Martin Skrodzki receives NWO grant for playful science communication project on AI awareness
Martin Skrodzki, from the Computer Graphics and Visualization group, has been awarded the NWO WECOM grant. The aim of this NWO programme is to fund science communication projects that promote the connection between science and society. The goal of Martin’s research project is to enable an AI-informed generation of tomorrow. He is creating an exhibition of four pop-up suitcases that teach the technical fundamentals of AI, and engage the general public in discussions about ethical issues surrounding AI.
Artificial Intelligence on a journey: four suitcases for scientific discovery in a playful way
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), there are new developments, opportunities, but also fears all around. The goal of Dr Martin Skrodzki’s project is to enable an AI-informed generation of tomorrow. To do that, he is creating an exhibition of four pop-up suitcases. For this project, he collaborates with Dr Julian Koellermeier of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, and with the non-profit organisation IMAGINARY, which focuses on communication of modern mathematics.
The suitcases teach the technical fundamentals of AI, such as neural networks, underlying algorithms and principles. On the other hand, the suitcases engage in discussions about ethical issues surrounding AI. This is all done in a playful way (gamification). Within the project, several exhibitions and workshops will be realised, together with the think tank Algoright.
These events will take place at museums and libraries or at suitable science communication venues such as the Weekend van de Wetenschap. The ethics exhibition will include a citizen science aspect, i.e. visitors to the event can participate in a scientific research project on the perception of AI in society. All four exhibitions will be sustainable in the sense that all development will be open-source and the exhibitions themselves will be reusable and managed from the TU Delft Science Centre. Thus, the exhibitions are not only the starting point for continued education on AI, but can also be easily copied, to reach even more people.
WECOM programme
The aim of NWO WECOM programme is to fund science communication projects that promote the connection between science and society, by stimulating and facilitating interaction and mutual understanding. The awarded projects must have potential for embedding and sustainable continuation after the project ends.
Martin Skrodzki
Martin’s research interests lie between Computer Science and Mathematics. He is mainly concerned about all issues related to point sets, which includes both low- and high-dimensional data as well as their processing and visualizations. Furthermore, his interests also revolve around different connections between mathematics and arts, which he follows up on as associate editor of the Journal of Mathematics and the Arts.