All In The Mind

Imagine a future where computers exceed our own intelligence; where problem solving is no longer limited by human thinking -- what then? It's a moment in technological time some call 'The Singularity'. But how much is technological reality, and how much fantasy? Science writer Mike McRae catches up with AI researchers and sci-fi writers to ponder the possibilities and probabilities.

Doing science has no room for gender and agendas, right? It's all about the objective pursuit of facts and truths about nature. Or is it? Acclaimed historian of science Londa Schiebinger, and top philosophers Simon Blackburn and Karen Green join Natasha Mitchell to debate the making of modern science, beards, breasts and how we came to be called mammals!

All in the Mind takes you on an extraordinarily ordinary journey across the mental and physical terrain of a big city. For many the ideal method of urban travel is straight out of Star Trek—teleporting. But in the 21st century city there are flaneurs and commuters savouring their journeys, on foot and by bike. They're taking in the smells and sounds of back alleys, recalling emotional memories at intersections and celebrating stacks of shipping containers. Join us on a 'psychogeographical' adventure, and discover the impact of the city on your psyche.

A life on the streets or behind bars isn't what we hope for our children. What leads them there? Mental illness? Family breakdown? Economic hardship? Two groundbreaking studies are fundamentally challenging the assumptions we make about our most marginalised, and the state of their mind.

We all dissociate to a degree—compartmentalising major traumatic experiences in our psyche to protect ourselves. But Dissociation Identity Disorder is the extreme end, where a person might present multiple selves or 'alters' to the world without fully knowing it—swapping clothes, life histories and personalities each time they 'switch'. Don't miss this firsthand account.

Acclaimed neuroscientist Semir Zeki pioneered the field of neuroesthetics to probe the biological basis of the aesthetic experience, art, literature, love and beauty. He thinks scientists have lots to learn about the brain from the works of visual artists and romantic literature. And visit London's Hayward Gallery, where the Walking in My Mind exhibition has been described as a 'vast humming cranium' as artists unearth their creative process through vast installations.

The theatre of war is changing, radically. With a push towards autonomous, robotic devices capable of killing - should the Laws of War change? One artificial intelligence leader argues machines could be more ethical and humane than humans in the battlefield. But, with thousands of robotic devices already being deployed, is robotics keeping up with ethics?

Robots are among us. They might be on their way in to childcare and aged care as silicon carers too. Will the 'digital natives' born today be more comfortable with that prospect? And, many thousands have now been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, with billions being invested in the development of fully autonomous killing agents. Will they fight fairly? Could they be more ethical and humane than humans? Over a series of shows, Natasha Mitchell speaks to leading roboticists and thinkers about the brave new now.

Journey to Vienna at the turn of the 20th century and discover the 'city of the psyche' at the centre of Modernism. Described as 'nervous times', anxieties about the alienation of modern urban life inspired a cultural ferment between artists, architects and psychiatrists. From utopian visions of the asylum to the birth of the 'psychological portrait' and 'nerve art', the life of the mind lies at the heart of the story. Image gallery

Is the human mind smart enough to ever understand itself? The size of a sesame seed, bees brains are brighter than you think - but do they have a mind? And, if we come up with an artificial intelligence to rival our own, how will we teach it right from wrong? Philosopher Colin Allen and neuroscientist Mandyam Srinivasan join Natasha Mitchell to talk mind, matter, moral machines and more at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas.