Turing Centenary: Evolution and Function of Consciousness

Theme of the Summer Institute: The Evolution and Function of Consciousness. When, where, how and why —since the origin of life on Earth about 4 billion years ago— did organisms' input/output functions become conscious input/output functions? What is the causal role of consciousness?

Dates: June 29 to July 9, 2012 (followed by an optional 3-day practical workshop on imaging techniques for measuring consciousness July 9-11)

In Commemoration: Centenary of the birth of Alan Turing (June 23 2012)

Language: Owing to its international character, the Summer Institute will be held entirely in English.

The Institute is intended for:

• graduate and post-graduate students from the participating disciplines: cognitive science, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, robotics, psychology, philosophy
• faculty members, scholars, engineers, and professionals from these disciplines.

Academic activities: Contents will be presented through lectures, group discussions, and poster sessions.

Materials: All participants will receive the following:

• a summary of each lecture,
• a course package of complementary articles for each of the lectures.

Academic credit: For students who wish to take part in the Summer Institute for credit