Alliance University completed its three-day AI & Society Confest 2024 on March 1-3, examining AI’s many impacts on society. The confest brought together top academics, industry professionals, and artists at Alliance University Anekal and the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) for a lively discussion.
The Alliance School of Design & Creative Arts displayed student and faculty-created design exhibits around campus. Infinite Binaries is a standout, taking spectators into the limitless world of technology, where a tactile space represents a computer’s head.
The confest began with Alliance University Pro-Chancellor Abhay G. Chebbi seeing Bengaluru as a global hub for technology, culture, and the arts. The event curator and Max Planck Institute senior researcher Dr. Michiel Baas gave a keynote talk on AI’s creative potential to support innovation and artistic expression.
The Liberal Arts team at Alliance University has produced the AI Confest, bringing together prominent specialists in philosophy, warfare, government, media, psychology, culture, and design, as well as top Indian artists using AI. Dr. Anirudh Sridhar, Dean of Thought Leadership at Alliance University and AI Confest’s founder, stated participants discussed AI’s risks, potentials, and realities across three days.
A panel discussion on ‘Beyond AI Evangelism’ examined the practical and ethical aspects of AI adoption while exploring AI’s impact on society. Kyoto University Research Professor Hiroki Habuka shed light on AI governance systems. Ms. Sannuta Raghu, Executive Producer, Scroll.in, and Ms. Lakshmi Sivadas, Program Manager at London School of Economics and Political Science, discussed AI and media.
Chief guest Prof. (Dr.) T.G. Sitharam, Chairman of the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), recognized Alliance University’s leadership in AI research and innovation on day two. Discussed were AI-era education, individualized learning, and AI-driven military technology ethics. Following were debates on AI and design, mental health, and governance. The day ended with Generative Jugalbandi’s fascinating music.
The final day at the BIC featured a colorful AI art display by brilliant artists. A panel discussion on ‘Deconstructing AI as an Idea and Practice’ examined the history of AI, while Dr. Hiroki Habuka and Dr. Charru Malhotra, Professor at the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, discussed AI’s governance implications.
Dr. Sayan Dey, Assistant Professor of Language & Literature, says, “This festival offers a new viewpoint on Indian institutions. AI is mostly used in business, management, engineering, and technology, but our confest allows attendees to investigate it through culture, society, media, philosophy, and psychology. By expanding the discourse, we hope to democratize AI understanding and encourage engagements that see AI as a comprehensive paradigm and way of life, not just a technology.”
The festival ended with enlightening debates on AI and culture with Dr. Francesca Ferrando and Mr. Tanuj Solanki, author of ‘The Machine is Learning a Curatorial Overview’ who discussed how AI spurs artistic creation. Dr. Michiel Baas escorted visitors through the engaging art display, featuring 21st-century technology and innovation.
AI-art fusion offers newbies a unique entrance point to art. We organized technology and art discussions and a BIC display to highlight our university’s mission. As Bangalore becomes India’s AI powerhouse, Alliance University leads technology innovation and shapes societal impact discussions. In his closing remarks, Dr. Ravi Chakraborty, Director of Communication for Liberal Arts, Department of Language, said our three-day conference brought together a wide group of professionals to investigate these linkages.
Alliance University seeks to reinvent academia by encouraging free debate of modern ideas. The School of Liberal Arts incorporates AI across fields due of its revolutionary power. As a cultural hub, the University aims to set a new standard, exemplified by its AI art gallery, a predecessor to future museum experiences “Dr. Anirudh stressed the institution’s dedication to multidisciplinary research and cultural innovation.
