Academics

Tucker serves on team organizing artificial intelligence event in the U.K.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Conrad Tucker, associate professor of engineering design and industrial engineering and affiliate faculty in computer science and engineering, is currently serving on the planning team organizing the 2050|Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Conflict event in the United Kingdom. The event is being hosted in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, the Royal United Services Institute and Central Saint Martins.  

The Nov. 8 event will focus on how artificial intelligence will change the nature of human experiences. Held at The Platform Theatre at King’s Cross in London, England, the multidisciplinary event will bring together experts and the general public to examine artificial intelligence and its future. Forum panelists will include representatives from the academic, military, legal, governmental policy-making and technology communities. 

Three key themes — technology, ethical and legal implications and the nature of soldiering — will be discussed.

“The themes for this event were selected with the acknowledgement that a fundamental understanding of a future with humans and artificial intelligent systems, extends far beyond one domain of expertise,” Tucker said. “This is simply not a technology problem or a policy or ethical problem. It is a problem that lies at the intersection of all of these disciplines.”         

These themes will be introduced to forum attendees through short theatrical plays. Expert roundtables will immediately follow the plays. Public attendees will be encouraged to actively participate in the roundtable discussions.

This unique approach to a forum encourages an immersive and interactive experience for all attendees. It allows for varying disciplines and members of the general public to experience artificial intelligence conversations in a new and innovative way.

“The objective of this event is to bridge the gap between researchers working in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and the general public who may be impacted by the potential positive and or negative aspects of AI. The use of theatre as an educational and communication tool has been proven highly effective in the healthcare and higher education domains,” Tucker said. “However, its use as a communication medium to advance society’s understanding of the potential risks and rewards of AI has been limited. This AI event plans to change that by immersing the general public in a real-time, interactive theatre medium that is immediately followed by interactive panel sessions that engage the audience.”

At the AI event, Tucker will also serve as a moderator for a panel session that includes panelist Adedeji Badiru, dean of the Graduate School of Engineering & Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). Representatives from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) will also be in attendance at the forum.

As a follow up to the AI event in the U.K., Tucker will host AFOSR program officer Erik Blasch and his team at Penn State’s University Park campus on Nov. 16 and 17. The team is scheduled to meet with Penn State leadership, faculty and students to explore collaborative research opportunities.

For more information, visit the 2050|Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Conflict event page. 

Conrad Tucker is serving on the planning team for the 2050 | Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Conflict forum. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated October 25, 2017

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