As part of its retreat, the Learned Society of the Czech Republic, in cooperation with our Department of Experimental Biology at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, organized two events for the general public.
On Tuesday, November 11, Mendel's refectory came alive with a lively discussion on the social implications of the development of artificial intelligence. The panel discussion featured Jan Kulveit (Center for Theoretical Studies, Charles University and Czech Academy of Sciences), Zbyněk Loebl (Of Counsel PRK Partners, fellow NCTDR, member of the ICODR Board), Jakub Nešetřil (Matika Česku, IT entrepreneur), and Marek Orko Vácha (Institute of Ethics and Humanities, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University). A major topic was the impact of AI on education and the possibilities for its use in various social contexts.
On Wednesday morning, members of the Learned Society visited the greenhouses of the botanical garden, where they were given a tour by its director, Magdalena Chytrá. In the afternoon, a Masterclass of the Learned Society was held at Komenský Square, led by Prof. Julius Lukeš, molecular biologist, parasitologist, and protistologist. His lecture, The Secrets of the Genetic Code, offered a fascinating insight into the intricacies of DNA, with a special emphasis on the fact that in biology, almost no rule applies without exception. And it is precisely these seemingly "nonsense" exceptions that often lead to the most interesting discoveries.
If you were unable to attend, don't despair. A recording of the discussion and Masterclass will be published shortly (in a slightly edited form) on the Learned Society website, but only in Czech version.
https://www.learned.cz/cz/masterclass-ucene-spolecnosti/julius-lukes.html
Photo: Sofia Bushueva
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