Tag Archives: Consciousness

Contemplations and Neural Communications

“My art seeks to give form to those processes of thought which have yet to be fully articulated and to explore the enormous scope of the beautiful and delicately balanced neural choreographies designed to reflect what is occurring in our own minds as we think.”

Artist and writer, Richard Bright, has addressed the relationship between art, science and consciousness for over 30 years. In his recent series of drawings he explores the impermanent and shifting process of thinking.

Deep Learning

Yoshua Bengio is a Canadian computer scientist, most noted for his work on artificial neural networks and deep learning. He is Full Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research, head of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA),CIFAR Program co-director of the CIFAR program on Learning in Machines and Brains, Canada Research Chair in Statistical Learning Algorithms. His main research ambition is to understand principles of learning that yield intelligence. In this exclusive interview he discusses his ideas and work on AI and Deep Learning.

Cyborgs and I

Professor Kevin Warwick’s main research areas are artificial intelligence, biomedical systems, robotics and cyborgs. Due to his research as a self-experimenter he is frequently referred to as the world’s first Cyborg. His experiments into implant technology led to him being featured as the cover story on the US magazine, ‘Wired’. He achieved the world’s first direct electronic communication between two human nervous systems, the basis for thought communication. Another project extended human sensory input to include ultrasonics. He also linked his nervous system with the internet in order to control a robot hand directly from his neural signals, across the Atlantic Ocean. In this exclusive interview he discusses his ideas and work on AI, robotics and the future of humans ‘plugging’ into technology.

AI and Neurography

Mario Klingemann is an artist working with algorithms, data and artificial neural networks. He investigates the possibilities that machine learning and artificial intelligence offer in understanding how creativity, culture and their perception work. He has worked part-time as an artist in residence at Google Arts and Culture since early 2016 and is a prominent member of a new school of artists who are turning neural network technology inside out. In this exclusive interview he discusses his ideas and work.

AI and Consciousness

Keith Frankish is a philosopher and writer. He is an Honorary Reader in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, a Visiting Research Fellow (formerly Senior Lecturer) at The Open University, and an Adjunct Professor with the Brain and Mind Program in Neurosciences at the University of Crete. His interests lie mainly in philosophy of mind, and he is well known for defending an illusionist view of phenomenal consciousness and a two-level theory of the human mind. In this exclusive interview he discusses his ideas on the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness.

Portraits of Imaginary People

Mike Tyka studied Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Bristol. He obtained his PhD in Biophysics in 2007 and went on to work as a research fellow at the University of Washington and has been studying the structure and dynamics of protein molecules. Since 2015 he has also begun working with artificial neural networks as an artistic medium and tool. His latest generative portraits series “Portraits of Imaginary People” has been shown at ARS Electronica in Linz, OutOfSight 2017 and at the New Musueum in Karuizawa, Japan. Mike currently works on machine learning at Google in Seattle.

Creativity in the Age of Machines

Arthur I. Miller is fascinated by the nature of creative thinking – the mind’s ability to transform information from everyday experiences into the most sublime works of art, literature, music and science. Professor Emeritus at University College London, he is currently completing a book on AI and creativity in art, literature and music, ‘Mozart’s Flute: Genius and Creativity in the Age of Machines’.

Creating Artificial Consciousness

Ryota Kanai PhD is a neuroscientist working on the computational principles underlying consciousness and the brain, and the founder and CEO of an AI startup, Araya, Inc. in Tokyo. His goal is to create artificial consciousness using intrinsic motivation, deep neural networks, and integrated information while taking inspirations from neuroscience. He formerly led a cognitive neuroscience lab at Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex. In this exclusive interview he discusses his ideas and work in trying to understand consciousness by creating it.

AI and Machine Learning

Thomas Dietterich is one of the pioneers of the field of Machine Learning. His research is motivated by challenging real world problems with a special focus on ecological science, ecosystem management, and sustainable development. He is Past President of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and he previously served as the founding president of the International Machine Learning Society. In this exclusive interview he discusses his ideas and work.