An International Conference in Humanities Research: A.I. and Beyond, Culturally Speaking

Technology and culture shape and transform each other, sometimes in profound ways. It is therefore important to examine from cultural perspectives the opportunities and risks brought by high technologies, in order to ensure beneficial and sustainable technological developments. Among the frontier technologies that are characteristic of our time, artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to become, if not already is, the most transformative and disruptive force to reshape the human condition. Consequently, a crucial task for humanities research is to carry on vigorous reflections and dialogues on the cultural and social impacts of AI.

With this goal in mind, we are excited to host an international symposium, “AI and Beyond, Culturally Speaking”, at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). This is the second installment of a “culturally speaking” conference series, following a successful symposium on COVID19 in 2020. It is designed to work in synergy with a number of HKBU initiatives to promote cross-disciplinary research and conversations on beneficial, ethical, and sustainable AI. With two keynote speeches, one plenary session, and six panels, this symposium will discuss many of the most significant cultural and social dimensions of AI, ranging from AI-augmented creativity and robotic agency, to the impacts of AI in domains that are essential for human wellbeing. We are pleased to have gathered a distinguished group of speakers from all over the world and with diverse expertise, who share an interest in the future of humanity with AI. We cordially invite everyone with this interest to join us in these dialogues.

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