cloud solutions—we guarantee results. As a Platinum Partner to Telstra and Microsoft Partner, we’ve helped mid-level companies unlock the full potential of cloud technology. 💡 In my latest video, I share a powerful case study where we guaranteed ROI for one of our clients. By leveraging the right cloud strategy, they didn’t just improve their infrastructure—they transformed their entire business. ✨ It’s time to rethink your cloud approach.   Is it driving innovation, improving security, and maximizing efficiency?  If not, you’re leaving value on the table. 🎥 Watch the video now and see how we turned cloud technology into a strategic asset—and how you can too! #Cloud #Leadership #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #DigitalArmour #Telstra #Microsoft #ITStrategy #Cloud #Growth

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New Paper Alert A groundbreaking study led by Darren Tanner from our Microsoft AI For Good Lab, in collaboration with Ramirez Nino from the SEATTLE CHILDRENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and Ed Mitchell from The University of Auckland, has been published in JAMA Pediatrics. This cohort study addresses the critical issue of maternal obesity and its potential link to sudden unexpected infant death (SUID). The research analyzed data from over 18 million live births and 16 thousand SUID deaths, examining the impact of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI on SUID rates. The findings reveal a clear dose-dependent association: as maternal BMI increases, so does the risk of SUID. Key Takeaways: Infants born to mothers with higher BMI levels face an increased risk of SUID. The risk is significantly higher for mothers with Class I (BMI 30.0-34.9), Class II (BMI 35.0-39.9), and Class III obesity (BMI ≥40.0). Approximately 5.4% of SUID cases could be attributed to maternal obesity. These findings underscore the importance of recognizing maternal obesity as a significant risk factor for SUID. As maternal obesity rates continue to rise, understanding the causal mechanisms behind this association is crucial for improving outcomes and ensuring healthier pregnancies. https://lnkd.in/gtrfBpFD @Bill Weeks #AIForGood

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Join the mailing list and never miss a communication! #SAGreat #BusinessSA #SouthAustralia #MVPBuzz #AdelaideMicrosoftCommunity #AdelaideMicrosoftTechCommunity #Adelaide #Microsoft #Copilot #UserGroup #MVP #MicrosoftMVP

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Our latest #WorkTrendsIndex is here, and it shows Aussies are world-leaders when it comes to adopting #GenerativeAI.  84% of Australian knowledge workers use #GenAI at work, while the global average sits at 75%. It’s great news for skills and productivity, but the 2024 #WTI also found a disconnect between employees and leaders—with employees eager to use AI at work and unwilling to wait for companies to catch up, giving leaders the opportunity to channel this momentum into organisational impact. ​Read the full report and learn more about AI at work: https://lnkd.in/gKKKuJpQ #MicrosoftAustralia #MSModernWorkANZ #WorkTrendsIndex #CopilotANZ 

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This story is interesting. ASIC was using a GenAI model that many would consider obsolete/superseded (Llama 2), but my feeling is that the lesson is - do proper analysis of how these tools work in your workflow - aka RESEARCH! The evidence here showed that the tool (or the way they used it) produced output of lesser quality than humans. Good decision from ASIC - now they need to repeat the experiment with Llama 3 70B or Open AI 4, 4.5 or 4o! Or maybe improve the way they use Llama 2 as some replies have reminded me. #AI #GenAI #Llama #ASIC #Research

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It was a pleasure to deliver a talk last week at The Future Generation Enterprise Architecture (FGEA) Symposium hosted by ACS (Australian Computer Society) and organised by Asif Gill. I focused on data trust at scale, challenging some conventional views on data quality in distributed, at-scale, AI-amenable environments. Some lessons come from CSIRO's Data61 technology powering data.gov.au, the early years of hosting the Data Standards Body for Australia's Consumer Data Right (e.g. open banking), and cross-organisation/border/supply chain data flow projects, not to mention the science and tech development for data/AI safety. Here are a few key points and selected slides: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 – 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 * Distributed Trust: Ensuring data integrity across various organisations or on-device data without direct oversight. * Zero Trust: Unsupervised learning from online wild data is susceptible to data poisoning attacks and can't be easily cleaned up. * Trusted "License": It's about data rights and value redistribution, not just ownership or copyright. * Trusted Artificial: Synthetic data can be useful, but when should we trust it? 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠/𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 – 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 * Trust in Evaluation Data: Accidental data leaks can invalidate testing outcomes, so tread carefully. * Trust in Human Feedback: Often unreliable, using human feedback necessitates nuanced evaluation. 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦-𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 - 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 * Trusted Knowledge: It’s not just about training data. Addressing inconsistencies within your inference-time data sources and between external knowledge and AI knowledge is crucial. * Trusted Trade-off: It’s never about single-dimension optimisation. Balancing privacy, fairness, and accuracy requires stakeholder involvement before and after deployment in context. * Trusted Provenance: Ensuring data provenance throughout its lifecycle is essential to combat low-quality decision and misinformation. Feel free to reach out to me as we are seeking government and industry partners to further the research in these areas.

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Telstra’s Return on Connection report quantifies the value of human-to-human connection for leaders, their organisation and the industries they support, and found Australia has a major collaboration opportunity for leaders facing into big and complex challenges. https://lnkd.in/ghHUhCDf

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In an increasingly sophisticated and digital-centric landscape, how can public sector organisations leverage the cloud to adapt, innovate, and meet the evolving demands of their constituents?    Join me and leaders across state and local government, and higher education and research, at AWS IMAGINE in Brisbane. I will be discussing the challenges of delivering digital transformation in State and Local Government. In particular the how to manage legacy system modernisation and deliver digital innovation, like AI, in parallel.   Learn more about the event and register via the link below: Brisbane (Friday, 24 May) - https://lnkd.in/gPJicuZb Anthony Dow, Kim Jackson, Troy Bell, Mitch Miller, gwi.digital, Adam Beck, Ian Hatton, Danielle Hill, Emma Davidson, Luke Hillier, Neil Glentworth

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Have you got an AI policy? If the answer is no, you are not alone. I recently presented to over 800 attendees at Planits AI roadshows across AU, NZ and the UK and I asked attendees what their organizations view of AI was. 26% of attendees did not know what their policy was. Those attendees had no idea what their companies view of entering company information, including code, into AI systems such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Now, surely AI systems aren’t that different and should be covered by existing policies right? In my conversations, the perception from many was that as these systems were ephemeral, they didn’t see pasting code into ChatGPT in the same way they saw check my that code into a public GitHub repository or pasting it onto Stack Overflow. If you need help with your own AI policy, please reach out. We can help you derisk the wave of AI in your organization.

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