Please join us for this Inaugural Lecture as we celebrate Professor Kate Devlin's appointment as Professor of Artificial Intelligence & Society.

All of our interactions with technology are social, from swearing at our printer to thanking our voice assistants. We have a long-imagined cultural history of machines as companions and now, with the rise of responsive robots and AIs, they are becoming our colleagues, sidekicks, confidants, and even our partners. From chatbots to sex robots, Kate’s work explores how we relate emotionally with technology, offering an understanding of why we form these intimate connections and the broader implications of this growing bond. In this inaugural lecture, Kate will trace the interdisciplinary strands that weave a story of what it means to be human in an increasingly digital world, advocating for creative research that leads to joyful interactions.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception at the Chapters Café.

Speaker's Info:

Kate Devlin is Professor of Artificial Intelligence & Society in the Department of Digital Humanities. She is Chair-Director of the King’s Digital Futures Institute and a co-investigator on Responsible AI UK, a £31mn UKRI-funded programme that conducts and funds research into AI to benefit people, communities and society.