Franke Program in Science & the Humanities

Alyson Shotz is one of the most innovative contemporary multi-media artists. Deeply inspired by science, she has the remarkable ability to translate abstract scientific and mathematical concepts into sculptures, installations, and traditional artwork. The recipient of many awards and honors, her works have been on display and commissioned by some of the most prestigious museums in the world. This lecture took place under the auspices of the WHC’s Franke Program in Science and the Humanities.

People divide the world into objects (like rocks and toasters) and agents (like people and dogs).  How do we decide where robots should fall along this divide?  In this talk, Professor Brian Scassellati discusses some of the ways in which we view robots as different from objects, agents, and even other technologies, such as virtual avatars. Using computational modeling and socially interactive robots, Professor Brian Scassellati’s research evaluates models of how infants acquire social skills and assists in the diagnosis and quantification of disorders of social development such as autism.

New developments in Artificial Intelligence, particularly deep learning and other forms of “second-wave” AI, are attracting enormous public attention. Both triumphalists and doomsayers are predicting that human-level AI is “just around the corner.” To assess the situation we need a broad understanding of intelligence in terms of which to assess: (i) what kinds of intelligence machines currently have, and will likely have in the future; and (ii) what kinds people have, and may be capable of in the future.

Steven Strogatz is an applied mathematician who works in the areas of nonlinear dynamics and complex systems, often on topics inspired by the curiosities of everyday life–and often finding math in places where one least expects it.  An award-winning researcher, teacher, and communicator, Strogatz enjoys sharing the beauty of math though his books, essays, public lectures, and radio and television appearances.