Let's stop dreaming of a better world, and make one.
Dr Jordan Nguyen is a leading Australian engineer, inventor and innovator, committed to improving as many lives as possible, and becoming a driving force behind both human and technological evolution as we move into the future.
An internationally renowned engineer for humanity, Jordan designs life-changing technologies to transform the lives of people with disabilities and the elderly through his role as founder of Psykinetic, a social business committed to bringing positive, sustainable and life-altering change. He also shares his adventures through documentaries across the world. Inspired by human endeavour, Jordan has big ambitions to see our world step consciously and creatively into a better future.
Jordan is Founder and CEO of Psykinetic, a social business creating futuristic, inclusive and empowering technologies to improve independence and quality of life for disability, aged care and beyond. Dr Jordan and his team have successfully created a mind-controlled wheelchair, numerous Virtual and Augmented reality applications, inclusive gaming, an instrument that enabled a friend with cerebral palsy to perform live music with her eye movements and blinks, and devices that make it possible to control household appliances or even drive cars using only the tiny electrical signals created from eye movements.
Author of the book 'A Human's Guide to the Future', Jordan is also an award-winning documentary maker and presenter. In 2016 he collaborated with the Australian-based production company, The Feds, and the ABC Catalyst to create and present his first TV documentary Becoming Superhuman, which went on to win many prestigious awards both locally and internationally. His work is regularly featured in the media. He has since gone on to present a second ABC Catalyst documentary Meet The Avatars exploring the impacts of Virtual Reality, including creating virtual interactive avatars to preserve memories of loved ones. He has also presented numerous documentaries with Discovery Channel and National Geographic “ including Frontiers of Science, Smart China Start-up Revolutions, Vietnam: Connecting East Africa, and Tibet: Living On The Roof Of The World. He recently founded his own media company and aims to continue creating world-changing content on the intersection between technology and humanity.
Jordan is a passionate ambassador for STEAM education, adaptable mindsets and big-picture thinking, and holds a degree in Electrical Engineering, First-Class Honours, Diploma in Engineering Practice, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (Chancellors List) from the University of Technology Sydney. He has taught university engineering masters students and overseen PhDs in Artificial Intelligence design and Biomedical instrumentation and has supervised many more research students. He believes our young generations are the change-makers of tomorrow and has the potential to create solutions to the world's greatest challenges.
In November 2022, the Dr Jordan Nguyen Innovation Centre at Baulkham Hills North Public School was officially opened - named by the school's students. Jordan was a finalist for NSW in Australian of the Year in 2017, and a finalist in the AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) awards for Artificial Intelligence. He was named in the six Harper's BAZAAR Visionary Men of 2019, has made the list of Australia's Most Innovative Engineers by Create Magazine, was named twice in Onalyticas Top 100 Global Influencers on Virtual Reality, travelled on a Think Inc tour with Steve Wozniak, won the Australian Computer Society's (ACS) ˜ICT Professional of the Year Digital Disruptors Award, and has had the honour of being MC for An Evening With President Barack Obama on his last visit to Sydney.
Talking Points
Beyond Superhuman - Technology for Humanity
With today's staggering advances in technology, many new possibilities are emerging which almost seem to have come straight out of the realms of sci-fi fantasy. When we connect some of the dots between various cutting-edge fields, the innovations become even more intriguing.Beyond Superhuman - Technology for Humanity
In this presentation, Biomedical engineer Dr Jordan Nguyen will raise an incredibly interesting and perhaps confronting conversation around links drawn between the fields of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, new techniques in 3D human scanning, neuroscience, and the ideas of human consciousness.
This topic raises a number of questions about what it is to be human and what is a moral approach to the incredible things we can achieve today with the latest advancements in technology advancements that are increasingly blurring the lines between the virtual world and the real world.
The AI Trust Paradox: X: Human Edge in the Age of Acceleration
Leaders are all hearing the same story: adopt AI or fall behind. But there's a second truthThe AI Trust Paradox: X: Human Edge in the Age of Acceleration
underneath it. Adopt it too heavily, or in the wrong places, and you erode the very thing your business runs on: Trust. Somewhere between stagnating and going all in sits an invisible line, and right now, next to no one can tell you where it is. Drawing on more than two decades building AI and human-centred technology, and adventures at the cutting edge around the world, biomedical engineer and inventor Dr Jordan Nguyen confronts the defining dilemma of the AI era head-on. He cuts past both the evangelism and the doom-mongering to the questionthat actually decides who stands out: Why are you using AI in the first place?
It’s not about the technology. It’s about the purpose behind why you do what you do, so you can deploy AI without losing the humans on the other side of it.
He'll show where the trust line really sits, why the organisations that find it will pull ahead, and why, in a world where everyone has the same tools, an organisation's human edge becomes its most durable advantage. Audiences leave knowing where the trust line sits in their own organisation, and how to innovate at pace without crossing it.
Key Takeaways:
-Understand the Trust Paradox reshaping every industry and why racing to adopt AI
without it can inadvertently cost you the clients and people core to what you do
- Identify where AI strengthens customer and employee relationships, and where it can
erode them
- Recognise which decisions belong to technology and which must stay with people, and why purpose, ethics and human judgment are rising in value as automation accelerates
- Leave with a clear, practical framework for implementing AI in ways that build
confidence and loyalty, amplifying your organisation's human strengths while
accelerating growth
Enter the Future: Technology for Humanity
What turns a breakthrough in technology into something that can change a human life? It's the question Dr Jordan Nguyen has spent decades answering, on adventures across the globe – as a biomedical and AI engineer, inventor, author of A Human's Guide to the Future, and award-winning documentary-presenter for the ABC and Discovery Channel.Enter the Future: Technology for Humanity
In this inspiring keynote, Jordan brings the room to the frontier of science and technology, where the boundaries between science fiction and reality are dissolving. Artificial intelligence, robotics, extended reality, human augmentation, biotechnology and next-generation computing are no longer separate fields – they're converging at rapid pace and together they're reshaping what it means to be human.
Jordan draws on the most extraordinary advances he's witnessed around the world to show where this is all heading. Along the way he'll share the work of his social business Psykinetic, where these technologies are reshaping disability and aged care in life-altering ways, and he'll be joined on stage by Koobo, the small companion robot he built for positive impact, inspired by his grandmother. Through beautiful, awe-inspiring footage from the field, he shows what technology looks like when it's built to care for life on Earth, and beyond.
This is a keynote about the human side of transformation: the ethics we'll have to navigate, the opportunities for extraordinary positive impact, and a bold, hopeful vision for the people who will decide how it's all used. Audiences leave seeing technology less as a threat to our humanity, and more as one of the most powerful forces we have to enrich it.
Key Takeaways
• Journey to the cutting edge of converging technologies: AI, robotics, extended reality, human augmentation and beyond
• See how these breakthroughs are transforming inclusion, health, disability and aged care, and what innovation that cares about life looks like in practice
• Understand the ethical questions that decide whether emerging technology helps or harms
• Leave with a hopeful, human-first lens on the future and a new perspective on how you'll help shape it for the better
The Courage to Explore: Inside the Innovation Mindset
Technology is evolving at the fastest rate we’ve ever seen, but it may be the slowest we’ll ever see again. In a world of constant technological disruption, the organisations that thrive won't be the ones with the best tools. They'll be the ones with the mindset to keep exploring and bringing their people with them through adaptation.The Courage to Explore: Inside the Innovation Mindset
In this energising and interactive keynote, biomedical engineer and inventor Dr Jordan Nguyen draws on a career of world-first invention and global adventure to reveal how breakthroughs actually happen, where the boldest ideas come from, and what it takes to turn them into reality.
The most mind-bending creations he’s witnessed have come from curiosity and the courage to push frontiers. Jordan shares the mindset behind world-changing innovation, and how leaders can build cultures brave enough to explore the possibilities rather than become caught like a deer in headlights in the face of change, the difference between venturing out yourself and leading a whole team on the journey with you.
Blending real footage, humour and genuine human stories, this is a keynote about resilience, adaptability and optimism, and about staying curious, courageous and human as the future arrives faster than ever.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the mindset behind breakthrough innovation: curiosity, courage, and the willingness to leave your comfort zone
- Build teams and cultures that adapt and explore rather than resist change
- Discover how world-first ideas move from bold thought to real-world impact
- Leave energised and equipped to lead your people through continuous change with optimism and resilience
Superhuman Generationz
What does the 'future human' look like? How do future humans act, what do they value and fundamentally how will the future human mould politics, business and education. Children of the new era (Gen Z and beyond) are living in a vastly different place to the world we grew up in. They are digital natives, collaboration natives and are adept at existing in two realities. The real world and the virtual one.Superhuman Generationz
In this presentation, audiences will explore case studies highlighting the extraordinary intelligence and design capability of the future human. They will gain insights into the shifting values and expectations of this new generation, exploring specifically how the future human will redesign that manner in which we live and work. Whilst change is inevitable; never before has there been a generation that will completely remould the world as we know it.
Video
Dr Jordan Nguyen | AI, Robotics & the Future of Humanity | Saxton Speakers
Engineer, inventor, television presenter, and one of Australia's most distinctive voices on artificial intelligence and emerging technology. Dr Jordan Nguyen brings deep expertise to the stage with warmth, curiosity, and a genuine belief that meaningful progress is still within reach. If your audience needs to understand where technology is headed and why it matters, this is where to start.Technology Is Reinventing Humanity | Jordan Nguyen | TEDxSydney
As advances in augmented and virtual technology reinvent our relationship with 'reality', we are continually confronted with ever-more complex ethical and philosophical dilemmas. Making virtual interactive copies of human beings is now more than just a possibility. But once we open that door, how do we deal with the quandaries that lie inside? Dr Jordan Nguyen's mission in life is to improve the lives of as many people as possible and to be a driving force behind positive human and technological evolution into the future. He believes the relationship between humanity and technology is constantly changing and its role in our lives is becoming more integrated, leading us to a future that is 'Beyond Superhuman'.TEDxSydney Adventures - Jordan Nguyen on Technology
Throughout 2016 and 2017, we're taking a field trip with some of our 2016 alumni speakers as part of the new TEDxSydney Adventures series, presented by Toyota Prius. Dr Jordan Nguyen, is one of Australia's most innovative engineers, who is committed to improving the lives of as many people as possible, and to help become a driving force behind both human and technological evolution as we move into the future.Jordan was a fantastic keynote speaker - he was so easy to work with and tailored his speech based on our brief. He stayed at the event to interact with guests and really brought the energy ... keep reading KPMG
Dr Jordan Nguyen delivered a truly inspiring and thought-provoking session, challenging the audience to re-imagine what’s possible — particularly in the context of AI and emerging technology. Early post-event survey feedback shows Jordan’s session resonated strongly with attendees, with manyhighlighting the practical impact and future-focused perspective he brought to the conversation. The impact of his presentation was immediate, with attendees lining up for conversations (and even selfies!)as soon as he stepped off stage.
Jordan was excellent. He is a very engaging speaker. Both the content and delivery were outstanding. We would love to have him back.
Dr Jordan Nguyen was an opening keynote speaker at the Women in Focus conference, and completely wowed the audience with his warmth, wisdom and humour. Jordan doesn't just impart knowledge on the scientific advances and trends in artificial intelligence, he brings humanity to our understanding of science and engineering and the important role it plays in enabling a life of freedom of movement and mindset for those with physical disabilities. His personal stories are both moving and wondrous as the audience is taken on a journey of the marvels of modern technology and its application for humane purpose. A theme of our conference was collaboration and conversation in a disruptive world, and the importance of bringing purpose to life, business and community; and I couldn't think of a better speaker to help set this scene than Jordan.
Jordan was very engaging and the material he presented was new and interesting for our audience. He injected much of his own story and personality into the presentations which also resonated well with our delegates.
Jordan was fantastic and the feedback has been hugely positive. He injected a lot of energy and excitement into our Conference as the opening keynote and was able to professionally facilitate the leadership panel and maintain engagement.
Jordan is one of the most unique, empathetic and hardworking people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He has spoken at 2 Wired for Wonder events (and counting) and several CommBank leadership events and the feedback is always nothing short of outstanding. Jordan takes time to understand what we want the audience to take away and always dreams up the most inspiring and original keynotes with so much goodness packed in the audience walks away with a mix of personal insights, technology learnings and so much brain food to munch through. Jordan can speak to a variety of topics and is extremely creative and original so my advice is that you simply don't hesitate in booking him for your next event!
Dr Jordan was extremely flexible to a brief that had changed a few times. He adapted his content to fit the client's needs and was always happy to do so. Dr Jordan was a dream to work with, always being open and approachable. We are very thankful he was able to present at our event and we can't wait to engage him for speaking opportunities in the future.
Dr Jordan was so engaging, he was friendly and was very knowledgeable. There was not a dry eye in the room when Jordan spoke about his stories and background. We found him to be well worth our time and money. We can't wait to invite him back to one of our conferences again.
If you're looking for an inspiring and engaging speaker, look no further! Jordan is incredible, genuine and kind.
Jordan's presentation was absolutely brilliant. He had the audience in the palm of his hand and left them wanting to hear more. Not only does Jordan have the intelligence and creativity to solve current problems and needs using current technologies, his focus on helping people and placing humanity at the centre is truly remarkable and inspiring. Students need to hear from him!
