A plenary + panel will take place on Friday, June 1 in the Dawson Theatre featuring a keynote address by Professor Ollivier Dyens, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) at McGill University, on the subject of Artificial Intelligence and its growing impact on our societies and on human life. The address titled Education on the Edge of the Technological Singularity: Thinking beyond the acknowledged, the comfortable and the recognized will explore Big Data, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, CRISPR, the growth of cities, super surveillance, etc.

“The transformative power of technology is so overwhelming that we now face enormous shifts in our understanding of the world,” says Professor Dyens. “How will we, side by side with machines, build a world that will reflect our values and help us solve the immense challenges of the 21st century with compassion, and human dignity? How will we, side by side with machines, provide current and future generations with an education system multifaceted, creative, flexible and beautiful enough to tackle this expanding technological revolution?”

This keynote address will be followed by an inter-disciplinary panel to continue the dialogue with participants on a range of topics stemming from Professor Dyens’ remarks. Details to come.

This is the inaugural event of Dawson’s 50th Anniversary Speaker Series, part of the 50th anniversary celebrations to be held at Dawson throughout 2018 and 2019. The series divided into two streams, one looking at the history of Dawson, Montreal and beyond in those heady early days, and one looking to future, titled The Next 50 which will explore provocative and evocative ideas urging us to reflect on and perhaps even change the way we think about our educational mission and the delivery of knowledge and skills. To go one step further, we should examine our roles as agents of change and progress for the greater good of society, asking ourselves: Are we setting the trends, or simply following them?

The event begins at 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. including light refreshments.

Please fill out this form to reserve a spot.