MANIAC: From the First Computer to Artificial Intelligence. A dialogue with Benjamin Labatut
In this interview, Chilean writer and author of the novel MANIAC, Benjamín Labatut, will speak with cultural journalist and director of the Casa Universitaria del Libro (CASUL), Guadalupe Alonso. Together they will explore Labatut's work, which addresses the limits of reason, tracing a path from the foundations of mathematics to the delusions of artificial intelligence.
Participantes
Benjamín Labatut
Benjamín Labatut
Benjamín Labatut
Born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1980, he grew up in various cities around the world (The Hague, Buenos Aires, Lima); at the age of 14, he settled in Santiago, Chile. He studied journalism at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. His books include: “After the Light,” “A Terrible Greenness,” “The Stone of Madness,” and “MANIAC.” He gained international acclaim for “A Terrible Greenness” (Anagrama, 2020), in which he blends fiction with a realistic style and explores the lives of prominent scientific figures such as Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin Schrödinger. He was awarded the Galileo Prize and the Santiago Municipal Prize, and was a finalist for the International Booker Prize and the National Book Award for Translated Literature.
Guadalupe Alonso Coratella
Guadalupe Alonso Coratella
Guadalupe Alonso Coratella
Graduate in Information Sciences and Techniques, she is a writer, cultural journalist, and television producer. She has served as news director at Canal 22 and deputy director of information at TV UNAM. She has contributed to El Ángel, the cultural supplement of the newspaper Reforma, La Jornada Cultural, Casa del Tiempo magazine, and Revista de la Universidad de México. She currently publishes in the cultural supplement Laberinto of the newspaper Milenio. She has received the National Journalism Prize from the Club de Periodistas three times for her work on Raquel Tibol, una vida en el arte (documentary, 2005), Las respuestas de la ciencia (series, 2009), and Observatorio 2012 (series, 2011). Some of her publications include Massimo Bontempelli. An Intense Life (UAM, 2007), Instant Reveal (Joaquín Mortiz, 2008) in co-authorship with José Gordon, The Lion and the Archangel (UNAM-Seix Barral, 2009), Alternative Paths: Conversations on Art, Literature, Journalism and Humanities (UNAM, 2010), Border Notebook: Essays on the Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Work of Creators (UNAM, 2015), and Sign of the Lion: Salvatore Quasimodo, Love Letters (Dante, 2021) in co-authorship with Myriam Moscona.
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Javier Sicilia
Javier Sicilia
Mexican poet, essayist, and activist. A graduate in French Literature from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), he has contributed to publications such as Unomásuno, La Jornada, and Letras Libres. He was awarded the Aguascalientes National Poetry Prize in 2009 for "Tríptico del Desierto" (Desert Triptych). He is known for his activism and defense of human rights, and was honored with the Juan Gelman Recognition in 2018. Following the tragic murder of his son, Juan Francisco, by organized crime, he founded the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD), advocating for victims of violence and promoting the Law for Attention to Victims. His commitment has been widely recognized in Mexico, the United States, and Bolivia.
Arnoldo Kraus
Rheumatologist at the ABC Medical Center, he trained as a surgeon at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He completed his specialization through the Mexican Council of Rheumatology. He is an academic and researcher at the UNAM Faculty of Medicine and a columnist and author of essential texts on bioethics, euthanasia, abortion, secularism, medical technology, the doctor-patient relationship, and the right to health, among other topics. His books include *Remembering the Deceased* (Sexto Piso) and *One's Pain, Everyone's Pain* (Debate). He writes regularly for *El Universal* and *Nexos* magazine. He maintains a weekly blog on bioethics. He is a member of the College of Bioethics and the Mexican Cultural Seminar.
Sebastián Tonda
Sebastián Tonda was born in Mexico City. He holds a degree in Communication from the Universidad Iberoamericana. He has given more than 100 lectures on technological transformation.
Bruno Velázquez
Bruno Velázquez
He holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Philosophy from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a Diploma in National Security, Border, and Migration from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), and is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Philosophy, specializing in Metaphysics and Ontology, at UNAM. He has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, UNAM, for 15 years, as well as at ITAM in the Department of General Studies. He has numerous publications, both academic and for general audiences, on various topics related to philosophy, human rights, and education. Throughout his professional career, he has worked as an Information Analyst at the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Crimes of Violence Against Women, and at UNAM, he has held positions in the Secretariat of Institutional Development, the Directorate of the Faculty of Sciences, the Coordination of Special Academic Projects, and the General Secretariat. From there, he served as a liaison with the Mexico City Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, participating in the creation of the “ECOs Network of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Mexico City”. He is currently the Coordinator of the Nelson Mandela Chair of Human Rights in the Arts, attached to the UNAM Cultural Outreach Coordination, a collaborator of the UNAM University Program on Human Rights, and a member of the Technical Committee for Mental Health Care of the UNAM University Community.
Rosa Beltrán
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Novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor, and founder of several literary collections, including *Sólo cuento*, *Crónica*, *El ensayo*, and *Cine y literatura*. She holds a degree in Hispanic Literature from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is a professor of Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at UNAM and was the coordinator of the graduate program in Literature at that faculty. Her literary output is extensive; some of her novels include *La corte de los ilusos* (Planeta Prize 1995), *El paraíso que fuimos* (2002), *El cuerpoémico exhibe* (2013), and *Radicales libres* (2020), as well as *Cuentos darwinianos* (2020) and *Verdades visuales, ensayos* (2019). Her work has been translated into English, French, Italian, Dutch, and Slovenian and appears in numerous anthologies from various countries. As a cultural manager, she has organized series, literary events, and book fairs. From her position as Director of Literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), she launched the Fiesta del Libro y la Rosa (Festival of the Book and the Rose) with unprecedented success. This literary event has been held continuously since 2009. She has received recognition from the American Association of University Women, the National University Award for Young Academics in the area of creative writing, the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Award from UNAM, the Distinguished Scholar Award from UCLA, and the José Emilio Pacheco Excellence in Letters Award (2022), granted by the Autonomous University of Yucatán in conjunction with the FILEY (International Book Fair of Yucatán) and UC-Mexicanistas. She was the Director of the University Book House and is currently the Coordinator of Cultural Outreach at UNAM.
Mary Frances Teresa Rodríguez Van Gort
Circuito Escolar S/N
Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán
Caleb Rascón
Caleb Rascón
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Luis Alberto Pineda
Luis Alberto Pineda
He holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from Anáhuac University, a Master of Science in Computer Science from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Science. He has been a Senior Researcher in the Department of Computer Science at the Institute of Research in Applied Mathematics and Systems (IIMAS) since 1998. He is the author of approximately 100 research papers, including publications in the journals Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, and Scientific Reports (Nature), as well as the book "Computational Rationality." He was the founder and coordinator of the Golem Group, which developed the Golem, Golem at Universum, Golem-II+, and Golem-III robots. He is a member of the Mexican Academy of Computing, of which he was the Founding President.
David Sol
David Sol
David lives in Mexico City with his wife, his daughter who studies at the Faculty of Sciences, and a couple of rabbits who graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry. He is a leading IT architect recognized for his expertise in cloud computing and data management. With a track record of leadership on major projects for global companies such as Coca-Cola and Banco Colpatria, David contributes invaluable insights to the advancement of technology. His role as a member of the exclusive AWS Community Builders group underscores his dedication and influence in the field. A sought-after speaker, David has delivered captivating talks on cloud technologies internationally, inspiring audiences with his deep knowledge and passion for innovation. By the way, this profile was generated by artificial intelligence.
Gibran Fuentes Pineda
Gibran Fuentes Pineda
He holds a degree in Computer Engineering and a Master of Science in Microelectronics Engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN). He earned his PhD in Information Systems from the Tokyo University of Electro-Communications. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Research in Applied Mathematics and Systems (IIMAS) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he was in charge of the vision system for the Golem-II+ and Golem-III service robots. He has published numerous scientific articles in international journals and conferences. He has taught courses in Machine Learning and Deep Learning in the Graduate Program in Computer Science and Engineering at UNAM, and courses in Big Data I and II in the Bachelor's Program in Data Science.
Insurgentes Sur 3000
Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán