What kind of spark will be ignited when the "Guqin," one of the world's oldest musical instruments, meets artificial intelligence? How do scholars classify and label, using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to deduce the diverse forms of butterflies and moths? The 2024 Taipei International Book Exhibition kicked off on February 20th with great fanfare. Academia Sinica has unveiled its special exhibition, “The Age of AI Has Begun? Now Loading…” to showcase its recent research accomplishments on AI. During the six-day exhibition, from February 20th to 25th, nearly 4,000 academic publications are on sale, with 17 talks and 5 major AI academic displays. This event leads the public into an awe-inspiring journey of innovative knowledge exploration.
Chin-shing Huang, the Vice President of Academia Sinica, stated that the rapid development of artificial intelligence is not only changing individual lifestyles but is also rewriting the course of human history. Facing the wave of generative AI, Academia Sinica Press planned this special exhibition, combined the Academy's various fields of AI research and creative thinking, to offer readers a diverse and enriching reading experience.
Physical and digital reading advance in parallel with "The Age of AI Has Begun? Now Loading…"
In response to this year's major publishing event, Academia Sinica has assembled research outcomes from the three major academic divisions: Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Humanities and Social Sciences. Nearly 4,000 specialized publications are showcased and sold at the event. And a special website titled “The Age of AI Has Begun? Now Loading…” is set to launch, addressing the dramatic change from a humanities perspective. Additionally, a book on the same theme is also scheduled to be published this year. The author group of the “The Age of AI Has Begun? Now Loading…” website will be presenting to discuss the impact and risks AI poses to human society.
A series of 17 engaging talks is kicking off
Academia Sinica has collaborated with nine domestic publishers and over 30 field experts to present 17 AI-related popular science and specialized book talks. The first talk, held on February 21st and titled "The Age of AI Has Begun? Now Loading...Rettet die Freiheit!: ein Weckruf im digitalen Zeitalter New Book Discussion," featured renowned German author Bijan Moini, along with Kuan-min Huang, a Research Fellow and Director at the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy at Academia Sinica; Chien-liang Lee, a Distinguished Research Fellow and Director at the Institutum Iurisprudentiae; and Chih-hsing Ho, an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies. They explored the precarious situation of freedom under attack in the digital age and potential solutions.
During the special exhibition, a series of heavyweight discussions were launched: Academician Yuan-tseh Lee shared his life experiences and historical insights after returning to Taiwan from the United States to serve as the president of Academia Sinica; Academician Cheng-sheng Tu presented "Sketching a Portrait of China," deconstructing traditional thinking and painting a grand panorama of China's 10,000-year history; and Academician Shou-chien Shih shared his accumulated insights from the perspective of Chinese calligraphy and painting historian. For more information on these talks, please follow the "Academia Sinica Press" Facebook page.
Five major themes showcase innovative application potential of AI
This year, the highlight of Academia Sinica's special exhibition is the introduction of five major academic displays showcasing applications of AI. These exhibits, through a multi-layered audio-visual experience, guide audiences to appreciate the innovative developments and deep integration of artificial intelligence into daily life, also sparking infinite imagination about the future world.
In the application of music visualization, the techniques of playing the Guqin, an instrument with over three thousand years of history, are elusive and ever-changing. Now, by training AI to understand the nuances of Guqin music, the playing techniques are transformed into tangible visual images. In the field of biodiversity research, AI has been used to analyze key features of butterflies and moths, such as wing length, shape, and color. This breakthrough surpasses the limitations of human recognition and has unveiled the evolutionary mystery of the Lepidoptera morphology, dating back 140 million years.
Additionally, utilizing the world's leading object detection technologies, the YOLOv4 and YOLOv7, the monitoring of traffic flow and drivers' blind spots has been achieved. This technology has further expanded into applications such as human posture recognition and pest control in agriculture. Significant factors affecting quality of life and health are now monitored by a sensing system created using thousands of AirBoxes and SoundBoxes distributed throughout Taiwan, reflecting real-time environmental quality in various locations. Lastly, the "Immerse Art Vision Innovation System (Omiyage)" offers a two-way communication and guiding experience, allowing visitors to print conversations and create personalized " Omiyage "!
Special exhibition on-site book purchases get additional discount offers
Academia Sinica Press stated that, in addition to responding to the Ministry of Culture's policy on arts and cultural consumption, this special exhibition aims to promote knowledge reading. To encourage this, the followings are special discounts on site: a 10% discount on individual books, 15% off for purchases of three or more books, and 21% off for five or more books. Moreover, purchases made with cultural points are eligible for a 21% discount regardless of the number of books. Customers will also receive a complimentary exquisite file folder with any purchase. Additionally, for purchases totaling over NT.500, a free eco-friendly tote bag is provided (not cumulative with other offers).
“The Age of AI Has Begun? Now Loading…” Special Exhibition at the 2024 Taipei International Book Exhibition
Hours: February 20-22, 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
February 23-24, 10:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M.
February 25, 10:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Venue: Taipei World Trade Center, Exhibition Hall 1 (No. 5, Section 5, Xinyi Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110), 1st floor, Stand B225
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[Download link for press release, poster, picture, information of talks]
