Events – Social Robot Futures

Upcoming: AI as the New Oil and Other Myths

Oct 17, 2023Oct 17, 2023

“The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data,” The Economist declared in 2017 in an article discussing how governments might regulate those “titans” of the 21st century global economy, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. The idea that data, and AI more broadly, is the “new oil” and these companies the new “titans” of this lucrative “resource” is intriguing, but how credible is it?

Come to Teresa Heffernan’s talk, “AI as the New Oil and Other Myths,” to find out!

Where: McNally East Room 108, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax

When: Friday, October 20, 2023, 12:30-1:30 pm

This event is hosted by the School of the Environment, SMU.

[Image from The Economist, May 7, 2017]

Lecture on AI and the (Post-) Apocalyptic Imaginary

Oct 18, 2022Jan 31, 2023

Starting November 8th, 2022, the Centre for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies (CAPAS) at the University of Heidelberg will be live-streaming a series of weekly lectures that consider “end of the world” themes in artificial intelligence and climate change discourses, and Late Capitalist consumer culture, among other areas of interest.

Misogynistic Algorithms Workshop

Jun 7, 2022Jan 31, 2023

“Misogynistic Algorithms,” a virtual workshop on June 9, 2022, promises to be a fascinating discussion on the cultural basis of the gender bias prevalent in the very coding of AI and robotics technologies.

Cyborg Futures Edited Collection

Nov 18, 2020Jan 31, 2023

— 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.

AI, the Immortality Industry, and the Ethics of Death

Oct 14, 2020Jan 31, 2023

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.

The Ethical Imagination: Humanities vs. AI

Sep 2, 2019Jan 31, 2023

— 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.

The Real Life ‘Ex Machina’ Is Here

Apr 23, 2019Jan 31, 2023

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/

Panel on the Social Implications of AI

Nov 7, 2018Jan 31, 2023

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: “Ex Machina, AI and the Robotics Industry”

Oct 20, 2018Jan 31, 2023

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.

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

Apr 2, 2018Jan 31, 2023

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