​Conference Theme

The 2026 conference theme is 'Maximising Benefits, Minimising Harms’

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This conference in 2026 will explore the current and emerging applications of AI in public health and impact on society. The conference will take a strong focus on the elements of AI that pose a threat to society and how we can ensure safe and equitable use, along with the policy settings needed to protect population wellbeing.

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The conference will examine both established and emerging uses of AI in public health in Australia and globally. Key domains include:

• Disease surveillance and outbreak control—automated data analysis, anomaly detection, forecasting, and natural language processing for early warning

• Mental and behavioural health—digital phenotyping, behavioural monitoring, AI‑enabled support tools, and strategies to counter misinformation

• Public health communication—opportunities for personalised messaging and risks of manipulation or misinformation
   

At the same time, the conference will address the risks of unregulated or poorly governed AI systems, including:

• Widening inequities for people with lack of access, poorer health outcomes, and lower digital capability

• Algorithmic bias which transfers bias in the training data to the output.

• Ethical, legal and governance gaps.

• Commercial exploitation of vulnerable groups of individuals

• Ethical, legal, and governance gaps for AI in health

• Unintended consequences of automated decision‑making

 

Objectives

The conference aims to:

1. Identify the benefits of AI for public health practice, research, and policy

2. Interrogate and articulate the harms and unintended consequences of AI deployment

3. Develop shared direction for how public health should incorporate AI, monitor its impacts, and safeguard communities

4. Strengthen collaboration across sectors to build capability, governance, and public trust
    

The program will prioritise cross‑disciplinary exchange, practical case studies, and forward‑looking policy discussions. A significant element of the conference will feature interactive workshop style discussions.

The program will incorporate an ‘Introduction to AI’ half-day workshop to educate public health staff about the basics of generative AI prior to the conference to ensure high quality conversations in the conference proper.

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Program Content and Structure

The program will run over two days and will comprise of four to five plenary sessions and two to three concurrent sessions. The plenary sessions will feature expert international and national speakers, while the concurrent sessions will include 6-minute rapid fire presentations, and 3-minute conversation starter presentations.

  

Target Audience

Anyone who works in public health has the potential to benefit from this conference. It should be of specific interest to:

• Public health workers, program managers and policy makers wishing to better understand the opportunities and risks of AI

• Researchers who develop or use AI methods in public health applications

• People seeking to better understand potential risks or harms of the use of AI in public health

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PLENARY HUB

​​The 2026 AI & Public Health Conference (AIPH26) will be held face-to-face in Brisbane, Queensland. Delegates can register to attend in Brisbane and have the full conference experience or register for the online 'Plenary Hub' at a lower registration cost.

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The plenary hub experience will include the below:

• Live streamed plenary sessions

• Written questions to keynote speakers through the live Q&A function

• Plenary session recordings available on demand for 3 months following the conference

• Delegate hub (ability to connect with other delegates)

• Sponsor & exhibitor information​