Robot, a Laboratory “Animal”: Producing Knowledge through and about Human-Robot Interaction – Andrei Korbut

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: The lecture focuses on the use of robots (primarily humanoid) in robotics laboratories to produce knowledge about human–robot interaction (HRI). Robotics is a large and diverse field, but with the recent development of artificial conversational systems and the increasing availability of human-like machines, HRI is now one of the fastest growing and most dynamic …

Neuromorphic Computing: Inspiration from the Brain for Future AI Technologies – Emre Neftci

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: The importance of understanding the principles of brain computation and incorporating them into artificial systems is often considered necessary to advance AI technologies. However, the recent advent of large, "Foundational" vision and language models casts doubt on this assumption, as recent AI architectures differ considerably from the brain. Yet, the human brain consumes far …

Art’s Mediation as Remediation: On Some Artworks and their reuses of Toxic Materials – Esther Leslie

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

There is so much toxicity and contamination in the world. It is incontestable that vast parts of nature are poisoned, ailing or in retreat, and under threat. We live amongst poisoned materials.  Drawing on the various ways in which Adorno and Benjamin addressed both the assault on nature, in the name of progress, and the possibility …

Plea for the Political Philosophy of Engineering and Technology – Carl Mitcham

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: My thesis is that discussion of ethical and other issues in the philosophy of technology needs to be complemented with political philosophy. Development of the thesis takes place in three parts. Part one notes the absence of political philosophy in the first, classic European period in the philosophy of technology. Part two reviews developments …

Towards an Ecology of Technoscience – Massimiliano Simons

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: New emerging sciences and technologies - such as AI, synthetic biology, or robotics - are too often discussed in isolation. As a result, little attention is paid to the potential commonalities and ways in which they can inform each other. In this talk, I want to focus on aspect of what many of these …

Flowers for Agouti: Epigenetics and the Genealogy of Uplift – Ben Woodard

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: The notion of uplift has a science-fictional and social justice connotation: it is the raising up of one species by another as well as a historical (and often racially codified) way of speaking of how one group raises itself up above limiting structural conditions. While these notions seem disparate they in fact have a …

Bio-inspired Materials and Dreams of Inspiration – Michael Friedman

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: Materials are found at the very center of our life, situated in the complex zone between nature and society. In the recent decades, new discoveries in the natural sciences and in the materials sciences have enabled to develop new materials, so called 'active materials' and ‘Bio-inspired Materials’. These new materials are considered as entities …

On the Origin and Development of Scientific Concepts: Light Rays and Lines of Force – Friedrich Steinle

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: In studying the historical dynamics of scientific knowledge, concepts constitute central objects. Their study, however, poses difficulties and challenges that have to do with their specific character as basic components of scientific thought: Much as in everyday life, they are constantly used but scarcely addressed as such. While we speak about chairs, cats and …

Life-Like Artificial Music: Understanding the Impact of AI on Musical Thinking – Nikita Braguinski

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: This lecture explores the impact of machine learning on the future of music research and theory. It argues that AI-generated music poses a deep challenge for existing theories: AI systems can learn to imitate musical styles without receiving any information about human music theory concepts, raising questions about the validity of those concepts. Additionally, …

Organising Life: Biocuration, Bio-Ontologies, and the Conditions of Academic Work – Sarah Davies

Stadtpalais/Online Theaterstraße 75, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: In this talk I discuss biocuration as a field of scholarly practice. In creating and managing data and knowledge bases, biocuration is essential to research in the biosciences, but the skilled human labour it involves is often rendered invisible to its users. At the same time, this ordering work is central to rendering scientific …