Science Fiction Science: Facing the challenges of Artificial Intelligence

Guest Speaker: Professor Iyad Rahwan, Director, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin

Abstract:

Can we predict the social and behavioral impacts of future technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, while they are still being developed in scientific labs, or even when they are just imaginations in the minds of a science fiction writer? Such prediction would allow us to guide development and regulation of technologies before their impacts get entrenched. This talk describes 'science fiction science’ (sci-fi-sci), the use of experimental methods to simulate future technologies, and collect quantitative measures of the attitudes and behaviors of participants assigned to controlled variations of the future. I present various recent sci-fi-sci projects aimed at anticipating the societal impacts of Artificial Intelligence, and discuss the potential and limitations of this form of science.

Speaker Bio:

Prof. Iyad Rahwan is director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, where he founded and directs the Center for Humans & Machines. He is also an honorary professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Technical University of Berlin. Prior to moving to Berlin, he was an Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A native of Aleppo, Syria, Rahwan holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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