On June 29, 2017 Sir Nigel Shadbolt, a professor of computer science at the University of Oxford and the principal of Jesus College, discussed with the Summer Institute students his research on artificial intelligence. Through discussions and several articles students were able to better understand the concept of artificial intelligence and the different perspectives it entails. Below is a student's reflection on meeting with Sir Nigel Shadbolt and their class discussions. Last Thursday I was delighted to listen to Sir Nigel Shadbolt on the topic of artificial intelligence. I came into the meeting with a vague concept of the term, but the conference cleared up many things for me. Something that Sir Shadbolt clarified for me was the true definition of artificial “intelligence.” Although I thought some advanced AI systems seemed capable of sentience and emotion, that is not so. It is, and will always be incapable of making emotional and artistic choices; that is what differenti
On July 13, 2017 Bradley Gardner, a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and a Foreign Service Officer with the US State Department, discussed his novel "China's Great Migration: How the Poor Built a Prosperous Nation". The Summer Institute students were able to meet with him and talk about the impact the migration had on China's economy. Below is a student's reflection on meeting with Bradley Gardner and their opinion on the migration. This week’s meeting on the issue of internal migration in China was definitely one of the most interesting so far. The speaker was extremely knowledgeable, as he had lived in China researching this topic for many years, and it was clear that he sought to address aspects of the topic not usually discussed. Primarily, I was shocked at the massive impact migration has had on the Chinese economy. While I could see how more people moving into urban areas would create a larger labor force, I thought that would be