Stay Human - on the future of men and robots

Our technological future hold so much promise - and it poses so many threats to life as we know it. This ambivalent relation to technology has become a central part of human thinking in the past decades, and has become a key issue in our efforts to define humanity, as technological advances accelerate around us. Nowhere do our hopes and fears of future development appear stronger than in the meeting with the technology that looks like us: The android. By using his own lifelike android as point of departure, Professor Scharfe explores how new technologies may cause us to think differently about our future - and about ourselves. The take home message of this unusual keynote is: Embrace new technologies - but Stay Human where it really matters.

Henrik Scharfe (1968) is PhD and Professor of Information Science, Department of Communication, Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark. Henrik Scharfe has been employed by AAU since 1999 as PhD fellow, Assistant, Associate, and full Professor. Since 2008, he has served as Director of Center for Computer-mediated Epistemology at AAU. His diverse career includes contributions to seemingly distinct research areas such as: Narratology, AI / Knowledge Representation, Persuasive Design, Human Centered Robotics, and Research Infrastructures. The common denominator in these efforts is his determination to understand different aspects of human understanding, specifically how technology influences the way we think about ourselves and our world. Scharfe has served as reviewer, editorial member, and advisor to governments and research councils in equally diverse fields. Professor Scharfe has gained global attention for his latest project: the Geminoid-DK. The ultra-realistic android, modeled in the professor’s likeness, has startled millions of people around the world. This work has earned the Professor a reputation as a passionate international speaker, and influencer of many. Merits include: - TED speaker at TED2012 and TEDActive2012 among others - 2012 TIME 100 Honoree