Insanely creativeWhat do Escher, The Matrix, The Doors have in common? They testify of madness. At least according to philosopher Wouter Kusters. He characterises madness as the desire for infinity in a finite world. And as a source of ideas and creativity, also in composing and performing music. Kusters wrote two award-winning philosophical books on madness and was twice hospitalised with psychosis. This lecture ranges from Plato to the Nederlands Studenten Orkest. In fact, the NSO's theme this year is madness! On 24 February at the Muziekcentrum, they will play Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, among other works. Tonight, some NSO students will play appropriate music.Read more
AI on the battlefield, an intelligent idea?AI is being applied in more and more areas, one of which is the battlefield. In Ukraine and the Middle East drones equipped with AI are already in use. Does this mean that machines decide upon life and death or will humans always stay in the loop? Autonomous weapons – also called ‘killer robots’ – raise a lot of ethical dilemmas and questions. Colonel dr. ir. Ilse Verdiesen (Head Science & Technology at Ministry of Defense) recently defended her PhD-thesis Comprehensive Human Oversight over Autonomous Weapon Systems. Drs. Frank Slijper (Project Leader Arms Trade PAX) is specialized in autonomous weapons. In cooperation with Enschede for Peace, KIVI Students Twente and Inter-Actief.Read more
