‘The Future of Living| Day 1’

Panel 1 | Generator | Human+AI creativity in the arts

The accelerated development of AI has raised concerns over the possibility that it could supersede humans in every activity, including the quintessentially human ability of being creative. Machine learning research has shown that a computer programme can generate outputs that mimic an actual photograph, as well as drawings, music, or texts created by humans. It has therefore been suggested that AI can become creative by producing content that not only imitates, but innovates, potentially supplanting the artist’s role. This panel brings together visual artists, designers, creatives, theorists and cultural producers, who will discuss the challenges and opportunities in conceiving AI systems as self-sufficient creators or, conversely, as creation tools in the hands of a human artist.

What role should AI play in the creative process?

Panel 2 | Discriminator | Emancipated algorithms

What artificial intelligence knows and can do is determined by algorithms written by humans. Who writes them, for what purpose, what data is collected and which is excluded? Who owns the data in the data sets and in what way is this data used or even misused? We know that algorithms with which machines learn, thrive if there is a lot of digital data, preferably infinite, and that it is freely available. But we also know that a certain mutual trust must be established between data producers, users, and machines. At the same time, this is the limit at which different algorithms prove to be ethical or not, legitimate or disrupting, collaborative or exploitative. On the opposite side of the algorithm genesis lies the premise of the emancipated machines where the algorithms start evolving by themselves, developing their own logic that is different from what humans could possibly understand. Should we humans embrace this new form of cognition in our way of thinking or should we switch off these liberated machines? In this panel, experts from computer science and engineering will discuss making the current models more transparent and clearly understandable.

What do we expect from AI to be acceptable and empowering for our better future?

Programme - Tuesday 19 October 2021
Panel 1

10.00 : Foreword 'The Future of Living

10.15: Keynote speaker Salvatore Iaconesi and Oriana Persico

11.00 : COFFEE BREAK*

11.20 : Introduction Panel 1 (Pau Alsina).  With Mikael Fock, Špela Petrič, Anna Ridler.

12:25 : Q&A with the audience (moderator Pau Alsina)

12:50 : Live online talk with the participants of the Hackathon 'Hack-à-Deux'.

13.00 : End of the first panel. Presentation of Panel 2.

Lunch-break

Panel 2 

14.30 : Keynote Bruce Sterling 

15.15 : COFFEE BREAK*
15.35 : Introduction Panel 2 (Marc Pons). With Vladan Joler, Marek Havrda, Juan C. Moreno and Matei Mancas.
17.00 : Q&A with the audience (moderator Marc Pons)
17.25 : End of the Panel. Announcement following day.

*Coffee breaks kindly hosted by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2021

Not able to come to Brussels on 19 + 20 Oct.’21? We will be live-streaming the symposium via Zoom.

Please register in advance to obtain the Zoom-link. 
Registration for the live-streaming of Day 1: 

https://bit.ly/TFOL-Zoom-Day1
Registration for the live-streaming of Day 2: 

https://bit.ly/TFOL-Zoom-Day2

Find out more about the speakers.
Find out more about the Future of Living.