"Today, technology is acquiring the capability to sense and respond skilfully to
human emotion, and in some cases to act as if it has emotional processes that make
it more intelligent. I'll give examples of the potential for good with this technology
in helping people with autism, epilepsy, and mental health challenges such as anxiety
and depression. However, the possibilities are much larger: A few scientists want
to build computers that are vastly superior to humans, capable of powers beyond
reproducing their own kind. What do we want to see built? And, how might we
make sure that new affective technologies make human lives better?"
Professor Rosalind W. Picard, Sc.D., is founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab where she also chairs MIT's Mind+Hand+Heart initiative. Picard has cofounded two businesses, Empatica, Inc. creating wearable sensors and analytics to improve health, and Affectiva, Inc. delivering software to measure and communicate emotion through facial expression analysis. She has authored or co-authored over 200 scientific articles, together with the book Affective Computing, which was instrumental in giving rise to the field by that name. Picard has been honored with dozens of distinguished and named lectureships and has given over 100 invited keynote talks. CNN named her one of seven "Tech SuperHeros to Watch in 2015." In this talk, she will speak from the perspective of somebody who used to be an Atheist and later decided to become a Christian.
VBG Bern: Event Details
