Butterfly Effect, When AI Listens for Meaning, Not Just Words

🕓 12:10 pm - 12:30 pm📍 River Room 2 (Lv 3)

In this talk, a butterfly in my hair will flap its wings in response to a single, secret concept in my speech, detected by a custom AI. This isn't a keyword search; it’s a live demonstration of concept recognition using embeddings. The audience plays a game: guess the hidden idea the AI is programmed to find. This session is part technical deep-dive, part storytelling. I'll walk you through the build, from live speech recognition to the servo-powered butterfly and connect it to a deeper question: why do we so often design systems that flatten human nuance? Drawing on my experiences in customer service, where unique stories were funneled into generic scripts, and from a childhood in a warzone, where finding a single item made for me was a miracle, I’ll explore why building responsive, individualized technology is crucial. We'll look at the code, the hardware, and the human stories behind it. You'll leave not just knowing the secret concept, but with a new framework for thinking about how we can build AI that makes people feel seen. There will be code, a butterfly, and a call to unlearn "good enough" defaults.

Nina Karisik

2025 Sponsors

Platinum

At first, when we heard that DDD Perth was held in a stadium, we thought there was no way that could be true. Turns out it is. Well done, Perth! Once we learned the truth of the matter, we just had to come and check it out ourselves and share our zombie sock love. Yeah, we love zombies if the name didn't give it away. And we love our zombie sock merch. That, plus, our co-CEO Paul loves to hear himself talk and our other one, Demelza, loves a stage.

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DDD Perth embodies everything we believe in at MakerX - making technology accessible, fostering diversity, and building high-performing teams. These aren't just ideals we talk about; they're the proven foundation of successful technology companies.The conference itself is a masterclass in bringing people together. With 1,600 passionate technologists gathering in one place, we're witnessing real-time ecosystem building - where today's attendees become tomorrow's co-founders, where nervous first-time speakers evolve into industry leaders, and where casual conversations spark the collaborations that define our tech future. At MakerX, we know that helping our partners succeed requires more than writing code. It's about weaving together culture, connections, and capabilities - transforming research breakthroughs and bold ideas into sustainable businesses that create real impact. That's exactly what DDD Perth facilitates at scale and we're proud to be onboard to support the event for another year.

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Gold

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The SKA Observatory is excited to be returning to DDD as a Gold Sponsor, supporting the Perth-based software and tech community. The SKAO is building two of the most advanced radio telescopes on Earth - one here in outback Western Australia, on Wajarri Yamaji Country, and another in South Africa. Together these telescopes will revolutionise our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics. Computing, software, and big data are critical to the success of this mega science project. If you'd like to learn more about the work our computing and software teams are doing, or about the project more generally, please come and say hello to us in our booth!

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At VGW, we believe the future of tech is built on diverse ideas and continuous collaboration. Our partnership with DDD Perth reflects our commitment to supporting a passionate community of developers and innovators who are driving technology forward in Western Australia and beyondâ - Patrick Di Loreto, VGW's Chief Technology Officer

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The Perth technology community has been a key contributor to Qoria's growth as a company over the years, and we're excited to continue to give back to that same community by returning as sponsors in 2025. You won't find a more vibrant, inclusive, and content-rich community tech conference in Australia, and we're so keen to see what is on offer this year. Come see our booth on the day to find out how we're making the world safer for students worldwide, and chat about some of the awesome technology that makes that possible.

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Octopus Deploy has always been about developers helping developers. This is why we're avid supporters of the DDD community across Australia. DDD Perth is a standout event that brings the developer community together to learn, share, and grow, and we're proud to be part of it. We care deeply about helping teams ship better software, faster, and with less risk. Swing by our booth to chat about joining our team or all things Continuous Delivery, regardless of whether you're deploying to Kubernetes, the cloud, or hybrid environments.

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AWS is thrilled to support the amazing developer community event DDD Perth again this year. At AWS we believe in meeting developers were they are, and in the beautiful city of Perth, we know DDD is where ALL the developers are ! . The AWS team are so looking forward to some great conversations and fun times at another DDD Perth event in 2025

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