On February 20th IDEA Center organised an event in the context of International Women’s Day: ‘The influence of art and AI on our lives and on our health’. The theater hall of Paviljoen was packed with students and staff. There were insights, and remarks that got you thinking. There was art. There was music. There were meaningful conversations about AI, art and health. And there was time to have informal talks before and after the sessions on stage.
In her opening speech, Chief Diversity Officer prof. dr. Jane Murray Cramm emphasised what IDEA Center is doing to create an equitable academic environment. “In the past years we’ve been working hard on making sure more women become full professors. We’re now at 28,9% female full professors, and we will keep on working on that.”
Rector Magnificus of EUR, prof. dr. Jantine Schuit, highlighted a quote by artist Marina Abramović: “Experimenting means going to territory where you’ve never been, where failure is very well possible. How can you know you’re going to succeed? Having the courage to face the unknown is so important”.
Prof. Jantine Schuit: “For me, this quote sums up so many important aspects. Aspects that are very much in line with today’s theme. And with today’s world. In art as well as in science, it is of the upmost importance to experiment. To choose paths and territory you’ve never been to. Not knowing if you’re going to succeed. But without failing, we’ll never find new insights.”
Keynote speeches by prof. dr. Tineke Abma and dr. Cynthia Liem
Prof. dr. Tineke Abma, endowed professor Art and Health at ESHPM, talked about the positive impact of art on our health. “Art has the power to defeat trauma”. Dr. Cynthia Liem shared her personal story, on how she, as a professionally trained classical pianist, got drawn to responsible and trustworthy AI. “It’s the human interaction with art, like music, that makes the difference”.
Panel
Following the keynote speeches, a vivid panel talk took place on health, AI and art. Tineke Abma and Cynthia were joined by students Rania Bamhaoudi and Mohammed Sadiki. The panel was moderated by the host of the day, Vidhi Chaudhri. “Art is part of the human condition”, Mohammed and Tineke emphasised.
“We should not be afraid to not be as perfect as AI wants us to be. We need to be able to be our true selves, and we need awkwardness”, Rania said. “Society pressures us to be polished. As a society, we’re currently so focused on efficiency and optimalisation. We’re disregarding the beauty and essence of struggling.”
