De l’intelligence animale à l’intelligence artificielle : retour sur le Festival de la Science en Estonie

The Science Festival in Estonia came to a close last Thursday, and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who took part ; speakers, organizers, participants, and partners.

This first edition was particularly rich and engaging. We had the pleasure of hosting a workshop on animal intelligence, led by French researcher Jeffrey Malherbe Carbillet (University of Tartu, Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences). Before the students of Kristiin Rohtsalu at Hugo Treffner Gymnasium, he presented his research on seabirds and the educational board game “Kajakasaar”, which he created with Tuul Sepp and Mark Antonius Puhkan to raise awareness of these topics in a playful yet scientific way.

The public events began on Tuesday with the screening of Alain Resnais’ film “Mon Oncle d’Amérique” at Kino Supernova at the University of Tallinn. We warmly thank Sven-Sander Pass from the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School for his support and collaboration. The screening was followed by a fascinating discussion with Dirk Hoyer, professor and film professional, exploring Resnais’ artistic and intellectual intentions and, more broadly, the ways our behavior is shaped. A rich dialogue between art, psychology, sociology, and biology.

The week continued with the opening of the exhibition “AI at the Risk of Overdrive”, designed by La Cité des sciences et de l’industrie from research by Adrien Denèle. We were delighted to welcome Amirouche Moktefi, professor of philosophy at TalTech, for a French-language discussion on artificial intelligence, its uses, and the very notion of intelligence.

The exhibition remains open to the public free of charge at the Institut français of Estonia until the end of November.

Finally, the festival concluded on a light and convivial note with a science quiz hosted by David Lorbiecke at Uus Laine, allowing everyone to broaden their knowledge while enjoying a friendly and entertaining moment.

A heartfelt thank-you to all who contributed to this year’s Science Festival. An event both educational and festive.

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