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Event

Wilder Penfield Lecture - Standing on the Edge of Error: Science in the Age of AI

Wednesday, May 1, 2024 16:00to17:00

Montreal Neurological Institute Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre, 3801 rue University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, CA

The Penfield Lecture was inaugurated in 1985 to honour Wilder Penfield, pioneering neurosurgeon and founder of The Neuro. A cocktail reception will follow.

Speaker: Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt FRS FREng FBCS

Principal, Jesus College, Department of Computer Science
University of Oxford, UK

Registration: here

Livestream: here

Talk abstract:

This lecture will reflect on what makes the scientific method so powerful, how it has transformed our world, and how it has been informed, enriched, and made possible by accomplishments in engineering. The lecture will discuss the most recent manifestation of this marriage of science and engineering – the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It will review the various roles AI is playing in science and how it is augmenting the scientific process. It will discuss the need to apply our science to understand the properties and impact of new emerging AI systems. The lecture will consider how AI can generate spurious as well as accurate output, how it has the potential to be weaponised to undermine science, but also how it can be used to confront disinformation. We will review the crucial role that high quality data plays in AI, and the importance of trusted open data ecosystems. The talk will argue that current discussions around the ethics, regulation and governance of AI must involve a plurality of perspectives if we are to realise the full potential of AI.

Sir Nigel Shadbolt

Sir Nigel Shadbolt, an AI leader, graduated with 1st Class Honours from Newcastle in 1978. Postgrad studies in AI at Edinburgh led to founding Nottingham's AI Research Group in 1983. By 1992, he became the Allan Standen Professor of Intelligent Systems. In 2000, Sir Nigel moved to Southampton, focusing on web development. Appointed UK Government Information Advisor in 2009, he catalyzed open data release. Currently advising the government, he's Chairman of the Open Data Institute, fostering global open data exploitation. He co-founded Garlik Ltd, acquired by Experian in 2011.