Upcoming Events – Social Robot Futures

Cyborg Futures Edited Collection

November 18, 2020September 16, 2021

— Online discussion of new edited book

Join Dr. Teresa Heffernan this Thursday, November 19th (12 noon) for a lively online lunchtime discussion of Cyborg Futures: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Edited by Dr. Heffernan, Cyborg Futures brings together perspectives from fields as diverse as evolutionary biology, sociology, literary theory, and robotics to critically examine the impacts of AI on our work, play, creative expressions, and social interactions.

Upcoming Events

AI, the Immortality Industry, and the Ethics of Death

October 14, 2020September 16, 2021

This talk by Teresa Heffernan considers the far reaches of the multi-billion-dollar immortality industry and the money and power behind the scenes that fuels this fantasy science even as the planet teeters on the brink of collapse. After examining some contemporary fictions that challenge big tech and its paradoxical escalation of the end of all life even as it hankers after life without death in its relentless focus on a future that is always “future,” this talk then turns to archaeology and the future’s archaic longings.

Upcoming Events

The Ethical Imagination: Humanities vs. AI

September 2, 2019September 16, 2021

— A forthcoming talk by Teresa Heffernan

The era of “disruptive” technologies has given way to an ethical quagmire. Biased algorithms, invasive facial recognition software, proprietary black boxes, the theft and monetization of personal data, and the proliferation of hate-spewing bots and deepfakes have undermined democracy. Killer robots and the automation of war have led to a new arms raise with Vladimir Putin declaring whoever leads in AI will rule the world.

Upcoming Events

The Real Life ‘Ex Machina’ Is Here

April 23, 2019September 16, 2021

In an upcoming talk, Teresa Heffernan will present “The Real Life ‘Ex Machina’ Is Here: Restoring the Gap between Science and Fiction” at the Machine Agencies Speakers Series on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 from 3 to 5 pm. Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology, Concordia University, 1515 Rue Sainte-Catherine W. EV Building, 11.455. Montréal, Quebec. For more information: www.facebook.com/events/1001883676675274/

Upcoming Events

Panel on the Social Implications of AI

November 7, 2018September 6, 2021

You are invited to join Teresa Heffernan (Saint Mary’s University), Ian Kerr (U of Ottawa), Fuyuki Kurasawa (York U) and Duncan MacIntosh (Dalhousie) for a panel discussion on “the potential social impacts of artificial intelligence and the role humanities and social sciences will play in identifying the legal, ethical and policy issues we should start considering today.”

Upcoming Events

Upcoming: “Ex Machina, AI and the Robotics Industry”

October 20, 2018September 6, 2021

Teresa Heffernan, professor of English at Saint Mary’s University, will give a talk at the upcoming HAL-CON science fiction, fantasy and gaming convention, a multi-format event attended by some 9,200 people in 2017. Dr. Heffernan’s talk, “Fiction Meets Science: Ex Machina, Artificial Intelligence and the Robotics Industry,” is scheduled for 6:15 pm, Friday, October 26, 2018. Location: Room 502, Ballroom level 5 at the Halifax Convention Centre — 1650 Argyle Street, Halifax, NS. For information and tickets go to HAL-CON.com.

Upcoming Events

Making Up Minds — Public talk on A.I. and…

April 2, 2018September 6, 2021

Dr. Stephanie Dick (Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania) is scheduled to give a public lecture this Wednesday, April 4th at 7 pm on the changing notion of “the human” in artificial intelligence research.

Title: Making Up Minds: Thinking With, About and For Humans

Upcoming Events

Unmaking People: Frankenstein to Westworld — Upcoming Public Talk

March 27, 2018September 4, 2021

Despina Kadoudake, Professor of Literature and Director of the Humanities Lab at American University (Washington, DC), will give a public lecture this THURSDAY, 7:00 pm, March 29th at Alumni Hall, King’s College. Her talk is titled, “Unmaking People: The Politics of Negation from Frankenstein to Westworld.”

Upcoming Events

Public debate: War in the Age of Intelligent Machines

March 15, 2018September 6, 2021

Killer robots. Slaughterbots. Lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). How are they changing international norms of warfare, peace and security? What does it mean for us? How concerned should we be? These questions are the subject of a debate between Dr. Noel Sharkey, Chair of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, and Dr. Duncan MacIntosh, professor of philosophy at Dalhousie University.

Upcoming Events

Asian Robots and Orientalism Upcoming Talk

March 6, 2018September 6, 2021

As part of the Automatons public lecture series, Dr. Simon Kow will give a talk on “Asian Robots and Orientalism” this Wednesday (7:00 pm, March 7th) at Alumni Hall, King’s College (Halifax).