“What are the computers and robots of our time if not golems? [...] We are living in an epoch of golem-making right now. The gap between science and magic, science and art is becoming narrower.” –– Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1983

The first online event in a series of workshops on AI Narratives in Central and Eastern Europe took place on 12 November 2020 and focused on the Golem of Prague – a mythical clay creature, created in the 16th century by Rabbi Loew to defend the local Jewish community from antisemitic attacks – and its relation to contemporary AI. The link between AI and the Golem of Prague is not merely symbolic, as some computer science pioneers, including John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener, considered themselves descendants of Rabbi Loew. The workshop featured:  

• Emily Bilski – art curator and contributor to the Barbican’s AI: More than Human exhibition, who spoke about the cultural expressions of the golem theme: in film, theater, dance, and in particular – the fine arts;

• Veronika Ambros – professor of comparative literature at the University of Toronto, who presented her most recent work that compares golems with robots;

• Ken Goldberg – professor of engineering at UC Berkeley, who reflected on what he calls ‘Robo-Exoticism’ (responses to AI and robots that exaggerate both their negative and positive attributes and reinforce fears, fantasies, and stereotypes) and the Jewish history of robots; 

• Ada Ackerman – researcher at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, who spoke about the affinities between the Golem myth and the medium of cinema.

• and Rabbi Raphael Zarum – Dean of the London School of Jewish Studies, who holds a PhD in theoretical physics and is a leading Jewish educator in the UK; Rabbi Zarum responded to the other papers from the perspective of Jewish law.

Introductory talks by Kanta Dihal, Principal Investigator on the GAIN Project, and Vít Střítecký, Deputy Head of the Department of Security Studies at Charles University, opened the workshop. Tomasz Hollanek, a PhD Fellow at CFI, chaired the workshop, which concluded with a discussion open to all workshop participants. 

A detailed program is available below: 

Start: 4PM (Central European Time), 12 November 2020

4:00 - 4:10 Welcome/Introduction to the GAIN Project and AI Narratives: Kanta Dihal 

4:10 - 4:15 Introduction to the Central and Eastern Europe GAIN workshop series: Vít Střítecký 

4:15 - 4:30 Presentation by Emily Bilski 

4:30 - 4:45 Presentation by Veronika Ambros 

4:45 - 5:00 Presentation by Ken Goldberg 

(5 min coffee refill break)

5:05 - 5:20 Presentation by Ada Ackerman 

5:20 - 5:30 Response by Raphael Zarum

5:30 - 6:00 Discussion moderated by Tomasz Hollanek

Finish by 6PM (CET).