Yet another GDPR email

You may have noticed that in the last week your inbox has been flooded with emails from almost every company you've ever interacted with online. All of them wanting to update their terms of use and privacy policy. Many companies have been resorting to humour to try and get us to open these emails. However, as The Guardian has pointed out "... legal experts have argued that many of these emails are unnecessary, and may even be illegal under the new data protection laws." If you don't know what has caused this burst of email activity it's due to a new EU law - the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years.

Can we be friends with robots?

Associate Professor Elizabeth Broadbent, Department of Psychological Medicine,  University of Auckland, University of Auckland is giving a free public lecture this Thursday, May 24.

Social robots are now being made to assist us in our daily lives in our homes and workplaces. These robots typically look humanoid and are designed to display signs of attention, cognition and emotion. This lecture will discuss research on how people feel about living with such robots, and the benefits and harm robots may bring.

The talk will draw on a series of New Zealand studies examining how people respond to robots in their own homes and in healthcare settings for long periods. People’s attribution of mind to robots and their feelings of companionship with robots will be a particular focus.

Drinks and nibbles will be served from 6pm at 260.088 Level 0 Foyer, Owen G Glenn Building University of Auckland. The Lecture commences at 6.30pm. 

Find out more information about the Gibbons Lecture Series.

If you cannot attend the lecture you can watch it live or later here.

Will robotic vision ever fully replace human vision?

Associate Professor Patrice Delmas from the Department of Computer Science, University of Auckland is giving a free public lecture this Thursday, May 17.

In this talk, Patrice will introduce the topic of computer vision, its current status and the many challenges that have been faced. He will then discuss some parallels between human vision and computer vision, and the major differences in capability.  Finally, he will lean on his experience to describe a wide range of real-world problems, attempted solutions and ensuing failures or successes, in the context of the New Zealand economy and environment.

Drinks and nibbles will be served from 6pm at 260.088 Level 0 Foyer, Owen G Glenn Building University of Auckland. The Lecture commences at 6.30pm. 

Find out more information about the Gibbons Lecture Series.

If you cannot attend the lecture you can watch it live or later here.

Robotics research in New Zealand - free public lecture

Mike Shatford, Managing Director of Design Energy Limited, Christchurch is giving a free public lecture this Thursday, May 10 at 6:30pm. Mike's talk aims to close the loop between academia and industry; reporting on successes – where, and how, robotics is serving our target market, and where there are gaps and opportunities for both the originators of new technology and the end-users it will serve. 
Drinks and nibbles will be served from 6pm at 260.088 Level 0 Foyer, Owen G Glenn Building University of Auckland. The Lecture commences at 6.30pm. 

Find out more information about the Gibbons Lecture Series.

 If you cannot attend the lecture you can watch it live or later here.