Something is happening in Computer Science, the “new” AI based on machine learning and data is having enormous success.

Its pros and cons, as well as its impact on society, are the subject of intense public debates, including contributions from the digital humanism community.

About

In our workshop we will focus on the challenges for computer science and the sciences in general. We want to discuss and reflect on the possible paradigm shift in computer science, the move from logic and algorithmic certainty to probability and LLMs as story machines. This has enormous implications for many other sciences, as computer science has become a foundation of almost all scientific and applied research. We will also discuss the changing role of universities, since research increasingly shifts to large IT platforms given the resources required.

The workshop will put emphasis on debate and exchange: each slot (with a moderator) will start with an introductory lecture (30-35 minutes), followed by a panel with statements and questions by the commentators (20 minutes). Afterwards there will be an open discussion with all participants.

• Registration: Participation in the event is free of charge, but registration is required.

  Please note that the registration for this event is closed.

• Venue: TU Wien, Lecture Hall FAV 1, Favoritenstrasse 9-11, 1040 Wien
  

• Organizers: Faculty of Informatics TU Wien, Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)

• Chairs: Hannes Werthner, Stefan Woltran, Ludger Hagedorn

This event is supported by:

• Verein zur Förderung des Digitalen Humanismus
• FWF Cluster-of-Excellence Bilateral AI
• TU Wien Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Austrian Ministry of Climate Action and Energy
• Zentrum für Informatikforschung (ZIF)

Program

Overview

Time	Thursday, Nov 28	Friday, Nov 29
9:00–10:30	History of AI	A New Paradigm – A New Computer Science?
10:30–11:00	Coffee	Coffee
11:00–12:30	Symbolic AI – What It Can and Cannot Do	What Can Philosophy Tell Us?
12:30–14:00	Lunch	Lunch
14:00–15:30	Sub-Symbolic AI – What It Can and Cannot Do	The Impact on Scientific Research
15:30–16:00	Coffee	Coffee
16:00–17:30	Symbolic and Sub-Symbolic AI – Co-exist or Combine?	The Role of Universities in a Platform Dominated World

Program Details

Thursday, Nov 28

9:00–10:30 // History of AI

• Moderator: Hannes Werthner (TU Wien)
• Speaker: Thomas Haigh (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
• Panel: Enrico Nardelli (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”), Lynda Hardman (CWI Amsterdam)
• Slides: Download

11:00–12:30 // Symbolic AI – What It Can and Cannot Do

• Moderator: Agata Ciabattoni (TU Wien)
• Speaker: Thomas Eiter (TU Wien)
• Panel: Alexander Schindler (AIT), Martina Seidl (JKU Linz)
• Slides: Download

14:00–15:30 // Sub-Symbolic AI – What It Can and Cannot Do

• Moderator: Claudia Plant (University of Vienna)
• Speaker: Sepp Hochreiter (JKU Linz)
• Panel: Francesco Ricci (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano), Axel Polleres (WU Wien)
• Slides: Download

16:00–17:30 // Symbolic and Sub-Symbolic AI - Co-exist or Combine?

• Moderator: Hans Akkermans (UDS, Tamale, Ghana)
• Speaker: Frank van Harmelen (VU Amsterdam)
• Panel: Brigitte Krenn (ÖFAI), Gerhard Friedrich (University of Klagenfurt)
• Slides: Harmelen / Akkermans / Krenn / Friedrich

Friday, Nov 29

9:00–10:30 // A New Paradigm – A New Computer Science?

• Moderator: Helga Nowotny (Former President ERC)
• Speaker: Moshe Vardi (Rice University)
• Panel: Peter Reichl (University of Vienna), Viola Schiaffonati (Politecnico di Milano)
• Slides: Download

11:00–12:30 // What Can Philosophy Tell Us?

• Moderator: Ludger Hagedorn (IWM)
• Speaker: Tim Crane (Central European University)
• Panel: Erich Prem (Verein Digitaler Humanismus), Luc Steels (VU Brussels)
• Slides: Download

14:00–15:30 // The Impact on Scientific Research

• Moderator: Stefan Woltran (TU Wien)
• Speaker: Noshir Contractor (Northwestern University)
• Panel: Georg Dorffner (MedUni Vienna), Günter Klambauer (JKU Linz)
• Slides: Download

16:00–17:30 // The Role of Universities in a Platform Dominated World

• Moderator: Christiane Wendehorst (University of Vienna)
• Speaker: Gerti Kappel (TU Wien)
• Panel: Stefan Klein (University of Münster), George Metakides (DEF)
• Slides: Kappel / Klein / Metakides

People

For a full list of speakers and panelists, please refer to:

• informatics.tuwien.ac.at/stories/2745/people/