AI – the steam engine of the 21st century

The lecture will consist of 3 parts:

1. a demonstration of how innovations have historically impacted human society (fire, writing, the wheel, horse domestication, the steam engine, electricity)
2. then an explanation of AI’s possibilities and realities (a healthy demystification) and examples of where it is already being used
3. and finally a glimpse into the future – what awaits us with AI, where we should start using it better ASAP, and what social impact it will have

Who is Sara Polak?

She studied archaeology and evolutionary anthropology at Oxford and has spent the last seven years working in various tech startups from London to the USA and New Zealand. After nearly a decade in the UK, she returned to her homeland to work in the fields of startups, innovation, and artificial intelligence (AI). Her long-term goal is to transform the Czech Republic into a global AI hub and an innovation superhub.

Sara is an Aspen Young Leader and a Bakala Foundation scholar. She works on several projects such as prg.ai, Startup Disrupt, and Czech.global, while also engaging in nonprofit initiatives like Science To Go (an association founded to popularize science for the public) and various hackathons. She also promotes active multidisciplinary collaboration between the state, commercial, and educational sectors.

Her dream is to popularize complex topics in technology and science so that the wider public can better understand and engage with them, which among other things bridges the huge gap between the latest technologies and people and ultimately leads to more effective technology adoption in society.
This will result in positive economic and social effects and could make the Czech Republic a breeding ground for global science and innovation.