“When Robots Rule the World,” a year-long series of free community lectures and film screenings at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, will resume in February and continue through May.
Presented by the College of Letters and Science, the series explores the futuristic portrayal of robots in film, the daily use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in mundane tasks and the latest advances in the field of human centered A.I. and its implications.
The series features lectures by UW-Stevens Point faculty and other experts as well as film screenings and a panel discussion. Events will take place at the Dreyfus University Center Theater or at the Portage County Public Library and are free and open to the public.
Spring events include:
- Friday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m. – Film screening: “Blade Runner 2049,” DUC Theater.
In this 2017 film, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department who seeks out replicants looks for a former blade runner whose been missing for 30 years.
- Tuesday, Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m. – “Perception of Humans and Robots,” lecture by Associate Professor Patrick Conley, psychology, Portage County Library.
The lecture will examine the relationship between human perception and A.I., the long-term implications of computer-enhanced body parts and how virtual and augmented reality change the way we interact with the world.
- Tuesday, March 7, 6:30 p.m. – “Robotics in Health Care,” lecture by Adedayo Onitilo, M.D., of Marshfield Clinic, Portage County Library.
Dr. Onitilo will discuss the growing trend of A.I. in health care, from virtual patient care to diagnosis.
- Tuesday, April 11, 6:30 p.m. – “Bias and the Language of AI,” lecture by James Berry and Vera Klekovkina, Portage County Library.
Speech recognition and automatic translation still have race and gender biases, leading to questions on how future service robots will interact with humans and switch between languages and dialects.
- Friday, April 21, 7 p.m. – Film screening: “IHuman,” DUC Theater.
This 2019 documentary film follows the booming A.I. industry, its opportunities, challenges and global impact.
- Tuesday, May 2, 6:30 p.m. – Panel discussion on Civic Discourse, DUC Theater.
Discussion among UW-Stevens Point faculty who took part in this A.I. series: Vera Klekovkina, Tomi Heimonen, Cary Elza, Joshua Horn, Patrick Conley and James Berry.
The series is sponsored by the University Personnel Development Committee Research and Creative Activities Grant. Watch previous lectures in the series and learn more at www.uwsp.edu/whenrobotsrule.