SMRI Public Lecture: 'Using maths to invent solutions to large-scale human problems, just in time to survive AI' by Po-Shen Loh and moderated by Francis Su

SMRI Public Lecture:

'Using maths to invent solutions to large-scale human problems, just in time to survive AI'

Location:

University of Sydney, Camperdown Campus
Social Sciences Building (A02) - SSB Lecture Theatre 200

Date and Time:

Wednesday May 29th, 2024
Lecture: 5:30-6:30pm / Canapes & Drinks: 6:30-7:30pm

Description:

"Why are we learning this?" — the dreaded question often received by mathematics educators is addressed in this public lecture by Po-Shen Loh moderated by Francis Su, both visitors at the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute.

Abstract:

In this public lecture, the speaker will share his story of using his maths-professor background to devise new solutions to two practical problems that affect our whole society: disease control and education. The mathematical areas of network theory and game theory feature as inspirations in his work. During the COVID lockdown, he invented an app which addresses the incentive misalignment problem intrinsic in contact tracing: in the traditional approach, people are asked to isolate to protect others against infection, not to save themselves.

Po-Shen has also been working for a decade at the intersection of education and technology. His latest creation is a new, highly-scalable ecosystem for teaching secondary school students how to invent their own solutions to unfamiliar (maths) problems, powered by a unique incentive alignment structure that involves professionally trained actors and comedians collaborating with maths stars. This comes just in time, as the rise of AI necessitates more advanced skills.

This talk will be accessible to all backgrounds.

About the Speaker:

Po-Shen Loh is a social entrepreneur and inventor, working across the spectrum of mathematics, education, and healthcare, all around the world. He holds a PhD from Princeton University and is a mathematics professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He served a decade-long term as the national coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad team from 2013–2023. He has pioneered innovations ranging from a scalable way to learn challenging math live online at comparable engagement to live-streaming entertainment, to a new way to control pandemics by leveraging self-interest. His work has appeared in national and international media, from ABC News, to the Wall Street Journal, CNN, the Straits Times, and more.

As an academic, Po-Shen has earned distinctions ranging from an International Mathematical Olympiad silver medal to the United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. His scientific research considers a variety of questions that lie at the intersection of combinatorics (the study of discrete systems), probability theory, and computer science. As an educator, he was the coach of the USA Math Olympiad team when it achieved its first-ever back-to-back #1-rank victories in 2015 and 2016, and then again in 2018 and 2019. His research and educational outreach takes him to cities across the world, reaching over 10,000 people each year through public lectures and events, and he has featured in or co-created videos totalling over 21 million YouTube views.

About the Moderator:

Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College and a past president of the Mathematical Association of America. His research is in geometric and topological combinatorics and applications to the social sciences. His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and The New York Times. His book Mathematics for Human Flourishing, winner of the 2021 Euler Book Prize, has been translated into 8 languages. It is an inclusive vision of what math is, who it's for, and why anyone should learn it.