{"651262":{"#nid":"651262","#data":{"type":"news","title":"AI and Neuroscience to Become Dance Partners for Georgia Tech Arts Event","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn unlikely combination will take center stage on campus this Friday, October 1. With assistance from College of Engineering researchers, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arts.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Arts\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.terminusmbt.com\/\u0022\u003ETerminus Ballet Theatre (TMBT)\u003C\/a\u003E will mix dance with the fields of neuroscience, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) to create a unique performance. TMBT dancers will perform excerpts of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arts.gatech.edu\/content\/terminus-modern-ballet-theatre-interactions-boundaries-sensory-experience\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EInterActions | Boundaries of Sensory Experience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a work-in-progress that is a physical embodiment of neuroscience and an exploration of the ethics and mechanics of how it\u2019s used in AI technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers have been meeting with the choreographer, Troy Schumacher, and the ballet company for the last year and a half to shape the concept, which explores ideas at the forefront of mechanical interventions into the human body and mind.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think the arts can be a really powerful way to bring people from all backgrounds into a conversation about science and technology,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff-directory\/christopher-john-rozell\u0022\u003EChris Rozell\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E who has worked on the project since its genesis. \u201cMy goal is to facilitate that conversation by helping to translate between the scientists doing amazing work and the artists who are approaching these ideas from the perspective of making something beautiful.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Arts and TMBT have dubbed the project the \u201cGrand Neuroethics Challenge.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA lot of the concepts, technologies, research, and ethics we\u0027ve been discussing in this work are extremely complicated, but what\u0027s come through for me is that a lot of their work is going to have profound implications for the future of humanity,\u201d said Schumacher. \u201cSo, for this ballet, I\u0027ve decided to focus on the emotional relationship to brain-machine interfaces, while touching on what I\u0027ve learned so far. I\u0027ve spent most of my career collaborating with artists with little to no relationship to dance, but nothing quite as complex and fascinating as this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAaron Shackelford, director of Georgia Tech Arts, said the project is a worthwhile endeavor because it offers a case study as to the importance of collaboration between artists and researchers, while demonstrating the importance of the arts in the mission and strategic plan of Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe recognize that the arts are critical to championing innovation and creativity at Georgia Tech,\u201d said Shackelford. \u201cOur mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The arts \u2014 and artists \u2014 provide a vital avenue for pursuing this work. This project illuminates the impact of artists and researchers coming together to mutually inspire and learn from each other, while inviting audiences to participate in the discussions about their discoveries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs a director coming from an arts\/dance background and facilitator to this project, I have become fascinated with the work of the scientists during the conceiving\/creation process and how this gets interwoven into the choreography and dancers\u2019 bodies,\u201d said John Welker, TMBT\u2019s artistic director.\u0026nbsp;\u201cIn any collaboration,\u0026nbsp;there are surprises that are part of my joy for discovery, but this particular process has made me so much more aware and appreciative of the intimate\u0026nbsp;connection between our minds\u0027 intention and how that is carried out through the movement of our bodies.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis Friday will be more than a dance performance. It will also include talks from the researchers involved in the project and opportunities for audience to ask questions. Rozell will discuss his work on AI and its applications in treating depression. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Chethan-Pandarinath\u0022\u003EChethan Pandarinath\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E, will talk about his AI research and how the brain controls movement. They\u2019ll be joined by Karen Rommelfanger, director of Emory\u2019s Neuroethics Program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERommelfanger knows the field of neuroscience can introduce complex words and concepts. When mixed with dance, however, she sees the project as a powerful opportunity for audiences to engage with multiple modalities of sensation and comprehension.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI believe neuroscience brings great hope and promise for humanity. But my\u0026nbsp;fear is that the promise of the field will be undermined by a deterioration of trust related to a real and hyped threats of unconsidered ways neuroscience might interface with individuals and society,\u201d said Rommelfanger.\u201d My hope is that this project will invite audiences, including myself, to challenge and surface our unspoken values and assumptions about the brain and technologies that interface with it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFriday\u2019s event starts at 8pm at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arts.gatech.edu\/ferst-center-shows\u0022\u003EFerst Center for the Arts\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/artsgatech.universitytickets.com\/w\/event.aspx?id=1581\u0022\u003ETickets are just $10\u003C\/a\u003E. The full work, which is made possible in part through a grant from the Charles Loridans Foundation, will premiere on campus next fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m excited to see how something as abstract as the concepts in neuroscience, neurotechnology, and neuroethics can be translated into dance,\u201d Rozell said. \u201cAs a researcher, we can get really caught up in the technical details. I can\u2019t wait to see how those details turn into an overall impression that is both beautiful and gives us a new way to think about what we do.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn unlikely combination will take center stage on campus this Friday, October 1. With assistance from College of Engineering researchers, Georgia Tech Arts and Terminus Ballet Theatre (TMBT) will mix dance with the fields of neuroscience, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) to create a unique performance. TMBT dancers will perform excerpts of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arts.gatech.edu\/content\/terminus-modern-ballet-theatre-interactions-boundaries-sensory-experience\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EInterActions | Boundaries of Sensory Experience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a work-in-progress that is a physical embodiment of neuroscience and an exploration of the ethics and mechanics of how it\u0026rsquo;s used in AI technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Dance will mix with the fields of neuroscience, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) to create a unique performance"}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2021-09-30 14:22:30","changed_gmt":"2025-06-04 16:30:51","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"651261":{"id":"651261","type":"image","title":"Neuroscience Dance Promotion Image","body":null,"created":"1633010922","gmt_created":"2021-09-30 14:08:42","changed":"1633010922","gmt_changed":"2021-09-30 14:08:42","alt":"Terminus Modern Ballet Theater InterActions | Boundaries of Sensory Experience","file":{"fid":"247101","name":"TMBT SHARED.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/TMBT%20SHARED.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/TMBT%20SHARED.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1284313,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/TMBT%20SHARED.png?itok=wnSvc2EC"}},"651265":{"id":"651265","type":"image","title":"Aaron Shackelford","body":null,"created":"1633012390","gmt_created":"2021-09-30 14:33:10","changed":"1633012390","gmt_changed":"2021-09-30 14:33:10","alt":"Aaron Shackelford","file":{"fid":"247104","name":"Aaron Shackelford-HiRes-8590.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Aaron%20Shackelford-HiRes-8590.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Aaron%20Shackelford-HiRes-8590.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":474316,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Aaron%20Shackelford-HiRes-8590.jpg?itok=aKam0HjO"}},"651263":{"id":"651263","type":"image","title":"Chris Rozell","body":null,"created":"1633012179","gmt_created":"2021-09-30 14:29:39","changed":"1633012179","gmt_changed":"2021-09-30 14:29:39","alt":"Chris Rozell","file":{"fid":"247102","name":"rozell.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rozell.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rozell.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":290366,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rozell.jpeg?itok=Hz-Ktk1c"}},"651264":{"id":"651264","type":"image","title":"Chethan Pandarinath","body":null,"created":"1633012331","gmt_created":"2021-09-30 14:32:11","changed":"1633012331","gmt_changed":"2021-09-30 14:32:11","alt":"Chethan Pandarinath","file":{"fid":"247103","name":"pandarinath2019.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pandarinath2019.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pandarinath2019.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":476307,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/pandarinath2019.jpg?itok=Z4cVF3rx"}}},"media_ids":["651261","651265","651263","651264"],"groups":[{"id":"1237","name":"College of Engineering"},{"id":"145331","name":"Georgia Tech Arts"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3798","name":"arts"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr\u003ECollege of Engineering\u003Cbr\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}