The Conference Featuring World-Class Experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Lithuania Begins Today
Today at 9 a. m. the conference “Human and More-Than-Human Futures: Innovating Technologies for Coexistence” opens at Vilnius University’s Life Sciences Center and the Scholarly Communication and Information Centre. The event takes place on October 9 in Vilnius and on October 10 in Kaunas.
For the first time in the Baltics, world-renowned experts from MIT and Lithuania will come together to discuss climate change, strengthening Lithuania’s defense, digitalization, the creation of livable cities, and advancements in quantum and artificial intelligence technologies.
The first conference session, “From Sensing to Resilience Building Livable Cities for Human and More-than-human Futures” will focus on sustainable cities, technologies, and the future. Among the speakers will be Prof. Jessika Trancik from MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, and Director of the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center who analyses innovations and technologies designed to tackle major climate and energy challenges. Her research helps determine which technologies – from electric vehicles and solar power to energy storage – are the most effective. Lithuanian presenters in the same session, which is dedicated to livable cities, will include architects Prof. Gintaras Stauskis from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and Prof. Kęstutis Zaleckis from Vilnius Academy of Arts. Watch live here.
The session on the Factories of the Future – exploring the intersection of manufacturing and data science – as well as on quantum technologies and other cutting-edge innovations, will feature insights from one of the world’s leading Industry 4.0 experts: Brian W. Anthony, Director of MIT’s Smart Manufacturing Leadership Program, Associate Director of MIT.nano, and Emmy Award winner. His presentation will be complemented by Prof. Kevin P. O’Brien of MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics, whose work is helping to unlock the promises of the quantum revolution, accelerating the pace at which new drugs and technological solutions can be developed. The session will conclude with contributions from Prof. Gediminas Juzeliūnas, physicist at Vilnius University, and Dr Artiom Magomedov, chemist at Kaunas University of Technology, who will share perspectives from their research. Watch live here.
The conference will also focus on biology and genetics, including the application of genomics to address climate change and human health issues. Speakers in the session dedicated to this subject will include MIT’s chemical engineering and biotechnology expert Prof. Hadley Sikes, biochemist Dr Mindaugas Zaremba from Vilnius University, and Director of Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Dr Gintaras Brazauskas. The first day will conclude with a closing discussion on the impact of innovation, societal shifts, and polarization. Watch live here.
Another session will focus on the future of defense, security, and resilience. Presentations will be delivered by MIT’s Gene R. Keselman, Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and Managing Director of MIT's Venture Studio, Proto Ventures, and Dr Una-May O’Reilly, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Leader of the ALFA Group, expert on Adversarial Intelligence and the intersection of Artificial Intelligence with cybersecurity. As well as Šarūnas Grigaliūnas, cybersecurity expert from Kaunas University of Technology, and Paulius Vaitkevičius, Head of Innovations at Novian Pro. Watch live here.
On October 10, the conference will move to Vytautas Magnus University, where speakers will invite participants to reflect on artificial intelligence in various contexts. speakers will invite participants to reflect on AI in various contexts. The first session will explore how new pedagogical methods are transforming lifelong learning: AI and other innovations in education will be examined by associate professors Dr Aušrinė Pasvenskienė and Dr Tomas Berkmanas from Vytautas Magnus University, Prof. Simona Ramanauskaitė from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, and other participants.
The session on the nature of intelligence in the age of digitization will be brought underway by Prof. Andreea Bobu from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and CSAIL at MIT. As the lead of Collaborative Learning and Autonomy Research Lab (CLEAR Lab), she works on the development of autonomous agents that learn to do tasks for, with, and around people. The same session will also feature presentations by Dr Vaidotas Zemlys-Balevičius from Euromonitor International and Assoc. Prof. Jurga Bučaitė-Vilkė together with Prof. Eran Vigoda-Gadot from Vytautas Magnus University
The day’s keynote will be delivered by Dr Drew Story, Managing Director of MIT’s Policy Lab, who guides MIT researchers through strategic policy engagement to increase the societal benefits and impact of their work.
In four group sessions, conference participants will be able to join one of the four discussion groups to address strategically important topics as well as aspirations for a longer-term and expanded collaboration between MIT and Lithuania. The discussions aim to prepare recommendations for policymakers and contribute to the bolstering of Lithuania’s strategic goals.
This interdisciplinary conference aims to understand complex technologies by discussing the prerequisites of justice and well-being necessary for coexistence. Participants will share knowledge and explore ways to create a better future in which people, technology, and nature coexist harmoniously. The main focus will be on new ideas for transitioning from merely “smart” technologies to systems that are sensory and self-learning. In other words, methods will be sought on how to develop technologies that not only follow commands but also adapt to humans and consider their environment, with humans still remaining the key creators and users.
The conference is organised by a consortium of twelve leading Lithuanian universities, research centres, and companies: Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas University of Technology, Klaipėda University, Vilnius University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Lithuanian Energy Institute, AB Ignitis Group, LTG Group, UAB Euromonitor International – Eastern Europe, and UAB Novian.
The main informational sponsor is Lrt.lt.