Panel Discussion 1

｜“Human Society and AI”｜

As AI advances at unprecedented speed, a growing asymmetry is emerging in how different sections of society engage with it. AI can be discriminatory, yet also enabling; disruptive, yet full of possibility. To demystify the polarized debate between wonder and fear, the panel critically engages with the genealogy of the ‘civilisational’ ideas and technological determinism prevalent in the AI discourse. Does AI deepen global unevenness, or can it serve as an enabler for those at the lower economic threshold? What is the role of universities in this changing, and challenging, new environment in empowering future generations? Discussions on AI need to be embedded in a more inclusive, and diverse, public discourse, enabling a wider societal engagement with this transformative technology.