Why AI is not your friend

Rita Arrigo, technologist and digital strategist, took the TEDxMelbourne stage at Beyond The Horizon to share a glimpse of what’s beyond AI as we know it today — and to challenge the idea that it’s here to replace us. She reframes AI as a tool to nurture, play with, and lead with responsibility.Rita spoke about her early days on the internet, when she helped people send their first emails in the world’s first cybercafe — a place filled with curiosity, connection and coffee.

Through her experience as a female tech pioneer, she believes we need to return to that same spirit: to keep learning, asking questions, and creating with AI rather than fearing it. From leading responsible innovation to developing her own digital twin, Rita invited us to rethink the role we play in shaping the future of technology — not as consumers or its friends, but as its bosses, and vent its parents. Her message is simple: technology reflects who we are. The more conscious we are, the more human our future will be.

So, what kind of parent will you be to transform the next horizon of AI and technology?