Artificial intelligence in the spotlight at City of Newcastle's Humble Lecture 

Award-winning journalist Tracey Spicer will seek to turn the page on the emerging bias in artificial intelligence as part of an annual lecture created in memory of Newcastle librarian Jennie Humble.

Once confined to the science fiction books Ms Humble loved to read, AI has become the most transformative technological advancement in the modern era.

But, according to Ms Spicer's new book Man-Made, its development has the potential to further embed gender and race-based bias into our society.

Ms Spicer will explore the future of tech and AI through a feminist lens as the guest speaker of this year’s the Humble Lecture, which will be held at Wallsend Library on Friday 4 August from 7pm.

The free annual event was established by City of Newcastle five years ago in honour of Ms Humble, a valued member of the Library's Digital Services team who sadly passed away following a battle with cancer in 2018.

With a focus on innovation, the inaugural lecture featured globally recognised futurist, Shara Evans, while subsequent events have included renowned journalist Stan Grant and founder of food rescue charity, OzHarvest, Ronni Kahn.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the Humble Lecture provided a fitting tribute for the devoted City of Newcastle staff member.

"Jennie Humble was a passionate librarian, who helped shape our digital engagement with our loyal library membership and wider community via our website, social media channels and digital library service design," Ms Nelmes said.

"The Humble Lecture has become a highly anticipated annual event featuring innovative and inspiring speakers, which we are proud to present as an ongoing tribute to Ms Humble's own passion and dedication to her work.

"I encourage anyone interested to register for their free ticket now as numbers are limited and this event always books out quickly."

The Humble Lecture is being presented as part of National Library and Information Week, which runs from 31 July to 6 August with the theme 'Where's the Source?'.

To find out more about the Humble Lecture and secure your ticket visit https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/library/home