"Embassy of Scientists"

On the occasion of Polish Science Day, established four years ago, a meeting with Polish scientists working or pursuing scientific internships in Italy "Embassy of Scientists" was held at the headquarters of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Rome. The meeting was a networking event, and was attended by more than twenty scientists specializing in fields ranging from biomedicine, physics, chemistry and the humanities and social sciences.

The guests were officially welcomed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Mrs. Anna Maria Anders, emphasizing that the meeting takes place almost on Nicolaus Copernicus' 550th birthday. The President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Professor Marek Konarzewski, during his speech, drew attention to the funding opportunities offered by Polish institutions such as the National Science Center and the National Agency for Academic Exchange, and encouraged the scientists taking part in the event to cooperate with PAN.

The next part of the meeting continued the issues raised by President Konarzewski. Dr. Marcin Liana, deputy director of NCN, and Agnieszka Stefaniak-Hrycko, director of the Scientific Station of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Rome, provided valuable information on the grant opportunities of Polish institutions. Dr. Liana noted the growing interest in the Center's projects, highlighted the most important domestic and foreign programs offered by NCN, and explained what criteria must be met to receive such funding. The Station Director, meanwhile, explained how programs funded by NAWA and the Polish Academy of Sciences operate, and talked about the available programs in which both young and experienced scientists can participate.

This was followed by an English-language lecture entitled Can robots show intentions through their actions? by Prof. Agnieszka Wykowska, a laureate of the European Research Council, working at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa. Prof. Wykowska works on cognitive research on a daily basis, especially on the issue of interactions that occur between humans and robots. During the lecture, she showed the experiments that take place during her work, explaining how they work and their effects. What's more, she showed how different human reactions to robots' behavior can be, and expressed the hope of making them more responsive and social, allowing them to act as good assistants. She also talked about the results of her research. The technology she is working on is being used, for example, to treat children on the autism spectrum, who, by interacting with robots, learn and improve their cognitive abilities. The lecture provoked many questions from the audience. For example, questions were asked about the consequences of making robots "too social," about the existence of the possibility of creating artificial intelligence that is too advanced, about the reason why assistant robots adopt humanoid forms, and about the phenomenon that is the so-called "uncanny valley." The professor gave satisfactory answers to all these doubts, citing European regulations on so-called "robot ethics," explaining that human-like robots are easier to navigate in "human" spaces, and pointing out that artificial intelligence is not yet advanced enough to be considered dangerous, and that scientists are aware in advance of possible dangers.

The last part of the event was a discussion, during which the researchers present at the meeting were able to share their experiences about the scientific collaborations and activities they have undertaken or are undertaking in Italy.

The meeting closed with a gala dinner attended by the Ambassador.

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