About
I’m an academic working at the intersection of psychology, evidence synthesis, and AI governance. My mission is to reduce the worst risks from advanced AI and help people do the most good they can.
- Research & policy: Track record of highly cited research that influences policy; expert in systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and Delphi studies.
- Teaching & mentorship: 3,000+ learners including 50+ postgraduate researchers, eight teaching awards, average rating 4.8 / 5.
- Impact: Chair and Director of Effective Altruism Australia, Cited in Australia’s Safe & Responsible AI report, the 2024 International AI Safety Report, and WHO guidelines.
Originally from Sydney but fell in love with a Queenslander. Proud dad of three gorgeous boys.
AI Governance Highlights
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SARA Survey
Largest survey of Australian attitudes to AI risks (cited in Australian Government's Mandatory Guiderails Proposal Paper).
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AI Risk Repository
Open catalogue of risks from AI. Was presented at Paris AI Action Summit and cited in the 2025 International AI Safety Report.
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Affiliations & Roles
- Affiliate Researcher, MIT FutureTech
- Faculty Member, FLI AI Existential Safety Community
- Facilitator, AGI Safety Governance Fundamentals
Core Skills
- Evidence synthesis: systematic reviews, network meta‑analysis, rapid reviews
- Data & tooling: R, tidyverse, R Markdown, GitHub, OSF
- Project leadership: Agile, Scrum, Asana — CI on AU$3.7M competitive grants
- Non‑profit governance: Chair, Effective Altruism Australia (AU$6M granted annually)
- Science communication: policy briefs, explainer videos, tier‑1 media
- Pedagogy: instructional design, online learning at scale
Selected Publications
- Noetel M. et al. (2024). Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review & network meta‑analysis. BMJ.
- Sanders T., Noetel M. et al. (2024). Benefits & risks of youth screen use. Nature Human Behaviour.
- Noetel M. et al. (2023). Prediction vs explanation in educational psychology. Educational Psychology Review.
- Noetel M. et al. (2022). Multimedia design for learning. Review of Educational Research.
- Noetel M. et al. (2021). Video improves learning in higher education. Review of Educational Research.
Media & Talks
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Selected Media Features:
- Exercise for depression (2024): CNN, The Times, BBC, Good Morning America, The Australian, The Conversation, ABC Radio National.
- Effective altruism (2021): ABC Religion & Ethics, ABC Radio National.
- Videos in higher education (2020): Forbes.
- Briefings to two Australian federal ministers.
- Keynote presentations, workshops, live radio and primetime TV.
- YouTube channel – 300 K+ views on evidence‑based teaching.