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Intelligent Futures: AI and the Transformation of Society
16, 17,18 june 2025 Madrid
Organized by:
Fundación Ramón Areces and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
- Programme
Programme
Dates: 16, 17, 18 june 2025.
Timetable: 16 and 17 june 2025. 10.00 a.m to 4.30 p.m. 18 june 2025. 09.30a.m to 14.45 hours.
Language: English.
Cost: The master classes are free of charge. Attendees must cover their travel and accommodation expenses.
Participants: Places are limited to 25 participants.
Intelligent Futures: AI and the Transformation of Society
This two-and-half day Masterclass explores the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, and their transformative impact on society, organisations, and education. We begin with a technical overview of how generative AI and machine learning developed and work, then we will take a multidisciplinary perspective to explore how Generative AI and LLMs impact society.
Sessions will explore how AI is reshaping education, business and management and the future of society through real-world use cases, practical scenarios, and thought-provoking discussions. Participants will consider the social consequences of AI, including data use, bias, and automation, and reflect on the role of governance and regulation in providing necessary safeguards. Drawing on cutting-edge research, we will also consider how AI affects higher education and challenges traditional practices while introducing ethical dilemmas.
Professor: Jon Cardoso-Silva. LSE Data Science Institute.
Professor: Dorottya Sallai. LSE Department of Management.
Masterclass information
The 3-day programme is aimed at professionals who hold at least a bachelor's or master's degree and are working in business, academia, national, regional, local government or research institutions. The lectures will be given in English.
Places are limited to 25 participants who will be selected from among the registered participants by a committee made up of representatives of the LSE and the Fundación Ramón Areces.
The pre-registration period will be open until may 28 2025. Admission will be communicated before june 3 2025.
Day 1: Monday 16 June
10:00 -11:30 h.
Professors: Jon Cardoso-Silva and Dorottya Sallai
Session 1: The AI Wave & Data Foundations
This session examines the impact the current wave of AI is having or is likely to have in the near future on education, business and the labour market.
It explores where participants use AI in their work/life/organisation.
12:00 -13:30 h.
Professor: Jon Cardoso-Silva
Session 2: Demystiying AI &LLMs
This session presents a walk-through of pre-training, fine-tuning, and inference. It presents a glossary of key terms and an AI taxonomy.
13:30 -14:30 h.
Lunch
14:30 -16:00 h.
Professors: Dorottya Sallai and Jon Cardoso-Silva
Session 3: Seeing AI as copilot tool rather an intelligen entity
This session explains why AI is not intelligent in the human sense and why anthropomorphising AI is a dangerous endeavour.
This session will have exercises in AI Pragmatism. It examines how viewing AI as a tool that can augment cognitive capabilities can help become more aware of its potentials and limitations.
Day 2: Tuesday 17 June
10:00-11:30 h.
Professors: Jon Cardoso-Silva and Dorottya Sallai
Session 1: The role of high-quality data
This session covers the importance of being 'data-ready' for AI.
It examines how AI cannot solve problems without having high-quality data. The session includes a case study/scenario.
12:00-13:30 h.
Professors: Dorottya Sallai and Jon Cardoso-Silva
Session 2: AI in Education
This session covers how AI has changed teaching, learning and assessment, takes stock of where we are today and assesses what the future holds.
Scenario discussion in small groups.
13:30 -14:30 h.
Lunch
14:30-16:00 h.
Professors: Dorottya Sallai and Jon Cardoso-Silva
Session 3: Testing the Automation Paradox
This session examines the impact of AI on skills and skill development.
It includes two writing tasks (unknown vs expert domain), with faculty circulation, and a debrief on accuracy, bias and duty of verification .*
*Participants are required to have access to a computer/laptop/or a handheld device.
19:00-20:00 h.
Professors: Jon Cardoso-Silva
Public Lecture: Are the Bots Inheriting the Earth?
A Critical Assessment of the Impact of the Current Wave of AI on Education and the Information Ecosystem.
This lecture critically examines the transformative impact of generative AI technologies on education, the information ecosystem and society since ChatGPT's release in late 2022. Dr. Cardoso-Silva will analyse what major reports from organisations such as UNESCO and OECD have concluded about AI's reshaping of education, knowledge work, and information consumption, distinguishing between genuine innovation and marketing hype.
The lecture explores a concerning trend: as AI tools become increasingly embedded in our society, we are witnessing a fundamental shift in how humans interact with knowledge. The growing tendency to delegate cognitive tasks to AI systems, termed "cognitive offloading," raises important questions about the preservation of critical thinking skills in an AI-augmented world. Recent studies have identified correlations between heavy AI usage and diminished analytical abilities, particularly among younger users who demonstrate greater dependence on these tools.
Through evidence-based analysis and real-world examples, Dr. Cardoso-Silva will address pivotal questions: How is AI redefining what it means to learn and know? How are we to find a balance between genuine good use of these tools with maintaining our cognitive autonomy? What approaches can educational institutions and organisations adopt to harness AI's benefits while preserving human intellectual development? The lecture will conclude with practical considerations for maintaining a balance between technological enhancement and critical human engagement in our rapidly evolving information landscape.
Day 3: Wednesday 18 June
09:30-11:00 h.
Professor: Dorottya Sallai
Session 1: AI´s Impact on Businesses and Leading AI Transformation
This session covers AI and Change readiness, AI strategy development, success metrics and the impact of AI transformation on people.
11:15-12:45 h.
Professors: Jon Cardoso-Silva and Dorottya Sallai
Session 2: Personal AI Playbook
This session covers the development and refinement of individual GenAI workflows peer feedback and action planning. Reflection and discussion of personal AI journeys during the programmes.
12:45-13:30 h.
Closing lunch & certificates
Jon Cardoso-Silva
Jon Cardoso-Silva is Assistant Professor (Education) at the LSE Data Science Institute. He first joined LSE in September 2021 as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Methodology. Since January 2022 he has been a permanent member of staff at the DSI carrying out teaching and scholarly work in education.
Jon acts as the DSI’s de facto Deputy Head of Education and represents the institute at LSE teaching/education fora including the Departmental AI lead forum. He is deeply committed to high-quality teaching and innovative pedagogical practices in data science, particularly those involving Generative AI.
Jon leads the teaching and development of DS105 (Data for Data Science) and DS205 (Advanced Data Manipulation). These undergraduate courses focus on developing data collection and manipulation skills guided by the best practices in code writing and effective group collaboration.
Jon's scholarly interests lie primarily in pedagogical practices in data science and the exploration of innovative teaching methods. He co-leads the GENIAL project with DSI Affiliate Dr Marcos Barreto, which investigates the impact of tools such as ChatGPT, GitHub and Copilot on programming skills and critical thinking in undergraduate and postgraduate courses at LSE.
Dorottya Sallai
Dr Dorottya Sallai is an Associate Professor (Education) in Management. She serves as the Department of Management’s Education and Assessment Innovation Lead, Chair of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Working Group, and the department’s representative in LSE’s AI Working Group. Her work in management education focuses on innovation and the integration of digital technologies, simulation games, and generative AI into teaching, learning, and assessment practices.
In her interdisciplinary research, Dorottya explores how organisations and leaders navigate institutional transitions and relationships at the intersection of management, politics, artificial intelligence (AI), education, and policy. She is particularly interested in how executive decision-making, strategy, foreign direct investment (FDI), and education are shaped by global political and technological changes, such as the rise of populism and the emergence of generative AI (GenAI).
Dorottya has received consistent recognition for teaching excellence, including LSE’s Outstanding Teaching Award and Excellence in Education Award, the Department of Management’s Academic Contribution Award, and first place in the Top Ten Teachers’ Award.
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