January 14|25 2018
The future of blurred boundaries between humans and machines is a recurrent theme in science fiction. This future is today.
Join us for two weeks of discussions, lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and cultural and recreational events that will inspire our shared vision for a brighter, human-machine future.
Is the future human?
Sensors monitor our state, health and behavior, relaying this data to configure a digital signature that is as much part of us as our biometric traits. Fed at petabyte levels, our digital signatures allow increasingly powerful machine learning algorithms to learn from the continuous data streams we generate and anticipate our needs and behaviors as consumers.
Machine learning algorithms can increasingly mimic the function of our brain and will soon establish a direct interface that allows for the seamless control of robots. Robots are endowed with powerful sensorial capacities in order to interact with other humans, as well as their robotic avatars, through virtual networks that may eventually replace much of our human-to-human interactions.
While this human-machine future offers to bring about unlimited potential, it also creates risks—of losing our privacy and the social traits inherent to our human nature. We live in a world where machines are increasingly embedded in our everyday lives. Machines shape our individual identities, social interactions, and society as a whole. During the 2018 Winter Enrichment Program (WEP), we invite you to immerse yourself in a diverse and stimulating program, touching on the opportunities and risks of a future where the boundaries between machines and humans will become even more diffuse.
Start your WEP with an orientation session with Professor Omar Knio, Chair of the 2018 Enrichment Programs, and Marie Laure Boulot, Manager at the Enrichment Programs. This event is a nice gat ... more
Build Your Sensor Network 1/4
Location: Bldg. 9 Computer Lab 2223 ≤ 36
Build Your Sensor Network Using Basic Sensors and ARM Microprocessors During this workshop, 25 participants will learn how to build a basic sensor network using set of sensors, BLE transceiver, ... more
Tell Your Story Using Story Maps 1/2
Location: Bldg. 9 Computer Lab 2221 ≤ 18
Story Maps serves as a tool to facilitate the presentation of projects with spatial or geographical context. It enables the user to effectively tell his/her story by combining narration with images an ... more
Cornell Entrepreneurship 1/14
Location: Building 19, Level 3, Conference Hall 1 & 2
KAUST Cornell Entrepreneurship Program KAUST is pleased to announce a partnership with Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management to offer a certificate program in entrepreneurship. Thi ... more
Facebook On-Air Interview with David Edwards
Location: WEP HUB (University Library)
The KAUST Facebook On-Air Series *Speaker to be confirmed David Edwards, a creator, writer and educator who teaches at Harvard University, will be interviewed during WEP as part of the Facebook On-A ... more
Knowing How to See Exhibition - JAN 14
Location: Al-Khawarizmi East (Bldg. 1), Entrance Hall
Photography is a Bridge Between Art and Mathematics The starting point of this exhibition is to translate the language and the insights of mathematics into photographic images and vice versa. ... more
Interactive Virtual Reality Art Exhibit: Google Tilt Brush - JAN 14
Location: WEP HUB (University Library)
Paint Inside a Virtual World with Google Tilt Brush Virtual reality is at the frontier of novel human machine interfaces. At this interactive exhibit you can paint inside a virtual world. By e ... more
Visualizing the Human Machine Future Exhibition - JAN 14
Location: WEP HUB (University Library)
About this Exhibition This exhibition will focus on visualization from the viewer’s perspective and will showcase photographs and scientific illustrations. It will be dispalyed from& ... more
Art, Science and the Invention of Things That Last
Location: Building 20, Auditorium
Aesthetic Creation Aesthetic creation involves a close collaboration between discovery, invention and cultural exhibition, as well as between learning and producing value. It is typified by t ... more
Join us for a short guided tour around the Library HUB! Many of the WEP events will be concentrated in the HUB and we don't want you to miss out on any of them. We value your feedback and ... more
Make. Building CNC Machines 1/2
Location: University Library, Level 3, Computer Lab 3134 ≤ 33
CNC: At the Heart of Modern Machine Automation Computer Numerical Control (CNC) is the execution of pre-programmed sequences of machine control commands. It is the technology at the heart of modern m ... more
Discovering the World While Creating It
Location: Building 19, Level 1, Mosti Auditorium
David Edwards, a creator, writer, and educator, teaches at Harvard University and is founder and director of Le Laboratoire in Paris, France. His work, which spans the arts and sciences, has been feat ... more
Cornell Entrepreneurship 2/14
Location: Building 19, Level 3, Conference Hall 1 & 2
KAUST Cornell Entrepreneurship Program KAUST is pleased to announce a partnership with Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management to offer a certificate program in entrepreneurship. Thi ... more
Writing From the Reader's Perspective 1/4
Location: Bldg. 9 Classroom 3131 ≤ 42
Improve your scientific writing skills What is the purpose of a scientific article? Is it the mere presentation or rather communication of information and thought? An article describing a great scie ... more
Facebook On-Air Interview with Todd Nims
Location: WEP HUB (University Library)
The KAUST Facebook On-Air Series with Todd Nims *Speaker to be confirmed Todd Nims is the film producer at the Kingdom's state-of-the-art cultural center for inspiring creativity, the King Abdulaziz ... more
Opening Night: Lights On!
Location: Building 20, Auditorium
WEP 2018 KICKS OFF On January 14th , WEP 2018 starts by a welcoming address by KAUST Interim President Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr. Followed by the screening of the movie JOUD. Presenter: Todd Nims, Pr ... more
