Tech & Society Program: “Sci -Fi Science” with Iyad Rahwan

Aspen Institute España, in collaboration with Fundación Telefónica, will hold the first session of the 10th edition of the Tech & Society Program with Iyad Rahwan, Director of the Center for Humans and Machines at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, to discuss the relationship between artificial intelligence, human behavior, and technological governance in a context of accelerated transformation. The session will take place on Thursday, April 9, and is titled “Science of Science Fiction.” It will be conducted in English and will be held at the Telefónica Building.

Sci-Fi Science

Can we predict the social, economic, and behavioral repercussions of future technologies, such as artificial intelligence, while they are still being developed in scientific laboratories, or even when they are merely the imaginings of a science fiction writer?

Such a prediction would allow us to guide the development and regulation of technologies before their impacts become fully realized. This talk describes “sci-fi science,” the use of experimental methods to simulate future technologies and collect quantitative measurements of the attitudes and behaviors of participants assigned to controlled variations of the future.

The discussion will address several recent sci-fi science projects aimed at anticipating the social impacts of artificial intelligence and will analyze the potential and limitations of this form of science.

Iyad Rahwan

Professor Iyad Rahwan is Director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, where he founded and directs the Center for Humans and Machines. He is also an Honorary Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. Before moving to Berlin, he was an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Born in Aleppo, Syria, Rahwan holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Rahwan’s research agenda, which he calls “sci-fi science,” anticipates the impact of artificial intelligence on how we think, learn, work, play, cooperate, and govern. His work has appeared in leading academic journals worldwide, such as Science and Nature, and is regularly featured in media outlets like The New York Times, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal. His artistic and scientific work has also been exhibited at some of the world’s leading cultural institutions, including Ars Electronica, the Science Museum in London, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Edition X of the Tech & Society Program

The Tech & Society Program has become the leading forum in Spain for reflecting on the major issues raised by advances in digital technology. The 10th edition will bring together leaders from all sectors of civil society to discuss new technological challenges and their influence on diverse areas such as human relations, politics, education, culture, economics, and medicine.