AI and Me

Name: AI and Me
Start: 2023-07-21T18:00:00-04:00
End: 2023-07-21T20:00:00-04:00
Location: Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium

Speakers
Kyunghyun Cho, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Computer Science and Data Science, New York University
Stephanie DinkinsTransmedia Artist
Neha Wadia, Ph.D.Flatiron Research Fellow, CCM, Flatiron Institute

Friday July 21, 2023

About Presents

Presents is a free events series exploring the connections between science, culture and society. Join our scientists and special guests as they discuss the intersections of their work, followed by an evening of conversation over drinks. It’s an opportunity to hear new perspectives that may challenge your assumptions and stoke your curiosity. Meet interesting people who share a passion for ideas and discovery. Come for the conversation, stay for the connections.

Rapid advancements in machine learning and generative artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E 2, have spurred lively discussions about what the future of AI holds for humankind.
Considering the seemingly limitless potential of AI, how do the foremost AI researchers strike a balance between comprehending AI’s vast and unpredictable nature while also understanding their own role in the equation?

Stephanie Dinkins is a transmedia artist who uses AI and emerging technologies to create experiences that spark dialog about race, gender, aging and our future histories.

As a computational mathematician currently developing a new set of learning algorithms to improve machine learning optimization, Neha Wadia often ponders the role of academic researchers in this space.

AI researcher at New York University Kyunghyun Cho advocates for a shift in discourse, moving from sensationalized existential risks to a critical examination of both the immediate benefits and harms associated with AI.

Join them as they sit down with John Tracey, program director of Science, Society and Culture at the Simons Foundation, for a conversation about their personal connections to AI and their thoughts on the broader societal implications of these technologies.

About the Speakers:

Dinkins is a transmedia artist whose work in AI and other mediums uses emerging technologies and social collaboration to work toward technological ecosystems based on care and social equity. Dinkins’ experiences with and explorations of artificial intelligence have led to a deep interest in how algorithmic systems impact communities of color in particular and all of our futures more generally. Dinkins teaches at Stony Brook University, holding the Kusama Endowed Chair in Art. Dinkins earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is an alumna of the Whitney Independent Studies Program. She exhibits and publicly advocates for inclusive AI internationally at a broad spectrum of community, private and institutional venues.

Wadia joined the Center for Computational Mathematics as a Flatiron Research Fellow in August 2022. She works on problems in optimization for machine learning but has many other interests, including statistical mechanics, high-dimensional statistics and neuroscience. Wadia earned a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, in May 2022 and holds degrees in physics from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and Amherst College.

To attend this in-person event, you will need to:

Register in advance
Provide valid photo ID upon entering the building
Present your digital or printed Eventbrite ticket confirmation; make sure it is for the correct event and that the name on it matches your ID
At this time, all guests at the Simons Foundation must be over the age of 18

By registering to attend this event, participants agree to follow the Simons Foundation Code of Conduct.

Please note that when you enter the Simons Foundation buildings, you are attesting that you are not experiencing COVID symptoms and are not knowingly positive for COVID.

EVENT SCHEDULE
5:30 p.m. Doors open
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. In Conversation
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Reception