About Dr Waseem Akhtar

Dr Waseem Akhtar is a Dublin based educator and academic. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from University College Dublin (UCD) and an MBA in Higher Education Management from the Institute of Education (IOE) at University College London (UCL). He is Head of Computing Science Faculty in Griffith College Dublin. Waseem is also known for his in-depth discussions on cutting edge research and emerging ideas with researchers and thought leaders from around the world, and for his engaging public lectures and presentations where he frequently explores multidisciplinary ideas by fusing diverse research topics. Waseem is also a radio broadcaster.

“2062: The World That AI Made” with Professor Toby Walsh

Professor Toby Walsh is a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, and has spent his life dreaming about machines that might think. He is a Professor of AI at the University of New South Wales and leads a research group at Data61, Australia’s Centre of Excellence for ICT Research. In this episode of Bridging the Gaps Professor Toby Walsh discusses his latest book ““2062: The World That AI Made”.

By 2062 there will be huge developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence and some researchers believe that by that time we will have built machines as intelligent as us. But what will this future actually look like? When the quest to build intelligent machines has been successful, how will life on this planet unfold?

In 2062, Toby Walsh considers the impact AI will have on work, war, politics, economics, everyday human life and, indeed, human death. Will robots become conscious? Will automation take away jobs? Will we become immortal machines ourselves, uploading our brains to the cloud?

What lies in store for homo digitalis – the people of the not-so-distant future who will be living among fully functioning artificial intelligence? In “2062: The World That AI Made” Professor Toby Walsh describes the choices we need to make today to ensure that future remains bright.

Complement this with fascinating discussion on Artificial Intelligence with professor Bart Selman “Artificial Intelligence: Fascinating Opportunities and Emerging Challenges” and the impact of technology on the future of work and humanity by visiting “The Technology Trap” and the future of work with Dr Carl Frey.

By |April 10th, 2019|Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Future, Podcasts|
Read More

Robots, Artificial Life and Technology Imagined by the Ancients with Adrienne Mayor

Adrienne Mayor is an author and historian of ancient science and human curiosity. She is a research scholar at Stanford University who investigates natural knowledge contained in pre-scientific myths and traditions. In this podcast Adrienne Mayor discusses the fascinating research that she presents in her book “Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines and Ancient Dreams of Technology”.

This is a captivating account of the earliest expressions of the enduring urge to create machines that imitate life. Adrienne Mayor presents ancient Greek, Roman, Indian and Chinese myths and traditions that envisioned artificial life, robots and self moving contraptions. It is interesting to observe that some of today’s most advanced innovations in robotics and artificial intelligence were envisaged and imagined in ancient myths and traditions. After discussing a number of myths and traditions, Adrienne Mayor presents stories of a number of real machines and innovations that were developed long before the age of modern science and technology. This book is an account of ingenuity and creativity, and that how science has always been driven by imagination.

By |December 17th, 2018|Podcasts|
Read More