Site areas:
Conferences, Lectures, WorkshopsHighlightsProgramm

AI—The other I Symposium

FRI Sept. 8, 2017, 10 AM-2 PM, 3 PM-5:40 PM
POSTCITY / First Floor / Conference Stage


Ars Electronica (AT)

The “AI—The other I” symposium considers theoretical implications of the increasing integration of neural networks and machine learning in advanced as well as everyday technology. Art and science are heavily influenced by the impact of new exploration methods that these recent technologies provide.

Ramifications of an automated society force us to rethink concepts of work, education and income. Never before has the idea of a basic income and the importance of public safety nets been discussed so intensely. In the end, the primary objective might even be the analysis of what constitutes us as human beings: What makes anyone good, worthy, morally right or wrong?

This event is realized in the framework of the European Digital Art and Science Network and co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.

Reality and Expectations

Even if artificial intelligence seems to be a long way away, many aspects of our lives are already being influenced by autonomous machines and systems. But what constitutes neural networks and machine learning processes, and at what point in its development are we right now? This panel aims to give a deeper insight at the applications of AI and at the promises, fears and potentials of these evolving technologies.

10:00 AM Gerfried Stocker (AT), Welcome Address
10:15 AM Robert Trappl (AT), AI: Past, Presence, Future
10:40 AM Joanna Zylinska (UK), Man 2.0: AI in the Anthropocene
11:05 AM Q&A

Chair: Martina Mara (AT)

The Other Intelligence

In mirroring our human strategies for learning and recognition in the designs of artificial intelligence we are forced to reflect on our own thinking processes: How is human thinking constituted? When transferring thinking and learning processes to neural networks it becomes almost impossible to trace how these machines actually function.

11:35 AM Beatrice de Gelder (BE), AI & BI: Can Deep Mind Meet Deep Body?
12:00 noon Memo Akten (TR/UK), Intelligent Machines That Learn: What Do They Know?
Do They Know Things?? Let’s Find Out!
12:25 PM Q&A

Chair: Martina Mara (AT)

AI Creativity

Art has been considered as a distinct human expression of creativity. This understanding is being questioned by the novelty effect of artworks created with the help of intelligent machines. Can autonomous systems understand and invoke emotions, which are an essential part of creating and perceiving artwork? How sensual is music composed by machines? How original are paintings created by neural networks, and can they provoke a contemplative experience within us? The definition of art and creativity finds itself in a state of transformation, which in turn challenges the function of the artist.

12:55 PM Kenric McDowell (US), Art and High Dimensional Life
1:20 PM Rebecca Fiebrink (US), Machine Learning as Creative, Collaborative Design Tool
1:45 PM Q&A

Chair: Martina Mara (AT)

Ethics, Philosophy and Spirituality

What are the sociocultural, philosophical and ethical implications of intensifying our reliance on digital technology? The contemporary discourse on and around AI developments extends well beyond the technological and economic horizon.

3 PM Joanna J. Bryson (US), There Is No AI Ethics: Five Reasons Not to Other AI
3:25 PM Dr. Sandra Wachter (AT), The Algorithmic Society—Legal and Ethical Questions of AI, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems
3:50 PM Zenbo Hidaka (JP), Spirituality and AI
4:15 PM Mark Coeckelbergh (BE/AT), Romantic Cyborgs
4:40 PM Manthia Diawara (ML/US), Culture and Politics in the Age of AI
5:05 PM Q&A

Chair: Jurij Krpan (SI)