- 10/11/2022
- Category: Press Release
The emergence of technology has made science fiction which was previously only limited to the realm of imagination, has now become a reality that has changed the way people live. The emerging technological phenomenon of making science fiction a reality raises the question of what our future will be like. To answer this question, the Goethe Institute and the Center for Digital Society, Universitas Gadjah Mada invited researchers who study this phenomenon to discuss it in a series of panel discussions “Digital Discourses – Science/Fiction” which was held in 4 sessions on Thursday (27/10).
This time, the Digital Discourse invited experts from Europe and Southeast Asia, with different sub-themes ranging from the fields of AI, Blockchain, Automotive Tech, and Automation. The researchers were Moritz Grosse-Wentrup (Head of the University of Vienna’s Neuroinformatics Research Group), Marlene Ronstedt (Co-Founder of Data Union DAO), Max Tauschhuber (Research Assistant Robot Law Research Center), and Aaron Benanav (Sociologist from Syracuse University). The event was broadcast live via Zoom and CfDS YouTube channels.
Brain-Computer Interface: Separating Fact from Fiction
Digital Discourses – Brain-Computer Interface : Separating Fact from Fiction
Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) allows humans to control devices using their minds. BCI is currently being developed to allow people with paralysis to regain control of their bodies. However, companies are racing to develop this technology for applications outside of medical use.
Moritz Grosse-Wentrup said that there are three types of BCI, namely BCI for communication aimed at people with limited communication skills, BCI for rehabilitation which aims to regenerate healing and communication channels, and Passive BCI, namely BCI for reading data. In closing, Entrup stated that 10 years of AI development was extraordinary, from moral dilemmas to revolutionizing machines that can work and benefit humans.
The Future of the Internet: Will Blockchain Change the Internet?
Digital Discourses- The Future of Internet
After the rampant Web 2.0 with surveillance capitalism, Web 3.0 or Web3 is present as one of the breakthroughs in the internet world. The presence of Web 3.0 is not only able to accurately interpret what is entered in search engines, but also truly understand everything the user conveys, be it through text, voice, or other media. This phase aims to be able to decentralize policy, away from the control of big technology companies. In this era, content can be published wherever we are. However, it seems that Web 3.0 never became a reality because of the bureaucratic difficulties involved, so what is likely to happen is that Web 2.5 is semi-decentralized. Marlene Ronsdent stressed that in the future Web3 will give us ownership of digital assets, in a way that has never been seen before.
The Future of Mobility: How Do Self-Driving Car Etiquette Minimize Accidents?
Digital Discourses- The Future of Mobility
Everyone says that self-driving cars can overcome the mistakes of human drivers. With the development of modernization, self-driving cars continue to develop from time to time. to regulate the mobility of people in urban spaces. Although the industry continues to grow, there is a big unanswered question, can artificial intelligence replace human capacity as a moral being?
The autonomous vehicle industry was quick to respond that its cars were programmed to prevent a much higher probability of causing accidents, including more complex faults caused by drivers performing inadequate or incorrect evasive maneuvers. The effectiveness of autonomous cars in preventing accidents will depend on how each car is programmed to behave in collision avoidance.
Automation and the End of Work: Will Robots Replace Human Labor?
Digital Discourses- Automation and the End of Work
Automation is driving some jobs obsolete, including high-level knowledge and creative work, which heralds a world without jobs. Instead of generating abundance, automation fosters anxiety because work is directly linked to livelihoods. We call this post-scarcity automation. If automation theorists are right, labor productivity will grow by leaps and bounds. One of the main problems that will be faced by the community is distribution. In the last 70 years, productivity levels have fallen despite advances in robotic technology. The slowdown in job creation has nothing to do with technology slowing economic growth or overall secular stagnation.
Aaron Bernav stated that “the main problem is distribution, more to the organization of production as it relates to the economic slowdown. Technology can start to create a post-scarcity society in the 21st century, so there is no need to worry about how to survive because it can create a world of truly free societies due to fair distribution.”
Writer: Reisya Zahra Adhitra
Editor: Firya Q. Abisono
