Most conversations about AI at work start and end with productivity: faster emails, tidier spreadsheets, shorter meetings. But the more interesting question is what happens when AI moves from the inbox to the whiteboard. Can these tools genuinely sharpen how we think, not just how fast we work? Can they open up creative possibilities we wouldn't have found alone, or help us solve problems we didn't know we could tackle? And just as importantly, how do we know when the human, not the AI, should be doing the thinking?

In this session, the Institute for Digital Innovation and AI (IDIA) explores what it looks like when AI becomes a thinking partner rather than a task manager, and where good judgement still belongs firmly with people. Drawing on our work with industry and research partners, we'll look beyond efficiency gains to the harder, more exciting questions: how AI is reshaping creativity, decision-making, and innovation in professional environments, where human judgement remains essential, and what that means for the way universities and their people work in the years ahead.

Jacob McMahon, Coordinator, Institute for Digital Innovation and AI, Melbourne Business School

Cheryl George, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Institute for Digital Innovation and AI, Melbourne Business School