Absolutely Interdisciplinary 2023

An annual academic conference hosted by the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, Absolutely Interdisciplinary convenes leading thinkers from a rich variety of fields to engage in conversations that encourage innovation and inspire new insights.

Connecting technical researchers, social scientists, and humanists, Absolutely Interdisciplinary fosters new ways of thinking about the challenges presented by artificial intelligence and other powerful data-driven technologies to build a future that promotes human well-being—for everyone.

Conference participants will contribute to and learn about emerging research areas and new questions to explore. Each session pairs researchers from different disciplines to address a common question and facilitate a group discussion. By identifying people working on similar questions from different perspectives, we will foster conversations that develop the interdisciplinary approaches and research questions needed to understand how AI can be made to align with human values.

Schedule

June 20, 2023

Special Event:

In person at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Attendance at this event is included with registration for Absolutely Interdisciplinary 2023.

June 21, 2023

9:25 AM – 9:30 AM | Opening remarks

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM | Keynote: Blaise Agüera y Arcas (Google)

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Session 1: "Testing social cognitive theory with AI," with William Cunningham, Joel Leibo, Nicolas Papernot

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Session 2: "Value alignment"

3:15 PM – 5:15 PM | Session 3: "Large language models"

5:15 PM – 6:15 PM | Reception

June 22, 2023

9:00 AM – 9:05 AM | Opening remarks

9:05 AM – 11:00 AM | Session 4: "The reward hypothesis," with Julia Haas, Gillian Hadfield, Richard Sutton

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM | Session 5: "Machine learning in the workplace," with Avi Goldfarb, Frank Rudzicz, Daniel Rock

2:30 PM – 4:30 PM | Session 6: "AI and creativity," with N. Katherine Hayles, Avery Slater

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Closing remarks

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Reception

Speakers

Blaise Agüera y Arcas, VP and Fellow, Google Research.

William Cunningham, professor of psychology, University of Toronto.

Avi Goldfarb, Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare and professor of marketing, University of Toronto; chief data scientist, Creative Destruction Lab; research lead, Schwartz Reisman Institute; faculty affiliate, Vector Institute.

Julia Haas, senior research scientist, DeepMind.

Gillian Hadfield, professor of law and economics, University of Toronto; director, Schwartz Reisman Institute; CIFAR AI Chair, Vector Institute.

N. Katherine Hayles, distinguished research professor of English, University of California; James B. Duke Professor of Literature Emerita, Duke University.

Joel Leibo, research scientist, DeepMind.

Nicolas Papernot, assistant professor of computer science, University of Toronto; faculty affiliate, Schwartz Reisman Institute; faculty affiliate, Vector Institute.

Daniel Rock, assistant professor of operations, information, and decisions, University of Pennsylvania.

Frank Rudzicz, associate professor of computer science, University of Toronto and Dalhousie University; scientist, St. Michael’s Hospital; director of AI, Surgical Safety Technologies Inc.; faculty affiliate, Vector Institute.

Avery Slater, assistant professor, University of Toronto; research lead, Schwartz Reisman Institute.

Richard Sutton, chief scientific advisor, Amii; professor, University of Alberta; distinguished research scientist, DeepMind; CIFAR AI Chair.

About the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society is a research institute at the University of Toronto that explores the ethical and societal implications of technology. Our mission is to deepen knowledge of technologies, societies, and humanity by integrating research across traditional boundaries to build human-centred solutions.

Our research community seeks to rethink technology’s role in society, the needs of human communities, and the systems that govern them. We are investigating how best to align technology with human values and deploy it accordingly.

Across all our activities, SRI convenes world-class expertise and diverse perspectives from universities, government, industry, and beyond to develop new modes of thinking about powerful technologies and their role in what it means to be human in the 21st century. We are defining what’s possible, determining what’s at stake, and devising implementable solutions to make sure technologies like AI are effective, safe, fair, and beneficial—for everyone.

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Host or Publisher Schwartz Reisman Institute