Breathing Life Into Machines: The Illusion of Sentience in Robots and Beyond w. Madeline Gannon
Breathing Life Into Machines: The Illusion of Sentience in Robots and Beyond
After 50 years of promises and potential, robots are beginning to leave the lab to live in the wild with us. But how should we coexist with these intelligent, autonomous machines? In this talk, Dr. Madeline Gannon shares how her flavor of art, design, and robotics can push robots beyond their limits as tools of automation, and explore new models of companionship between humans and machines.
Dr. Madeline Gannon is a multidisciplinary designer and inventor forging new futures for human-robot relations. Also known as "The Robot Whisperer", Gannon blends techniques in art, design, computer science, and robotics to convince robots to do things they were never intended to do: from transforming giant industrial robots into living, breathing mechanical creatures, to taming hordes of autonomous machines to behave like a pack of animals.
Gannon believes that technology is a cultural medium, and tunes her work to engage with communities across science and society. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Copernicus Science Centre, and has been exhibited at international cultural institutions, published at academic conferences, and profiled in global media outlets, such as the BBC, the Guardian, FT, the Science Channel, WIRED, FastCompany, Dezeen, and The Verge.
Dr. Gannon is a World Economic Forum Cultural Leader, a Knight Foundation Awardee, a former Robotics & AI Researcher at NVIDIA, and a former artist in residence at ETH Zurich, Autodesk Pier 9, and the Carnegie Mellon STUDIO for Creative Inquiry. She is known as one of the 'Top 10 Women in Robotics Industry' and 'World’s 50 Most Renowned Women in Robotics’ according to Analytics Insight. Gannon holds a Master of Architecture from Florida International University, and a Ph.D in Computational Design from Carnegie Mellon University.
About Futurespaces
Futurespaces delves into contemporary experience design, with a specific focus on how innovations in design and technology can meaningfully enhance human connection.
Founded and led by Josh Goldblum (Bluecadet) Futurespaces offers live webinars and in-person tours that provide valuable insights into the creative process of creating contemporary experiences.