Computer Science showcased in new book

A new anthology showcasing the breadth and depth of computer science research at UNSW is now available, offering readers an inside look at one of the world’s leading computer science schools.

FutureShock: Happenings in Computer Science, edited by Dr Sebastian Sequoiah-Grayson from UNSW’s School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), brings together chapters from colleagues across the school on topics ranging from human-computer interaction to artificial intelligence ethics.

The book emerged from an unconventional publishing conversation. 

What originally began as an idea to author a book on the philosophy of information and computer science quickly pivoted to a broader exploration of what happens within the School.

“Given that CSE is the size and importance and influence that it is and given how many of the big success stories in Australian tech have come out of CSE, why don’t I organise an anthology which is essentially computer science according to CSE?” Dr Sequoiah-Grayson, a member of the UNSW Institute for Cyber Security, said.

As the march of digital technologies continues unabated, there is no aspect of almost anyone's lives that are not touched by digital technologies every single day.  

“But how that contact happens would be entirely mysterious to the average punter,” he said.

“The book is an opportunity for people to understand, and also an opportunity for the reader to develop the kind of conceptual architecture they need to have in order to engage with some of the facts on the ground.”

The book deliberately avoids well-trodden ground.  

“The world does not need another textbook on Python,” Dr Sequoiah-Grayson said.

“This book is all this other stuff that goes on in computer science that people outside don’t really know about - things like human computer interaction, digital technologies and education, hardware cyber security, rule-based Artificial Intelligence, and explainable models of human behaviour and so on.  

“Computer science, it's a mixed blessing.   

“If you work in either computer science or psychology or philosophy, often the general public will think they know what happens in academia in these areas.

“But what is actually going on is just so different to the general perception of the way it might be portrayed in media and so on.”

The book is dedicated to CSE and Dr Sequoiah-Grayson's colleagues, representing what he calls “an invitation for dialogue between actual practising computer scientists in academia on the one hand and everybody else on the other.”

• FutureShock: Happenings in Computer Science features chapters from CSE academics including Prof Toby Walsh, Dr Jake Renzella, Dr Hammond Pearce and Dr Alexandra Vassar. It is available online and will be in bookstores ahead of an official launch in early 2026.