Santa Fe Institute Courses

Glacial Optics: Creating Lenses from Arctic Ice for Glacier Photography

Explore an artist's Arctic expedition to create lenses from glacial ice, capturing portraits of the glaciers themselves. Discover the challenges, innovations, and profound insights gained from this unique photographic project.

• YouTube
• 42 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Knowledge, Prosperity and Economic Complexity - How Are They Connected?

Explore the intricate connections between knowledge, prosperity, and economic complexity, examining societal structures, inequality, and the role of distributed knowledge in shaping global economic landscapes.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 48 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Durable Dominance in Science and Business

Explore the principles of sustained leadership in scientific and corporate realms, examining strategies for long-term success and innovation in competitive environments.

• YouTube
• 57 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Hierarchy and Conflict in Human and Other Societies

Explore how social hierarchies reduce conflict through an agent-based model, examining emergent properties and potential applications in various societal contexts.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Modeling the Micro-Macro Dialogue: Cross-Scale Dynamics Far from Steady State

Explore cross-scale dynamics in complex systems, focusing on micro and macro levels. Learn about MaxEnt inference, disturbed ecosystems, and a hybrid theory for reciprocal cross-scale influences.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Language, Perception and Action Shape the Human Conceptual System

Explore how language, perception, and action influence human conceptual systems with Louise Connell, a leading researcher in complex cognition and embodied intelligence.

• YouTube
• 29 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Embodiment Without Situatedness - An Embodied Perspective on Neural Architecture Search

Explore embodied perspectives on neural architecture search with Nick Cheney, examining the intersection of neurorobotics and complex systems in AI development and intelligence research.

• YouTube
• 35 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Language Comprehension Requires Affordances

Explore how language comprehension is grounded in physical interactions with the world, challenging traditional views of cognition and offering insights into embodied intelligence.

• YouTube
• 32 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Why Intelligent Reasoning Must Be Embodied

Explore the philosophical perspective on embodied intelligence and its implications for AI, presented by Lisa Miracchi from the University of Pennsylvania's GRASP Lab and MindCORE.

• YouTube
• 37 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Are Foundation Models Castles in the Air?

Explore the trustworthiness and effectiveness of foundation models in AI with Stanford professor Percy Liang, examining their potential and limitations for human-computer interaction and continuous learning.

• YouTube
• 37 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

The Power of Temporal Networks

Explore how time-varying networks offer advantages in controllability, cooperation, and synchronization, challenging traditional views on network analysis and dynamics.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 14 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

The Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles - Navigating Legal and Ethical Complexities

Exploring the complex ethical, legal, and societal implications of autonomous vehicles beyond the "Trolley Problem," including safety standards, liability, cybersecurity, and regulatory challenges.

• YouTube
• 57 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Animal Dominance Hierarchies - From Pecking Orders to Human Society

Explore a century of research on dominance hierarchies in animals and humans, examining their impact on social structures, behavior, and evolution across species.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 14 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Hard Sci-Fi Worldbuilding - Robotics, Society, and Purpose

Explore the intersection of science fiction and complex systems science in this thought-provoking discussion on future societies, robotics, and human purpose with author Gary Bengier.

• YouTube
• 54 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Art and Science as Parallel and Divergent Ways of Knowing

Explore the historical convergence and modern divergence of art and science as methods of understanding the world, with insights from artists, scientists, and cultural figures.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 26 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video