Who's Afraid of AI? Arts, Sciences, and the Futures of Intelligence Day 2
When and Where
Description
2025 marks an inflection poing in our technological landscapre, driven by seismic shifts in AI innovation.
Who's Afraid of AI? Arts, Science, and the Futures of Intelligence is a week-long inquiry into the implications and future directions of AI for our creative and collective imaginings, and the many possible futures of intelligence. The complexity of these immediate future calls for interdisciplinary dialogue, bringing together artists, AI researchers, and humanities scholars.
In this volatile domain, the question of who envisions our futures is vital. Artists explore with complexity and humanity, while the humanities reveal the histories of intelligence and the often-overlooked ways knowledge and decision-making have been shaped. By placing these voices in dialogue with AI researchers and technologists, Who’s Afraid of AI? examines the social dimensions of technology, questions tech solutionism from a social-impact perspective, and challenges profit-driven AI with innovation guided by public values.
The two-day conference at the University of Toronto’s University College anchors the week and features panels and debates with leading figures in these disciplines, including a keynote by 2025 Nobel Laureate in Physics Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI” and 2025 Neil Graham Lecturer in Science, Fei-Fei Li, an AI pioneer.
Throughout the week, the conversation continued across the city with:
- AI-themed and AI powered art shows and exhibitions
- Film screenings
- Innovative theatre
- Experimental music
Who’s Afraid of AI? demonstrates that Toronto has not only shaped the history of AI but continued to prepare its future. Step into this changing landscape and be part of this transformative dialogue — register today!
Friday, October 24, 2025
Life with AI
9 AM | Clark Reading Room, University College – 15 King’s College Circle
How do machine minds relate to human minds? What can we learn from one about the other? In this session we interrogate the impact of AI on our understanding of human knowledge and tool-making, from the perspective of philosophy, computer science, as well as the arts.
Jeanette Winterson
Author, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Great Britain
Leif Weatherby
Professor of German and Director of Digital Theory Lab at
New York University
Jennifer Nagel
Professor, Philosophy, University of Toronto Mississauga
Discovery & In/Sight
11 AM | Clark Reading Room, University College – 15 King’s College Circle
This session explores creative practice through the lens of innovation and cultural/scientific advancement. An artist who creates with critical inspiration from AI joins forces with an innovation scholar who investigates the effects of AI on our decision making, as well as a philosopher of science who understands scientific discovery and inference as well as their limits.
Vladan Joler
Visual Artist and Professor of
New Media, University of Novi Sad
Alán Aspuru-Guzik
Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science, University of Toronto
Brian Baigrie
Professor, Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science & Technology, University of Toronto
Social history & Possible Futures
2 PM | Clark Reading Room, University College – 15 King’s College Circle
How does AI ownership and its private uses coexist within a framework of public good? It brings together an artist who has created AI tools to be used by others, an AI ethics researcher who has turned algorithmic bias into collective insight, and a philosopher who understands the connection between AI and the longer history of automation and work from which AI emerged.
Memo Akten
Artist working with Code, Data and AI, UC San Diego
Beth Coleman
Professor, Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology, University of Toronto
Matteo Pasquinelli
Professor, Philosophy and Cultural Heritage Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Conclusion: Where do we go from here?
4 PM | Clark Reading Room, University College – 15 King’s College Circle
Antonio Somaini will lead this session to synthesize what we have learned about the coexistence of natural and artificial intelligence from a creative and scientific perspective. What are the lessons that we have learned about AI’s role in human society? How do we move forward to create a future that we will want to live in?
Antonio Somaini
Curator and Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle
Hosted by: University of Toronto, University College & BMO Lab
Co-Sponsored: TUX (tux-hci.org), SSHRC, Jackman Humanities Institute, CIFAR, Hart House, Department of Psychology, Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine, Centre for Comparative Literature, Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Information, Hart House Theatre, Department of Computer Science, ICCIT, Department of English, Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures, Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology.