CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University will culminate the 15-month celebration of its 150th anniversary with a daylong symposium on how artificial intelligence and robotics may change society, jobs and the economy.

 “The Promise and the Peril of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics,” takes place on Oct. 23 at the LaSells Stewart Center and the CH2M Hill Alumni Center. Registration is open for the free, daylong symposium, which will attract industry, higher education faculty and leaders, policy makers and is open to the public.

National experts and Oregon State faculty will discuss the benefits, risks, ethics and uncertainties of artificial intelligence and robotics. They will talk about the potential for artificial intelligence and robotics to transform agriculture, health care, natural resource management, transportation, arts and entertainment as well as consider impacts on jobs, the economy, laws and privacy.

An innovation fair that showcases AI and robotics will be held during the symposium.

“Robotics and artificial intelligence will transform the world for years to come," said Kagan Tumer, director of Oregon State’s Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute (CoRIS) and one of the organizers of the symposium. “This symposium will bring together leaders from Oregon State’s top-ranked robotics and artificial intelligence programs and key industry and academic partners to talk about the implications of that transformation and what it will mean in the future.”

The symposium will consist of a series of panel discussions and a keynote presentation by Jacob Ward, a science and technology correspondent for CNN and Al Jazeera. He previously served as editor-in-chief of Popular Science magazine and recently completed “Hacking Your Mind,” a four-hour series on the science and implication of bias. It is slated to air on PBS in 2019.

Panel discussions will cover topics including: why robotics and artificial intelligence matter; the good, the bad and the ugly of artificial intelligence and robotics; how humans will interact with robots in the future; artificial intelligence and robots in the workplace; and future opportunities and threats posed by robotics and artificial intelligence.

Oregon State University, a leader in these technologies, is well-positioned to host the symposium. The university’s graduate robotics program, housed in the College of Engineering, was ranked best in the western United States and fourth in the nation, according to rankings by Grad School Hub. In addition, in 2017, the college established CoRIS to advance the theory and design of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Although the symposium is free, registration is required. Lunch and evening reception is included for all registered attendees. The symposium will take place at the LaSells Stewart Center and CH2M HILL Alumni Center on Oregon State’s Corvallis campus.

General OSU

About Oregon State University: As one of only three land, sea, space and sun grant universities in the nation, Oregon State serves Oregon and the world by working on today’s most pressing issues. Our more than 36,000 students come from across the globe, and our programs operate in every Oregon county. Oregon State receives more research funding than all of the state’s comprehensive public universities combined. At our campuses in Corvallis and Bend, marine research center in Newport, OSU Portland Center and award-winning Ecampus, we excel at shaping today’s students into tomorrow’s leaders.

Story By: 

Sean Nealon, 541-737-0787, [email protected]

Source: 

Kagan Tumer, 541-737-9899, [email protected]

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