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.
How AI Turned the Chess World Upside Down
Location: Bldg. 20 Auditorium
Man vs. Machine! In 1977 an IBM supercomputer 'Deep Blue' beat the reigning World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov in a 6 game chess match played under tournament conditions. This was the first tim ... more
Facebook On-Air Interview with Susan Polgar
Location: WEP HUB (University Library)
The KAUST Facebook On-Air Series with Susan Polgar *Speaker to be confirmed Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-born American chess Grandmaster. She is famous for having been a child prodigy at chess, for b ... more
Simultaneous Chess Exhibition - 10 Boards!
Location: WEP HUB (University Library)
Come and watch! Susan Polgar is one of the most famous chess players in the world. She and her two sisters were child prodigies and grew to be the best women players ever. Susan is recently ret ... more