Dear {Contact_First_Name},
I mentioned in previous newsletters that I’m a big fan of ChatGPT. I follow anything to do with Artificial Intelligence (AI) with great interest, but like most people I often weigh up the merits of AI against its possible downsides. Some of the potential scenarios you read about sound frightening, such as AI taking over the world or AI taking badly phrased instructions too literally and causing great harm as a result. Then there is the possibility of AI taking over all our jobs and making us humans redundant in pretty much every way.
The other day I tried to convince my husband to try ChatGPT to help him write a difficult message. He could not be convinced and we had a bit of a debate. I kept praising the advantages of ChatGPT, while he was worried that using AI to facilitate our everyday life would come at a loss: the ability to think for ourselves. Who knows for sure?
I decided to get the answer straight from the horse’s mouth. I asked ChatGPT:
“Does AI have an impact on our ability to think for ourselves?”
This is what ChatGPT replied:
“The impact of AI on our ability to think for ourselves is a topic of considerable debate.
Here are some key points to consider:
1. **Automation of Routine Tasks**: AI can automate routine and repetitive tasks, potentially freeing up time for humans to engage in more complex and creative thinking. However, over-reliance on AI for even simple decision-making could lead to a decline in these skills.
2. **Augmentation vs. Replacement**: AI can augment human capabilities, providing tools that enhance our ability to analyze data, solve problems, and make decisions. This augmentation can be positive, but there's a risk that if we become too dependent on AI, we might underuse our cognitive abilities.
3. **Critical Thinking and Problem Solving**: The use of AI in education and professional settings can either support or hinder the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. AI tools can provide valuable insights and different perspectives, but if not used judiciously, they might discourage independent thinking.
4. **Cognitive Offloading**: AI can lead to cognitive offloading, where we rely on technology to remember information, make decisions, or solve problems. While this can make life easier, it might also reduce our mental effort and engagement with tasks, potentially weakening our cognitive abilities over time.
(…)
In summary, AI has the potential to both positively and negatively affect our ability to think for ourselves. The outcome will largely depend on how we choose to use and interact with AI technologies. It's crucial to strike a balance between leveraging AI's capabilities and maintaining our cognitive skills and independence.”
There you are. It’s up to us.
I have only been using ChatGPT for a year or so, and during this time, it has taught me skills I did not have previously. For example, a while ago I asked ChatGPT to create a social media tile on a certain topic for me. It created the tile with Canva, thus leading me to the Canva website. Thanks to ChatGPT having already done the first steps, I just had to tweak the design. By initially working on a pre-prepared project, I was eased into working with the software, and I now am able to use Canva without any input from ChatGPT.
The same thing happened with creating videos though Visla. Without ChatGPT I would not have known where to start, but again, after ChatGPT doing the first steps for me initially, I’m now able to create videos on Visla from scratch – no help form ChatGPT required. These are just two examples of how ChatGPT turned me into an employee with enhanced skills. As far as I can see, it has not had any impact on my ability to think for myself.
I have a suspicion though that from now on my husband will be monitoring my thinking skills closely.
Marie-Louise Rankin
Executive Officer
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Notice: The SSA Office will be closed on Monday, 27 May 2024 for the "Reconciliation Day" public holiday in the ACT. |
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Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Submission by SSA A Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been established. The SSA’s Advocacy Working Group (AWG) considered making a submission, and decided not to do so. But a couple of later developments led to a change to that decision. I drafted a submission, and the members of the AWG provided feedback which was most useful in identifying further things to say, and polishing the draft. This is one way that we hope the AWG will function, and as our first foray into public comment (through the AWG) it was a most encouraging sign of how we hope to able to achieve a high standard in the SSA’s public commentary. The submission is number 87 here: Submissions – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au).
Ian Gordon
President |
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Behind the scenes: Reflecting on 16 years with SSA
SSA's Executive Officer, Marie-Louise Rankin has been the central hub around which the SSA has rotated for the best part of 16 years. Her faithful service, cheerful demeanour and strong commitment to the SSA are familiar to anyone who has worked with her, on the Executive Committee, Central Council or in other ways. I decided to interview her, so we can all find out more about her life, and also to harvest views she has about the Society she has so faithfully served.
Ian Gordon
SSA President
1. I assume not many young people leave school with the intention of working for an association. What career path brought you to SSA?
In my last year of high school, I had no clear idea of what I wanted to do career-wise, so I decided to follow in my father’s footsteps and entered the German diplomatic service. I obtained a Bachelor of Public Administration (International Relations) and subsequently enjoyed postings to the German embassies in Paris (France), Yaounde (Cameroon), Riga (Latvia) and finally Canberra. During my Canberra posting I met and married my husband who was with the Australian Defence Force, making further postings impossible.
I resigned from the German Foreign Ministry and, for the first time in my life, put down roots. The next few years were dedicated to homelife duties and raising our two children. By the time they were in preschool/school respectively, a good friend of mine, who worked for the Independent Scholars Association of Australia (ISAA), was about to go on parental leave, and asked me to fill in for her, just for a few months. In the end she decided not to return to the job. As I had enjoyed my stint in association work, I decided to continue in the position, which was a relatively small role. When I was advised that SSA was looking for an Executive Officer in late 2007, I saw that as an opportunity to step-up, applied for the job, and the rest is history 2. When people ask you about your work, do you sometimes get asked “What’s it like working with a bunch of nerds?” (or a similar question)? If so, how do you answer?
Read Marie-Louise's reply and the full interview here. |
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A General Manager for SSA
We are looking for a General Manager to provide leadership to a small, specialised team and to support the Executive Committee in achieving positive growth. This role will have a transition period wherein operational requirements will be seen to before driving the growth agenda.
Employment with SSA offers great flexibility and the opportunity to permanently work from home for the right Australia-based candidate. As the team grows you will be able to recruit and build a team around your leadership style.
For details click here. If you have any questions and to submit your application, please contact Renee Barnes.
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SSA Vic & Tas now have their own LinkedIn page!
Check it out here. |
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New
Episode: Exploring Dyscalculia with Dr Jacob Paul on The Random Sample Podcast |
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The latest episode of The Random Sample is out! Cynthia Huang interviews Dr Jacob Paul from the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences about why some people struggle with maths. The discussion includes an exploration of one particular disorder called ‘dyscalculia’, which affects approximately 5-7% of the population. |
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Listen to the podcast here. |
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Unbeatable insurance package for statisticians: SSA and KBI specialist insurance brokers deliver the ultimate protection bundle!
SSA and KBI Specialist Insurance Brokers have crunched the numbers to create an insurance package that's heading off the charts!
Tailored for members of the Statistical Society of Australia, this bundle lets you combine public liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, cyber insurance, office & equipment insurance and more.
With our insurance bundle, the only thing left to calculate is how much peace of mind you'll gain.
Request a quote: Statistician Insurance Program | KBI (kbigroup.com.au) |
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From previous newsletters: |
SSA's Golden Jubilee Travel Grant
SSA's Golden Jubilee Travel Grant provides overseas travel funds to student members of the Society, who can prove consecutive SSA membership for a minimum of two years.
A maximum of $1000 is available per application, limited to a single trip during the course of the student’s studies. Students will not be supported in their first year of study and will have had to be members of the Society for at least two years prior to the application deadline. Applications are required to be lodged in advance of travelling.
Application deadline: 31 May 2024
Find out more. |
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Are you SSA's new Vice-President (Membership)?
SSA has a vacancy for the volunteer position of Vice-President (Membership).
If you consider that you have an interest and passion for supporting the SSA to recruit and retain members, please contact Ian Gordon to express your interest in taking on this role. No membership management experience is required, but availability for our monthly Executive Committee meetings is highly desirable. The VP (Membership) is also responsible for holding meetings with the branch membership officers two or three times a year. SSA’s Zoom account can be used for these meetings and the SSA office will assist with setting up these meetings. Read the full position description here (page 7). |
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Canberra Branch May Meeting: Using Propensity Scores in Observational Data Analysis: Some Theory and a Practical Application
presented by Daniel Chateau, ANU National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health
28 May 2024, 5:45 PM (AEST), ANU Science Teaching Building Level 3 Seminar Room
SSA Canberra Branch will be holding its next meeting on Tuesday 28th May in person and via Zoom. There will be the opportunity to meet for dinner afterwards in Canberra City.
Click here for the Zoom link.
About the event:
Propensity scores have become a standard practice in many types of observational research using large administrative datasets where confounders are present and hard matching on measured confounders is either not optimal or not appropriate. In this talk I will go over the theory behind using propensity scores to address confounding, an 'automated' method for developing a propensity score from a large number of candidate variables, and present a practical application of propensity scores in pharmacoepidemiological research, examining potential impacts of in utero exposure to SSRIs.
About the presenter: Daniel Chateau, ANU National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health
Dan Chateau was recently an Associate Professor at ANU in the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, leading the Methods Team in the Population Health Exchange. Prior to this, he was a Research Scientist and Lead Biostatistician at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy in Winnipeg, Canada. During his time in Canada, he served as the site lead and member of the national steering committee for the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES), and as a member of the Methods team for CNODES. He has authored and co-authored many papers and reports using linked administrative health and social data, and recently worked with MBS and PBS data here in Australia examining prescription drug treatment adherence before and during the COVID-19.pandemic.
Dinner:
After the talk we will be holding a dinner at 7.15pm at Madam Lu Malaysian & Chinese Restaurant, 20 W Row, Canberra ACT 2601.
If you are interested in attending the dinner, please let us know by 5pm Monday 27 May by entering your details at SSA Canberra Branch dinner attendance sheet or contacting Warren Muller; 0407 916 868). Please regard this as a firm commitment, not just an intention. For withdrawals after the deadline, please remove your name from the sheet and phone or text Warren (0407 916 868).
NOTE: We are offering discounts to SSA early career and student members who attend dinner! For this meeting, dinners will be a fixed charge of $10 for student members and $20 for early career members. Find out more. |
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SSA QLD Branch Meeting: Applying statistics to 3D maps of our Universe to understand its history and future
29 May 2024, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM AEST, 205 Showcase Suite, 308 Queens St, Brisbane or
Online - Zoom details will be sent with registration
Presenter: Dr Cullan Howlett, University of Queensland
About the event:
Our surveys of the night sky have uncovered millions of galaxies just like our own Milky Way. Some of the largest astronomy projects in Australia and overseas involve mapping and analysing the positions of these galaxies, with the aim to determine how our Universe formed and has evolved over the last 14 billion years. Analysing data of this size requires applying state-of-the-art statistical and machine-learning techniques to tease out patterns in these distributions that encode the history of our cosmos.
In this talk, I will cover some of what we do, the techniques we use/borrow for other fields for this, and what we have subsequently learnt about the Universe. These results demonstrate that interaction between the statistical and astronomy communities is essential to make the most of the wealth of data at our fingertips.
About the presenter:
Dr Cullan Howlett is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Queensland and recipient of a 2023 QLD Young Tall Poppy Award. Since completing his PhD in 2016 at the University of Portsmouth, he has been involved in some of the largest international surveys of other galaxies in our Universe ever undertaken. He currently leads working groups in the international projects DESI and 4HS, which combined will map almost the entire nearby Universe over the next 5 years. Find out more and register here. |
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Statistical Consulting Network Monthly Meet-Up
31 May 2024, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM AEST, held online
Come along with your thinking cap, maybe a problem, and some lunch!
The Statistical Consulting Network invites you to their monthly meet-up, a virtual lunchtime meeting where statisticians help each other out with problems that they aren’t sure how to deal with. This virtual meeting is held on Zoom at lunchtime on the last Friday of each month, 12:30-1:30 PM (AEST). We start each meet-up with announcements, or occasionally a special topic discussion, then discuss problems that attendees have brought along with them.
We also have a Slack workspace where members of the consulting network can communicate between meetings, or post problems or relevant materials they would like to discuss during a meeting.
Zoom link
Password: 660145
Slack Workspace link |
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SSA WA: Perth Biostats/Bioinfo Meetup 2024
11 Jun 2024, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM (AWST), McCusker Auditorium, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research (North), QEII Medical Centre, 6 Verdun Street, Nedlands WA 6009
The purpose of this event is to bring together those with expertise and/or interest in medical and healthcare statistics in Perth. It is an opportunity to socialise and network, and to encourage upcoming professionals to pursue a career in this worthwhile field.
The invited speakers this evening are Dr Emma de Jong and Dr Charlotte Rasmussen.
For details on the speakers and their talks, please click here. This event is free but please register your attendance to assist with catering and meeting dietary requirements. |
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Early Career & Student Statisticians Conference 18th - 21st November 2024
Join us for the biennial Early Career & Student Statisticians Conference (ECSSC). Organised by the ECSS Network of SSA and SECS Network of NZSA, this event offers invaluable insights and networking opportunities.
Bookmark the event website. |
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If you have news from the Australian statistical community to share in Stats Matters and Events, please get in touch with us! We love getting feedback too. |
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