Round Three: Day Three

Round three began with a sense of urgency. Similar to round one, I knew I had to get to work. Unfourtunately, the once mythical adrenaline rush and subsequent dump was very much a reality, and it had left me feeling heavy and slow – the opposite of how I typically feel. So, lacking a proper base, I kept my head low, hands as high as possible and went back to basics 1-2 (jab-cross) with the occasional 3 (lead hook) thrown in, with yells from my coach for upper cuts. If there was a body shot, I went for it too, but without the mobility in my hips to generate the power I usually have I relied heavily on my jab-cross. There are parts I remember and parts that disappeared into the ether. I do know that I felt I was giving everything I had in the moment and so was my opponent – and that was a gratifying feeling. I would walk away leaving everything I had in the ring.

Like round three in the boxing ring, day three at CyberCon was down to two primary elements before I departed for the airport. It started with a stellar keynote by Nina Schick, global expert in generative AI. Among the many insights the most poignant was her exploration of ‘The Age of Intelligence’ including how we arrived at a point which Schick calls ‘the industrialisation of intelligence’ which she likened to the industrial revolution – a counter narrative that we are entering/have entered internet 2.0.

I loved this analogy, as, like many over the years I’ve explored the industrial revolution in my research and writing. The IR was a pivotal moment for humanity, so it makes sense that the age of intelligence is another such moment. It is also not to be downplayed, as the repercussions are immense. As Schick illustrated, the infrastructure is currently being built to industrialise intelligence, which will change the lives of millions of people – for better, or for worse.

The last talk I attended was a fireside chat with Cheng Lei and Kylie-Moore Gilbert. Despite the injustices both women endured and the trauma still present, this was a hopeful talk to finish my CyberCon experience on. While it wasn’t technical, it had elements of espionage, surveillance and above all humanity. The conversation illustrated how important story is, and how interconnected we all are. Through some back channeling, Cheng received a copy of Moore-Gilberts book about her imprisonment in an Iranian prison to her cell in China. Cheng used the book as a beacon of hope, and also a tool for education – as she taught her cell mates English using the text.

Since their release, and together with Sean Turnell who was incarcerated in Myanmar for 650 days, Cheng and Moore-Gilbert founded the Australian Wrongful and Arbitrary Detention Alliance to support wrongfully imprisoned Australian citizens and to advocate for ways to improve policy around hostage diplomacy.

Both women spent time in foreign prisons, arrested for crimes they did not commit, with their oppressors driven by ideologies and paranoia, yet both spoke of the importance of human connection and brevity through tools like humour to navigate dire circumstances. Cheng spoke of the Chinese targets changing according to the current relationship status, Moore-Gilbert referred to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as being so blinded by idealogy that rational thought was impossible. I found these to be important lessons, as despite their circumstances, both women were able to lead with empathy and remain subjective despite the injustices they faced.

One of the best kept secrets in combat sports is that despite trying to physically dominate and mentally outwit each other for round after round, at the end of the match there is an immense feeling of camaraderie; a sense of a shared experience – you went through a war together and came out the other side.

As the final bell rang at the end of the third round, my opponent and I dropped our hands and stopped swinging at each others heads. We hugged and face to face without punches gave each other gratitude and respect for the 6 minutes we had just shared. We went to the corners of our opponent, shook hands and hugged and chatted with the coaches and team and thanked them for coming to compete, and then we went to our corners to wait. It was warm and respectful, and there was a feeling that even though this can be a lonely sport, if anyone understands what you have gone through it is your opponent – you have shared moments which no-one can ever understand – it’s just the two of you in the ring.

Minutes after the final bell, the referee called us back to the centre of the ring, and I recall nearly tripping over my right foot as my legs were still jelly. I stood to the right of the referee, and my opponent on his left as the MC read out the winner by split decision….. the blue corner, and my hand was raised by the referee.

I dipped my head humbly with a smile of thanks and exhaled in relief. I hugged my opponent again and gave an interview on the mic which I don’t remember and, like the rest of the fight, can’t bear to watch on replay yet. It was all over and so was my CyberCon experience.

On Thursday afternoon, as I took the SkyBus to the airport, I smiled quietly to myself as I had successfully achieved two new milestones in one week. I was uninjured and had an amazing first boxing experience, and my head and heart were full of inspiration and gratitude from my time at CyberCon. Now it was time to go home, unpack it all and set new goals.