Join the USC Center on Science, Technology, and Public Life and the Berggruen Institute for an afternoon symposium on the topic What Will Life Become? Among the topics to be expolored are self-aware artificial intelligence, algorithms that can be trained to “learn,” projects that plan for life beyond Earth, and biotechnologies that push the limits of life are among recent and anticipated technoscientific developments that have conjured new futures and unsettled theories of body, mind, and species in recent decades. The keynote conversation and public forum aim for participants to share perspectives of how social, political, and philosophical factors intervene on anticipated technological futures, inviting analyses about what life could become.

Register here for the livestream
Register here if attending in person.

Keynote Conversation:
Liam Young, Speculative Architect and Director
in conversation with Nils Gilman, VP of Programs, Berggruen Institute

Public Forum:
Moderator:
Claire Webb, 2020-22 USC Berggruen Fellow

Speakers:
Neda Atanasoski, Professor, The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Maryland
K Allado-McDowell, Writer, speaker, and musician
Lisa Ruth Rand, Assistant Professor of History, Caltech
Tiffany Vora, Vice Chair of Digital Biology and Medicine, Singularity University

Schedule:
1:00-1:45pm - Keynote Conversation
1:45-2:00pm - Coffee break
2:00-3:30pm - Public forum
3:30-5:00pm - Public reception at Moreton Fig