Culture in the age of artificial intelligence is the theme of Public talks

3 Oct 2017

DM students are invited to the 2nd edition of Human Entities, organized by CADA in partnership with the Lisbon Architecture Triennale

Human Entities is a series of talks focused on technological change and its impacts – the ways technology and culture shape and influence each other.

Overview

As self-driving cars appear on public roads, armies of bots engage in bitter cultural wars, and deep learning-based systems beat the best human players at poker and Go, much of the hype about smart machines is starting to ring true. Artificial intelligence is entering everyday life at a blistering pace, and the speed of its advance is even surprising its creators.

More than any previous technology, the deployment of autonomous systems in complex data environments is blurring the boundaries between people and machines. Technological artefacts are no longer merely seen as tools but rather equally active agents in our social relations and part of the underlying substrate that is rewiring many forms of culture.

Managed well, artificial intelligence could be a major contributor to social good. But it is anything but neutral. Automation technologies correspond to models of the world which represent the values and assumptions of its creators – the handful of corporations with powerful vested interests.

How can we ensure these new world models are brought back into cultural discourse and that they allow for greater diversity? How can we understand the similarities and differences between human intelligence and that of machines?
CADA – Sofia Oliveira/Jared Hawkey

Programme

Talk 1
Wednesday 4 October – Why stories matter: AI narratives, existential risk, and science
Adrian Currie (NZ/UK)
The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, UK
Read more
Register for Talk 1

Talk 2
Wednesday 18 October – Guessing the impact of artificial intelligence
Gonzalo de Polavieja (ES/PT)
Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Neuroscience Programme, Lisbon
Read more
Register for Talk 2 – online soon

Talk 3
Wednesday 8 November – When is innovation not really innovation?
Izabella Kaminska (UK)
FT Alphaville, Financial Times, London
Read more
Register for Talk 3 – online soon

Talk 4 – to be announced

Venue: Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Campo de Santa Clara, 142-145, 1100-474 Lisbon, Portugal
Time: 18.30 – 20.30
Free entry

More information at CADA