A lot of claims have been made lately about the intelligence
of computers. Some researchers say that computers will eventually attain
super-human intelligence. Others call these claims... um, poppycock. Oddly,
in the search for the truth of the matter, both camps have overlooked an
obvious strategy: interviewing a computer and asking its opinion. Intrepid
researcher Sgouros has leapt into this lacuna, and presents some preliminary
findings in a new not-quite-solo show. (You could call it "My Dinner with
Android.")
Thomas Great Hall on Wednesday, March 27, at 7 p.m.
The performance, a humorous dialogue between a man and the robot he
has created, is sponsored by the Center for Science in Society. The
show will be followed by a panel discussion of issues of
cognition, consciousness, and performance, moderated by cognitive
scientist and robotics enthusiast Douglas Blank of Bryn Mawr's
Computer Science Department. Bryn Mawr neurobiologist Paul Grobstein,
artificial-intelligence expert Deepak Kumar, dramaturg Mark Lord and
psychologist Anjali Thapar will participate in the discussion.
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Sgouros, who has a background in circus performance as well as the
writing and production of documentary films, has written and performed
seven different solo shows, many of which touch on scientific
issues. Judy, alternatively titled My Dinner With Android, has
won rave reviews from both theater critics and philosophers of
mind. Says Daniel Dennett, author of Consciousness Explained and
director of the Tufts University Center for Cognitive Studies: "Tom
Sgouros's witty play, co-starring the charming robot Judy, is an
imagination-stretcher that delights while it exercises your mind. If
you think you can't imagine a conscious robot, you're wrong -- you
can, especially once you've met Judy."
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