Fields and Fortunes event attracts 100-strong audience to hear about robots coming to Gnowangerup this year

About 100 people attended the Shire of Gnowangerup’s Fields and Fortunes regional business forum, with keynote speaker Julian Moore promising that robots would be available in the town this year. An expert in artificial intelligence, Mr Moore told the audience robots that could do housework would be on the market by the end of 2026. Listening on were 26 school students for whom AI is a key topic this term. The shire is hoping the event could be a springboard to more regular business networking, and possibly the catalyst to launch a chamber of commerce. Mr Moore’s talk centred on practical ways AI could be used as a tool in everyday business operations. Other speakers were Mat Lewis, of Creative Tech Village, who spoke about how creativity and technology could drive regional innovation and Jason McFarlane, of GreenTech, whose presentation dealt with emerging technologies. Gnowangerup’s Burke Perry told the wonderful story of his machinery import business, and Renu Kannu spoke on real-world applications for robotics and automation. NBN regional development manager Bethany Findlay showed how connectivity supported business, while ECU professor Helge Janicke presented on building cyber resilience in a digital world.