Professor Simon Penny to give a talk at the University of Vienna

Professor Simon Penny, an accomplished artist and theorist, is scheduled to deliver a lecture titled “Skill: Know-how, artisanal practices, and ‘higher’ cognition” at the University of Vienna. The event is a collaboration with The Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (OFAI) and is part of its 2023 Fall Lecture Series. The lecture will take place on Monday, October 23, at 6:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. PST) at OFAI in Vienna and on Zoom.

Professor Penny’s talk will explore the relationship between skill, embodied practices, and intelligence, challenging the conventional separation of ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ cognition. He will propose an alternative framework that draws from concepts like know-how, enactivism and cognitive ecologies.

Penny’s interdisciplinary approach extends to neuroscience, where he examines the implications of phylogenetics and proprioception, advocating for a non-dualistic perspective on neurophysiology. This perspective has potential consequences for our understanding of intelligence, artificial intelligence, and screen-based teaching methods.

With a career that spans multiple continents and disciplines, Penny has held positions at esteemed institutions such as Carnegie Mellon, the University of California, Irvine, University Paris 8, and the Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona. He currently holds the position of Professor of Electronic Art and Design at UC Irvine, with appointments in the Departments of Music and Informatics.

This is an opportunity to engage with a thought leader who has bridged the realms of art, science, and technology, challenging traditional ideas about intelligence and skill. Professor Simon Penny’s lecture promises to be a stimulating exploration of human cognition and creativity.

To learn more and to register, please visit the University of Vienna’s website event page here.