Understanding AI

Name: Understanding AI
Start: 2026-10-25T10:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-10-25T17:00:00+01:00
Location: Ars Electronica

Sunday 25 October · 10:00Ars Electronica · oberoesterreich

What's it about?

What is artificial intelligence? And what do we actually know about human intelligence? How intelligent can artificial intelligence become in comparison? More importantly: what impact will advances in this field have on our society? Artificial intelligence offers plenty of room for speculation about the future. It is certain that this technology has already profoundly changed our daily lives and will continue to do so. Algorithms now support us in various areas such as autonomous driving, security technology, marketing, and social media. Artificial intelligence is even used to create artworks. But how many of our tasks do we want to delegate to machines? No other development currently poses such a clear question about how we want to use our technological means in a societal context. The societal change brought about by artificial intelligence is already in full swing. To navigate it, a basic understanding of this technology is necessary. In Understanding AI, both the most important technical aspects of artificial intelligence and concrete examples of its application are compiled. Among other things, it explores how machines and their sensors perceive the world compared to humans, what machine learning is, and how automatic facial recognition works. Various social and ethical aspects such as deepfake (where neural networks are used to automatically generate convincingly real images or videos), the effects of profiling through digital methods, and the hidden sides of our everyday electronic devices like smartphones are also examined. New creative applications enabled by artificial intelligence are also shown and made tangible for visitors. There are no universal answers about the benefits or dangers of artificial intelligence, but Understanding AI provides a broad base of information to help us navigate this complex field.