Private Event

CSAIL Social: Machine Yearning

Speaker

Merritt Moore

Host

Daniela Rus
MIT SCC & CSAIL
Abstract:
What will it mean to be human in the age of AI? As both a professional ballet dancer with a PhD in Quantum Physics from Oxford and a degree in Physics from Harvard, Dr. Merritt Moore will share her journey dancing with robots.

Bio:
Dr. Moore graduated with Magna Cum Laude Honors in Physics from Harvard and graduated with a PhD in Atomic and Laser Physics from the University of Oxford. She also pursues a professional ballet career, previously with the Zurich Ballet, English National Ballet, and Norwegian National Ballet, and currently with Boston Ballet. She is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU Abu Dhabi, joint Engineering and Arts & Humanities Departments, teaching “Creative Robotics” that fuses arts and science.

Her advocacy for this interdisciplinary approach has earned her a spot on Forbes 30 under 30, and she was even one of the 12 selected candidates to undergo rigorous astronaut selection on BBC Two "Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?". Her story has been honored in the bestselling book "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls". Dr. Moore has been forging a new path, programming robots to dance with her. She has been invited to perform at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Forbes Women's Summit, Harvard AI Opening, Boston Ballet, Switzerland, Germany, LA, France, Mexico and Romania. This led to collaborations with Louis Vuitton and features in TIME, Financial Times (FT), Vogue, BBC.