Artificial intelligence rests on the premise of minimising human interference to the extent possible. How close are machined to human-like thinking? The day is not far when this question would sound meaningless. Artificial intelligence and neuroscience are augmenting each other like Siamese twins drawing life-blood from each other. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), the virtual twins of neurons are capable of simulating human thought processes and it’s only a matter of time before they attain thinking capabilities. In short, artificial intelligence and Neuroscience share a mutually benefici...

How close are machined to human-like thinking? The day is not far when this question would sound meaningless. Artificial intelligence and neuroscience are augmenting each other like Siamese twins drawing life-blood from each other. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), the virtual twins of neurons are capable of simulating human thought processes and it's only a matter of time before they attain thinking capabilities. Though the medical field has made tremendous advances in diagnoses and treatment of mental diseases, neurology has remained a difficult area for medical researchers.

Together with twelve renowned art and cultural institutions, Ars Electronica recently initiated the European ARTifical Intelligence Lab initiiert. The Europe-wide initiative, scheduled to run for three years, is co-financed by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union and offers artists the opportunity to take part in a residency with scientific institutions: These include the Muntref Centro de Arte y Ciencia, the Laboratorio de Neurociencia de la Universidad Torquato Ditella in Buenos Aires or the University of Edinburgh. Interested artists who wish to develop new artistic approaches at the interface of neuroscience and artificial intelligence can apply for this first residency until February 17, 2019. The results of the residency will then be presented at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz and at twelve network partners throughout Europe. Mariano Sardón: In a conversation with Gerfried Stocker, the artistic director of Ars Electronica, during one of his visits to Buenos Aires a few years ago, we thought that some areas of science, such as Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, were generating a lot of results and processes which would inevitably impact on our society, and such an impact would need a space for reflection and development in a wide perspective, introducing artists in the context.