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The Future is Already Here
The role of Artificial Intelligence in how we live, work and learn
The Artificial Intelligence Symposium at FIS featured fascinating discussion from keynote speaker Bart de Witte and a panel of FIS community members
Learning is at the core of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Machines are now able to act as students that sense and comprehend their environment, take appropriate
actions and learn from their experiences.
In September, both students and parents were given an opportunity to learn more about the fascinating world of AI through a series of events, including a middle school assembly, breakout sessions for Upper School students and an evening keynote presenta- tion and panel discussion with noted AI expert, Bart de Witte, and other FIS community experts. The vari- ous sessions were thoughtfully planned out and coor- dinated by FIS parent and board member, Dr. James Beaty; FIS parent, Andreas Dietrich; and FIS Director of ICT, Gareth Brewster.
Thetwo-houreveningprogramwasco-facilitatedby Dr. Beaty and Zofia, a Grade 11 student, and began with a keynote speech from Mr. de Witte, who as- serted, “The future is already here!” Mr. de Witte, who is a global speaker on AI and faculty member
at the University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich, laid the foundation for the evening with a few basic points about AI. “Data is the new natural resource,” he said. “And it is growing ex- ponentially.”He explained that AI-capable machines are now able to independently learn by identifying patterns in very large amounts of data.
Humans have special skills which machines do not...imagination and compassion - Dr. Ünal
Alessandro Donati, an FIS parent and Head of Advanced Mission Concepts and Technologies Office (AMCTO) at the European Space Agency (ESA), also joined the discussion and said, “Data is the source of knowledge for AI.” He spoke about AI in regard
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