Podium – Optimizing Humans

New technologies and artificial intelligence are either decried or revered, depending on whom you talk to. They can worsen or enhance students' attention and cognitive performance. They can hinder or improve young people’s mental well-being. As a promising tool for personalized learning, they can also be abused to exert control. New technologies can foster equal opportunities for education and improve quality of life, or they can amplify social divisions. If the positive scenarios are to prevail, we need to understand the changes that are taking place and ensure that those changes have a positive effect.

At this event, two highly regarded researchers will get to the bottom of these issues: Daphne Bavelier, cognitive scientist and 2019 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize recipient, and Amy Ogan, educational technologist and Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow. After their brief talks, they will join moderator Olivia Kühni and the audience in discussing the promises and pitfalls of using technology to optimize human development.

The talks and discussion will be in English. Admission is free, but please register at veranstaltung@kosmos.ch. The event, which will be live-streamed on https://bold.expert, will be followed by a reception with the speakers.

Über «Games=Kultur»
Die Veranstaltungsreihe «Games=Kultur» hat zum Ziel, Computergames einen festen Platz im kulturellen Gefüge zu verschaffen. Denn: Zwei Drittel aller jungen Menschen in der Schweiz widmen sich regelmässig Videospielen. Dabei vereinen Games viele kulturelle Disziplinen, wie Literatur, Design oder Musik. Auch wird in immer mehr Studien auf den positiven Einfluss von Games hingewiesen.

Host der Reihe ist der (fast) gleichnamige Verein «Games=Kultur;» (man beachte das Semikolon), mit Wurzeln im Kosmos-Team und im Bereich Gamedesign an der ZHdK.