AI revolution is coming: Wozniak

The world is on the precipice of an artificial intelligence revolution, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says.

Mr Wozniak told the Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit in Brisbane on Thursday, via a live feed from Orlando in Florida, machines were closer than ever to emulating the human brain.

"I looked at the brain my whole life thinking we would never understand how it's wired, never know what consciousness is, we would never know what intuition is," he said.

"And now we're seeing so many signs that are getting so close - we speak to our phones, we can get answers."

Mr Wozniak said the artificial intelligence revolution would be separate from, and have just as big an influence on the world, as the digital revolution that proceeded it.

Machines will eventually develop methods to think on their own, he said.

"A machine doesn't yet say 'what's an obstacle of the world, what's a problem of the world that needs solving and what is an approach I could take to solve it?'," Mr Wozniak told the 1200 attendees at the summit.

"We're just at the verge of where the machines may take off and go much further than even we humans could make them go."

Mr Wozniak also took a question from 16-year-old Brisbane State High School student Dunija Ariyaratne, who co-founded start-up TechFlow and asked how the next generation could improve existing technology.

Mr Wozniak suggested new innovators should look at ways to improve everyday life, such as the way Uber and Airbnb have.

"Look at normal life and say 'in our lifestyle, how can we improve it with today's technology, with apps?'," he said.

Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk opened the summit by announcing a $4 million start-up precinct to be opened in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley by the end of the year.

She also announced an $8 million digital campaign to encourage innovators and start-ups across Australia and the world to relocate to the state.

"You now know that you have the support of the government, you have the support of the community and we can make Queensland the start-up state," Ms Palaszczuk said.

The summit runs until Friday and features 60 speakers and more than 70 international delegates representing 17 countries.