Panelists:

Greg Morrisett, Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech, Cornell UniversityKavita Bala, Dean, College of Computing and Information Science, Cornell UniversityYa-Qin Zhang, Dean, Tsinghua Institute for AI Industry ResearchHongjiang Zhang, Chairman, Beijing Academy of Artificial IntelligenceModerator: Ying Hua, Director, Cornell China Center

Summary: Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly common element in the design of future solutions for many aspects of life and industry. The powerful potential of AI has also generated concerns and debates. This panel of educators and scientists will offer views on critical topics and major opportunities in the AI field, consider how education programs should respond to address key challenges, and discuss models of AI education-research-industry collaboration.

Bios:

Greg Morrisett is the Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech. Previously, he served as the Dean of Computing and Information Sciences (CIS) at Cornell University and was also a Professor and Associate Dean for Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Before Harvard, Morrisett served on the faculty of Cornell's Computer Science Department. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond and both his Master's and Doctorate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. Morrisett's research focuses on the application of language and verification technology for building secure software systems.Kavita Bala is the Dean of the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science at Cornell University, which houses the departments of Computer Science, Information Science, and Statistics and Data Science. She received her S.M. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She joined Cornell in 1999, and before becoming dean, she served as the chair of the Cornell Computer Science department. Bala leads research in computer vision and computer graphics. She co-founded the startup GrokStyle, a visual recognition AI company, which drew Ikea as a client and was acquired by Facebook in 2019. Bala is an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow (2019) and Fellow of the SIGGRAPH Academy (2020). She is the recipient of the SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award (2020), the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay) Distinguished Alumnus Award (2021). She is also the recipient of multiple Cornell teaching awards.Ya-Qin ZHANG is a renowned scientist, technologist and business executive. He is the founder and Chairman of Blue Entropy LLC, a Seattle-based technology consulting firm. He joined Tsinghua University as the Chair Professor of AI Science in 2020, starting the Tsinghua Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR), and is now its Dean. Zhang was President of Baidu Inc. from September 2014 to October 2019. Prior to joining Baidu, Zhang was previously a key executive of Microsoft for almost 16 years, including Corporate Vice President, Managing Director of Microsoft Research Asia, and Chairman of Microsoft China. Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang has made outstanding contributions to the digital media, Internet technology and AI industry through his 550 publications, 68 US Patents and 11 monographs. He was elected to the Fellowship of American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019, and was inducted to the Australia National Academy of Engineering as the only foreign fellow in 2017. He became an IEEE Fellow in 1997 at the age of 31, making him the youngest scientist winning this honor in the 100+ year history of the organization. Dr. Zhang received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University.Hongjiang ZHANG is currently the Chairman of the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) and Venture Partner at Sourcecode Capital. He previously served as CEO of Kingsoft Software, the CTO of Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group and the Managing Director of the Microsoft Advanced Technology Center. He was also an Assistant Managing Director and a founding member of Microsoft Research Asia and was one of the 10 Microsoft Distinguished Scientists. Dr. Zhang is a Fellow of both the Institute of IEEE and ACM, and was the recipient of the 2010 IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award, 2012 ACM SIGMM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award, and the winner of 2008 Asian-American Engineer of the Year Award. He has published nearly 400 academic papers and edited several academic books. He was selected as one of the top 1,000 scientists in computer science and electronics for 2019 in the world by Guide2research, ranking first among mainland Chinese scholars.

Please join us for an invited talk by Prof. Alexey Kirichenko, generously co-sponsored by the Departments of Asian Studies, History and Philosophy; the South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Religious Studies Programs; and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly. The event is open to all interested, and special accommodations can be made for access upon request.

Alexey Kirichenko is an Assistant Professor at Moscow State University, Russia where he teaches courses related to Burma, Southeast Asia, Buddhism, and Asian history. His PhD focused on Burmese royal historiography. Since 2009, he is engaged in field and archival work in Burma aimed at manuscript cataloguing and digitization, documentation of archival practices, monastic networks and Buddhist monuments, and research on the history of Buddhism. He has published extensively on various aspects of Burmese history and historiography. His current writing priorities address the issues of religious identity and knowledge production.

Due to COVID-era regulations, all attendees are required to register for this event here: http://cglink.me/2ee/r992619

Upon registration you should receive an automated email with the Zoom link. If for any reason you do not receive this email, please contact Bruno at bms297@cornell.edu.

Melodramatic Afterlives: Visions in Seoul’s Blockchain Space

Simon Posner, Ph.D. student, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University

Posner writes: This chapter looks at blockchain-inspired visions of the future crafted by members of Seoul's largest community of blockchain enthusiasts. I look at the ways in which these visions are less visual and more felt. In particular, I argue that these visions are intended to conjure and re-animate melodramatic structures of feeling that arose during South Korea's period of rapid industrialization to make sense of profound change. This method of envisioning is distinct from ocular-centric visions often described in Western contexts and adds to the repertoire by which we might engage the future.

ROUGH WORK: Discussing research in progress, hence the term, rough work. This rough work session is hosted by the East Asia Program's Graduate Student Steering Committee (GSSC).

Please join us for an invited talk by Prof. Joseph A. Marino, III, generously co-sponsored by the Departments of Asian Studies, History and Philosophy; the South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Religious Studies Programs; and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly. The event is open to all interested, and special accommodations can be made for access upon request.
This talk examines the metaphor of hell as a place of burning in early Buddhist literature. Taking a Gandhari manuscript about the "Great Conflagration Hell” as our starting place, we explore foundational Buddhist hell texts and contemporaneous non-Buddhist Sanskrit literature to understand the Buddhist “hot hell” as a combination of two fire metaphors used widely elsewhere: the notion of desire as a fire that must be extinguished, and that of tapas as a purifying fire generated through austerity. Along the way, we see how “hot hell” descriptions develop from and build upon the volatile and violent depictions of a blacksmith’s forge.

Joe Marino is Assistant Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Washington, where he teaches Sanskrit and courses on Buddhist history and literature. His research specialty is Buddhist manuscripts from Gandhāra, which he edits, translates, and studies in the comparative context of early Buddhist literature in Indic and Chinese languages. He also writes about the pedagogical and literary functions of metaphor and simile in early Buddhist sutras. Joe received a BA and MA in Comparative Studies from Ohio State University, and an MA in Comparative Religion and PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Washington.

Due to COVID-era regulations, all attendees are required to register for this event here: http://cglink.me/2ee/r992968

Upon registration you should receive an automated email with the Zoom link. If for any reason you do not receive this email, please contact Bruno at bms297@cornell.edu.

Image, Stories, and Silences of “Ex-Returnees” Who Defected from North Korea to Japan: Artist Talk with Soni Kum

Kum will discuss her installation work, Morning Dew-The Stigma of Being "Brainwashed" exhibited in Tokyo in November 2020. It is based on interviews conducted with North Korean ex-“returnees” now living in Tokyo. Most are zainichi Koreans (“ethnic Koreans resident in Japan”) or their children, who from 1959 to 1984 moved to North Korea as part of the Repatriation Program. They thought the DPRK was ‘a paradise on earth,’ only to experience the severe living conditions of North Korea’s recovery from the Korean War. They are compelled to hide the fact that they left, or fled from, North Korea, or experience discrimination and other troubling consequences. Facing these fears of her interviewees, Kum’s work weaves together archival images, text, and silences to artistically evoke their hidden stories.

Discussants include Brett de Bary, Professor Emerita, Cornell, and Rebecca Jennison, Art Critic, Kyoto, Japan.

This event is co-sponsored by the Central New York Humanities Corridor from an award by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This event is also co-sponsored by the Migrations initiative and the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS).

The event image is from the installation named, 'Morning Dew-the stigma of being brainwashed'. To learn more about artist Soni Kum, please visit her website: http://www.sonikum.com/