CS 195

Week 11 Activity (Monday): Nelson Series talk

For colloquium this week, you can attend a talk from the 2023 Dr. Bruce J. Nelson ’74 Distinguished Speaker Series which this semester is exploring the complex interplay between humanity, artificial intelligence, and the future. The series will delve into the ethical, social, aesthetic and technological dimensions that shape our lives in the emerging AI age.

The talk this week is by Stephanie Dinkins, an artist and professor. The talk is on Monday, October 25, at 6:00 PM in the Auditorium of the R. Michael Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvey Mudd College (SHAN 1430). There will be a reception beforehand at 5:15 PM outside the auditorium.

This talk is one of two colloquium options for this week. The other option is to attend the faculty candidate talk by Hammad Ahmad which takes place on Tuesday at 4:15pm. (You can also attend both events if you wish!)

Because there are two colloquium talks this week, with no talk on Thursday, we have slightly different rules for this week for students enrolled in CS Colloquium (CS 195).

  • Regardless of your section, you can come to at least one of the talks please do so rather than watch a recording afterwards—having a good audience turnout really matters. If you can come to both, that's even better!

Register for the Talk

Nelson series talks are free and open to the public, but you should register to attend. Please register for the talk at the link below:

  • Register to Attend ←
    Opens the institutional event page; the registration button is near the bottom of the page.

On Love & Data

Abstract

“On Love & Data” develops a dialogue with hierarchies embedded within machine learning and AI architecture and one’s individual agency in transforming the algorithms within it. Many algorithmic technologies are rooted in methods that limit and cajole information from humans and computational assumptions. We assess ourselves using false dichotomies that force inadequate choices building a world bereft of complexity and nuance. The disinclinations of our systems to cope with the unseen, the unknown, difference and change limit possibilities for everyone. Through intelligent technologies—the ones that look like us, the ones that serve us and the ones that do neither—we have the ability to understand and organize human activity with complexity and broadly principled care. So, why aren’t these the goals of our algorithmic doppelgangers, assistants and technological ecosystems more generally?

Often envisioned outside the realm of what is technologically possible within artificial intelligence, care is an essential aspect of human information and resource-sharing networks that aid our survival. Recognition of this idea raises questions such as how can we infuse—cooperatively, adversarially or fugitively—ecosystems we depend on as well as the people and institutions currently holding power with ways of being, values, ethics and knowledges they are blind to or don’t understand?

About Stephanie Dinkins

Stephanie Dinkins is a transmedia artist who creates projects that foster dialog about race, gender, aging and our future histories. Her art practice centers emerging technologies, documentary practices, and social collaboration toward more equitable social and technological ecosystems. Dinkins holds the Kusama Endowed Professorship in Art at Stony Brook University, where she founded the Future Histories Studio.

Dinkins exhibits internationally. She is the inaugural recipient of the LG-Guggenhiem Award for artists working at the intersection of art and technology. She is a United States Artist Fellow, Knight Arts & Tech Fellow and Creative Capital Grantee. Her art practice has been generously supported by the Berggruen Institute, Onassis Foundation, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Soros Equality Fellowship, Eyebeam, Pioneer Works Tech Lab, NEW INC, Nokia Bell Labs, Blue Mountain Center; The Laundromat Project; Santa Fe Art Institute and Art/Omi. ‘

Wired, Art In America, Artsy, Art21, Hyperallergic, the BBC, The Nod Podcast, Rightclicksave.com and a host of popular podcasts and online publications have highlighted Dinkins’ art and ideas. Recent exhibitions include: In Search of the Present, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo Finland, Stephanie Dinkins: On Love & Data, Queens Museum of Art, (2021-2022), FUTURES, Smithsonian Arts & Industry Building, Washington D.C. (2021-22); BioMedia. The Era of life-like Media, ZKM| Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, DE, (2022) and The Imitation Game, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.

When and How to Attend

  • Monday, November 6
    • Registration is required to attend this talk live. Please register at the link above.
    • Location: Auditorium, R. Michael Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvey Mudd College (SHAN 1430)
    • Optional reception begins at 5:15 PM
    • Talk runs from 6:00–7:00 PM

Recording for Those Who Could Not Attend In Person

We hope to provide video of the talk after the event. Often the videos for Nelson Series talks take a couple of weeks to be posted, so please be patient.

Required Assessment

To receive credit for attending this colloquium, complete the assessment:

Please do so at your soonest convenience, within 24 hours of seeing the talk.

(When logged in, completion status appears here.)