Uncovering the Future: What Archaeology and Anthropology Can Teach Us About AI, Technology, and Society
The lecture combines archaeological data from 200,000 years of human adaptation with practical questions that every developer is solving today.
Sara Polak
Sara Polak is an archaeologist, anthropologist, and researcher. She leads the LIMINAL Research Centre at CIIRC CTU and is a Research Associate at the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford. Her research brings together archaeology, anthropology, and artificial intelligence to better understand how people respond to technological change and how new technologies shape society.
Her work draws on an approach known as archaeopunk, connecting 200,000 years of data on human survival with today’s challenges in AI, leadership, and technological change.
Alongside her academic research, Sara works to make AI more accessible and explores its practical applications in business and the public sector. She is a regular conference speaker and collaborates with technology organizations. Drawing on her experience in the tech sector in both the UK and the US, she explores how societies adopt and adapt to technological change.
Sara has been named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She has worked with companies including SAP, Deloitte, Dell, Amazon, and EY.