Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) was born in 1956, at a major conference in computer science during which Professors John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Herbert Simon, among others, compiled a list of objectives for the following years goals of the research in AI. 20 years later, most of these goals were still beyond reach. Now, most of us perform the A.I. 1956 wish list on a daily basis using our smart phone.

What has made this achievement possible? Contemporary A.I. is powered by statistical methods and fuelled by large amount of data, known as Big Data. Big data and machine learning impact on business as well as on other several aspects of society, prompting numberless and umpredictable changes in legal, economic, and cultural fields.

With this introductory seminar, we aim to provide an overview of the paradigm shift occurred in the field of AI and of the AI-induced radical transformations that are moving ahead at full speed, showcasing the main challenges to which the lecture series will later devote a specific focus.

Speakers: Andrea Pin and Samir Suweis