This is a program page for one of our past events. To learn more about the outcomes of the event, please see our blog post and gallery.
Cairo, 13-14 October 2019
The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (University of Cambridge) and the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (American University in Cairo) are delighted to announce the Global AI Narratives Project: Middle East and North Africa.
Different cultures see Artificial Intelligence through very different lenses: diverse religious, linguistic, philosophical, literary, and cinematic traditions have led to diverging conceptions of what intelligent machines can and should be. The Global AI Narratives: Middle East and North Africa is another in a series of events dedicated to the dissemination of these diverse AI narratives around the world.
Funded by DeepMind Ethics and Society and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc., the Global AI Narratives Project aims to establish new connections between academics, ariststs, writers, designers and technologists working on AI in different regions of the world. The two-day event in Cairo will consist of a closed research workshop, a public keynote lecture and a public panel on AI Narratives.
A detailed program is available here. For any inquiries, please email Tom Hollanek.
Key questions:
How is AI portrayed in the Middle East and North Africa?
What are the ‘local’ understandings of AI?
What is the relationship between the Islamic thought and AI?
What is the perspective of women working on AI in the region?
Is there an Arab Futurism?
PROGRAM: Day 1
Global AI Narratives: Research Workshop
Sunday, 13 October, 2019
Oriental Hall, AUC Tahrir Campus
(CLOSED EVENT)
9:00 Coffee and Registration
9.15 Opening Remarks: Dr Nagla Rizk (Access to Knowledge for Development Center, School of Business, American University in Cairo) and Dr Stephen Cave (Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge)
9:30 – 10:30 PANEL 1. AI Narratives: Views from the West. Moderator: Dr Nagla Rizk
Panelists:
Tomasz Hollanek, CFI, University of Cambridge
Dr Stephen Cave, CFI, University of Cambridge
Dr Kanta Dihal, CFI, University of Cambridge
10:30 – 11:45 PANEL 2. AI and Popular Culture: Contemporary Perceptions in North Africa and the Middle East. Moderator: Dr Kanta Dihal
Panelists:
Dr Nikolaos Mavridis, Interactive Robotics and Media Lab, United Arab Emirates
Dr Iman Hamam, Department of Rhetoric and Composition, American University in Cairo
Dr Reham Hosny, University of Leeds and University of Minia, Egypt
Yasser Bahjatt, Yatakhayaloon: Arab League of Sci-Fiers, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
11:45 - 12:00 Coffee Break
12:00 – 13:15 PANEL 3. Intersectionality and AI in the Arab World. Moderator: Tonii Leach
Panelists:
Assia Boundaoui, Director of ‘The Feeling of Being Watched’
Dr Yasmine Moataz, Department of Anthropology, American University in Cairo
Farah Ghazal, Access to Knowledge for Development Centre, the School of Business, American University in Cairo
Mohamed Hamama, Mada Masr Media, Egypt
13:15 – 14:15 Lunch
14:15 – 15:30 PANEL 4. Is there an Arab Futurism? Conceptualizations and Future Studies of AI in the Region. Moderator: Hana Shaltout
Panelists:
Dr Imad Elhajj, American University in Beirut
Dr Hosam el Zembely, The Egyptian Society for Science Fiction
Dr Muhammad Ahmad, University of Washington; Islam and Science Fiction Website
Aya El Sharkawy, Access to Knowledge for Development Centre, the School of Business, American University in Cairo
15:30 – 16:45 Breakout Session
16:45 – 17:15 Closing Remarks
17:15 – 17:30 Break and Group Picture
17:30 – 18:45 Keynote Lecture: Nikolaos Mavridis (see below)
19:15 Conference Dinner
PROGRAM: DAY 1
Public Lecture by Nikolaos Mavridis
Sunday, 13 October, 2019
Oriental Hall, AUC Tahrir Campus
17:30 – 18:45
PROGRAM: DAY 2
Global AI Narratives: Public Panel
Monday, 14 October, 2019
Oriental Hall, AUC Tahrir Campus
18:30 – 20:00
Moderator: Hana Shaltout, Access to Knowledge for Development Center, School of Business, The American University in Cairo (Egypt)
Panelists:
Stephen Cave, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
Assia Boundaoui, Director of ‘The Feeling of Being Watched’ (Algeria/United States)
Hosam El Zembely, The Egyptian Society for Science Fiction (Egypt)
Yasser Bahjatt, Yatakhayaloon: The League of Arab Sci-Fiers, (Saudi Arabia)
