Keynote Speaker, Mark Kingwell, is a University of Toronto professor and a contributor for the Harper’s Magazine, This Magazine and the Globe and Mail notably. He not only publishes in academia but also for a general audience. He was awarded with the Spitz Price for Political Theory, the Drummer’s General Award and he received an Honorary Doctor of Fine art Degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

This lecture will address the place of humanities, and humanism, in a world dominated by technology.  The specific focus will be on how Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Life are affecting our sense of 'the human'.  Is there something essential and inimitable about the human, or are we evolving together with non-human entities to create a viable cyborg future?  It will conclude with some cautious optimism about the role of thinking and critical pedagogy in this evolution.

This conference will be presented in English followed by a bilingual question period. A reception will follow.