The Two Poles of AI
What do we want AI to become, and what must we value, honour and preserve as distinctly human?
The reasons for AI are compelling and dominate mainstream commentary. The opposite questions get far less air: what can AI not do well, and what should we protect. This dialogue holds both poles at once, from productivity and democratised knowledge through to labour displacement, environmental cost and cognitive colonisation.
Melbourne lunch · 20 October 2026
The four questions
Work and purpose
If AI absorbs a large share of the work people do, where does purpose come from, and who carries the cost of the transition?
Power and equity
Who owns the models, the data and the compute, and what does that concentration do to fairness in Australia?
Agency and judgement
Which decisions should stay with people, and how do we keep the capacity to make them well?
Being human
What is distinctly human in how we think, relate and create, and what do we want to honour and preserve?
Add your perspective
Joining the conversation needs a free Mindhive account, it takes about a minute. Prefer not to? Join the Eidos Collective instead and we will send you what comes out of it.
The discussion paper
Lindley Edwards's full essay sets out the argument this dialogue works through. No sign-up needed.