Join us for another “Data Citizens: A Distinguished Lecture Series” talk featuring multidisciplinary artist Hillary Leone in a conversation with University of Cambridge neuroscientist Daniel Bor that will explore how they are using data to create art and advance science. Data Citizens: A Distinguished Lecture Series is an ongoing course of in-depth talks by experts in the field of data science on a wide variety of topics including data visualization, big data, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics.

The Data Citizens lecture series is co-sponsored by the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). This lecture is sponsored by the UM Department of Interactive Media and the Ribeiro Innovation Fund Speaker Series, and is free and open to the public.

Register Now | Thursday, April 7, 2022, 4:00-500 PM

TALK TITLE:  Data at the Intersection of Art and Science

Synch.Live is a participatory art experience designed to mobilize our human instinct to cooperate, and an open technology research framework that will allow scientists to study collective behavior. The work takes inspiration from emergent systems in nature like flocking birds or swarming ants that work together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Emergence is incredibly broad in scope, capturing the creation of galaxies, intelligent behavior in ants, economics, ecosystems, and conscious brains. Recent advances in information theory have allowed three of Synch.Live’s collaborating scientists, with colleagues, to develop an algorithm to quantify emergence. In Synch.Live, we use the algorithm behind-the-scenes to measure how emergent the group as a whole becomes. While the algorithm is tested, our application—measuring emergent behavior among humans—is radically new. Each instance of the game will generate anonymized tracking data which will become raw material for 2D and 3D artwork and research data for scientists studying collective behavior.

About Hillary Leone

Hillary Leone is an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist and award-winning digital creative who works at the intersection of art, science, technology, and social impact. Leone’s artwork, known for interrogating language and systems of meaning, has been exhibited in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and featured in the Whitney Biennial. Recent work includes her project on emergence with a team of UK-based scientists that blends cutting-edge research in information theory with experiential art. As an artist/entrepreneur, Leone has directed more than a hundred projects across digital, video, animation, and experiential. She has received numerous grants and awards and has taught and lectured widely. She received her BA in Semiotics and English and American Literature from Brown University; her BFA in Art from California Institute of the Arts; and attended the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program in Studio Art.

About Daniel Bor

Daniel Bor is a neuroscientist based at the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London. He received his BA in psychology and philosophy from Oxford University, in 1997, and his PhD in neuroscience from Cambridge University in 2002. He has published research in various fields, including how the brain processes consciousness, attention, memory and intelligence, and the extent that mental training can boost cognitive performance, or even change how we perceive the world.  He is the author of a general audience book on consciousness science, ‘The Ravenous Brain’, which was chosen as a best book of 2012 in the Wall Street Journal, and the September main selection at Scientific American Book Club. He also co-wrote the popular science book, ’30 Second Brain’. He has written articles for various popular magazines, including Scientific American Mind, New Scientist, Slate, and Wired UK. He has also appeared on various radio shows and has given many public talks.