Architectures of Mind: Robots, Brains & Selves
from Thursday, April 4, 2019 7:00PM to Thursday, April 4, 2019 11:00PM
Ticket Information
Event Details
TL;DR This event will slay and likely be the event of the year. Come vibe with us for Women Who Code Vancouver's 2nd Anniversary celebration. Hosted by Holly. ABOUT What do robots, brains, and Zen Buddhism have in common? How to you represent or engineer minds — those fixed yet malleable, elusive structures of intelligence — through which all human innovation, curiosity, perception and action flows? Women Who Code Vancouver is excited to present our 2nd Anniversary celebration at Microsoft Vancouver, 5pm - 9pm, on Thursday April 4th 2019. On a personal note, I am proud and thrilled to be your emcee for the evening, presenting: Architectures of Mind: Robots, Brains & Selves This event explores the concept and practice of mind engineering in a variety of contexts. Ideas about human and machine perception, cognitive architectures, computational representations of human brains, brain big data, and spiritual engineering through Zen will be explored by industry leaders in cognitive science, robotics and artificial intelligence, and Zen Buddhism. We expect this event to sell out, so don’t sleep and purchase your tickets right meow. SPONSORS An immense thanks is due to Best Buy Canada, Microsoft Vancouver, and Women Who Code for sponsoring our event. Thank you Best Buy for feeding us and filming the event, and thank you Microsoft for allowing us to take over your space for the evening. We love our sponsors! EVENT BREAKDOWN Please arrive by 6pm as the elevators will lock and stragglers will be left behind (maybe). 5:00pm - Doors Open & grab some food! 6:00pm - Event Start & Director Welcome 6:05pm - Speaker 1 6:30pm - Speaker 2 6:55pm - Speaker 3 7:20pm - Panel Discussion 8:30pm - Panel End 8:35pm - Mingling 9pm - Event End PRODUCER & EMCEE Holly PeckFounder & Director of Women Who Code VancouverDirector of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) at Sanctuary AI Holly Peck is the founder and director of Women Who Code Vancouver and the Director of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) at Sanctuary, where she leads the deployment of humanoid robots in experimental settings. Previously, she worked as a software engineer at Sanctuary where she wrote code integrating into the software minds of humanoid robots, called "synths." She is a Microsoft MVP in Artificial Intelligence (one of three in Canada) and has a BA from Princeton University. In 2018, she released her first electronic music album called ‘Nobody’ as part of her synth-pop project NUIT. She has a fondness for breakfast, architectures, polyphonic synthesizers, and black latex. SPEAKERS & PANELISTS We have a rockstar lineup of speakers who will blow your mind and guide us through a thoughtful dialogue on what it means to engineer one. Following speaker presentations is a high-impact panel discussion. Olivia NortonFounder & CTO, Sanctuary AI Olivia is an engineer and maker of minds at Sanctuary. Prior to founding Sanctuary, where she is the CTO, she was the lead engineer for the Artificial General Intelligence group at Kindred AI. Her professional experience includes software consulting in the oil and gas industry, as well as research and development work in the field of biomedical imaging at the Institute for Bio-mechanics at ETH Zurich. In her spare time Olivia runs marathons, tends her garden, and binges on sci-fi/fantasy novels. Olivia holds a Bachelor of Science with distinction in computer engineering from University of Calgary and a Master in Engineering in electrical and computer engineering from University of British Columbia. Eshin GodfreyZen Buddhist MonkTeacher & Director of Zen Center of Vancouver Eshin Godfrey had childhood spiritual yearnings that were answered in New Zealand on finding Buddhism. There he met Lama Yeshe whose radiance and love evoked the possibility in himself. Finding Zen closest to his heart, he trained and studied for several years with a series of three Zen masters in the USA. Becoming a Zen monk, Eshin came to the Zen Centre of Vancouver, introducing daily meditations, retreats, and personal mentoring. While open to many spiritual paths, Zen is his root practice. Eshin is devoted to helping others fulfill their potential while in balance with their life and universe. Dr. Jane RoskamsChair, Neuroinformatics Education and Training at International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF)Head, Training and Community Analytic Programs, Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform Dr. Jane Roskams is a neuroscientist at University of British Columbia and University of Washington and is a leader in the Open Data Movement. She recently returned from Seattle, where she was Executive Director at the Allen Institute. She is passionate about inter-operating data silos and engaging “bright people” of all kinds to democratize brain data-based discovery. She currently heads training and analytics for the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP), and the INCF in Sweden - where she works across several global brain initiatives to expand access to online neuroinformatics training; she is also the co-developer of a new citizen neuroscience game-based platform (Mozak) designed to engage teams of the “lay public” to train themselves - and AI/ML -in analyzing brain big data. Dr. Suzanne GildertFounder & co-CEO, Sanctuary AI Suzanne is co-founder of Sanctuary AI, a company with a mission to build synthetic humans – “synths” – that are indistinguishable from us physically, cognitively and emotionally. Sanctuary is structured to explore both cutting edge technology and the ethical issues that arise from creating human-like machines. Prior to Sanctuary, Suzanne founded Kindred Inc., an artificial intelligence and robotics company. She hand built over 30 robots to demonstrate Kindred’s core technology concept of human robot tele-operation for reinforcement learning. She grew the company to over 50 employees and opened offices in Vancouver, Toronto, and San Mateo. She helped raise over $50M in venture funding for Kindred from top tier investors including Eclipse, Google Ventures, First Round Capital and Data Collective. Suzanne holds a PhD in Physics and Electronics from the University of Birmingham, UK Dr. Christine TipperScientific Director, Brain Dynamics Lab, University of British ColumbiaClinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia Dr. Christine Tipper is an Assistant Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience at The University of British Columbia Department of Psychiatry and the BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute. Her work utilizes brain imaging (electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging, and neuromodulation) to quantify complex brain network organization and dynamics. She investigates cognitive and neural indices of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, ADHD, and chronic pain, particularly in systems that support attention and social awareness. Her current projects examine the potential of new interventions such as precision neuromodulation, and harnessing the power of learning and mindsets to promote mental health and well-being. Looking forward to a delightful evening of elite techlord brain power. Let’s rave, y’all. Yours truly, Holly Marie Peck@hollympeck@sanctuary_ai@wwwcodevancouver
Suite 700
725 Granville Street Vancouver BC CAType: Eventbrite