Computing in the 21st Century 2016

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Overview

Science fiction has given us many examples of what it would look like if machines manifested our worst fears. While entertaining, this well-worn narrative gives humanity very little credit. In truth, scientists around the world strive to create machines that represent our highest values and aspirations. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a fantasy of authors and film directors – it is an established phenomenon that is having an increasingly major influence on the daily lives of people around the world. What once seemed magical is becoming reality, with self-driving cars, autonomous appliances, and all kinds of bots. Previously developed for highly specialized tasks, the scope of AI is broadening and becoming more relevant to the fields of education, healthcare, agriculture, transportation, and more. As such, the relationship between people and their machines is now a vital topic for exploration.

AI’s greatest value lies in improving human life, and it is most efficient in this role when it is complemented with the creativity, judgment and wisdom of human intelligence (HI). Together, AI + HI creates a harmonious relationship founded on augmented reality. With this approach, AI maintains its usefulness by incorporating the best parts of human ingenuity.

Microsoft Research Asia’s biggest annual event, Computing in the 21^st Century Conference, will be held in Seoul, Korea on November 3, 2016 and will explore the theme “Human and Machine Working as a Team”. The conference features global computer science pioneers and industry leaders as keynote speakers and panelists. These thought leaders will share their visionary ideas, provide insights from their research, and discuss how AI and HI can function in tandem to answer some of the biggest questions facing the world today.

Computing in the 21^st Century Conference, an academic event hosted yearly by Microsoft Research Asia since the lab’s inception, is one of the largest and most influential conferences on computer science education and research in China and the Asia Pacific region. To date, 17 sessions have been held throughout China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and other countries and territories, with a combined audience of more than 40,000 people. Over 140 distinguished speakers have attended the conference, including more than 30 (person-time) Turing Award winners.

Conference Chairman

Wei-Ying Ma
Assistant Managing Director
Microsoft Research Asia

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