“Complexity beteween hype and history” by Arianna Borrelli (TU Berlin). Abstract: Speaking about the history of computing, Michael Mahoney stated that "hype hides history" (2005) and, indeed, the same could be said of the history of complexity. Between the 1980s and the early '90s the study of complex systems and related areas (deterministic chaos, nonlinear systems) …
How can we engage with futures that are by definition uncertain and unknowable? How can we democratise the making of anticipative knowledge? How can we use such knowledge to contest, if necessary, the futures that are inscribed in techno-visionary science? Adopting a science and technology studies perspective, a public engagement methodology is presented aimed at …
From the 19th to 20th October 2023, a conference on "Briefe des 15. Jahrhunderts als Quellen für interkulturelle Kontakte zwischen Italien und dem Osmanischen Reich" will take place at c:o/re, organized by Florian Hartmann. Please find the flyer and all information here.
Abstract: For more than a decade, scientists have been exploring the transition from non-living to living entities in order to create life from scratch, i.e., to move chemically from protoplasm to protocells and finally to artificial organisms. Today, synthetic biology aims to genetically engineer life from scratch, such as the synthetic Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn3.0—an artificial …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Workshop at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re) Organized by Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re) & Christian Berger (Universität Siegen), Ruby de Vos (University of Groningen), Kyveli Mavrokordopoulou (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) Our workshop sets out from the obvious, yet underexplored assumption, that much of the very stuff that art is made of …
Workshop with c:o/re Senior Fellows Anna Laktionova, Masahiko Hara and Carl Mitcham from the Colorado School of Mines. The workshop unfolds as a discussion format in which three presentations are followed by discussions and comments. From an engineering perspective, Masahiko Hara speaks about his research on living and non-living systems and their interaction. Following on …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Käte Hamburger Kolleg:
Cultures of Research (c:o/re)
Theaterstraße 75
52062 Aachen
