Abstractions for Real People

Abstract: Computing is built on abstractions. Abstractions forget details, so that we can focus on what is important. What happens, however, when we forget something of value? I argue that certain risks and fears around AI today result from action informed by abstractions that diverge from what matters in their context of use. Moreover, I suggest that building better societal practices of abstraction is a task to which mathematicians – especially category theorists – are well placed to contribute. To begin a conversation, I envision a practice of abstraction that prizes accessibility, responsiveness, and pluralism. I'll illustrate this practice via ongoing work at Topos, especially our collaborative modelling platform CatColab.

bio: Brendan Fong serves as the founding chief executive of Topos Institute, an international research nonprofit building tools for collective sense-making. He is co-author of textbook An Invitation to Applied Category Theory, serves on the steering committee of the Adjoint School, served as a founding executive editor of the open access journal Compositionality, and co-directed the Inaugural Singapore Conference on AI for the Global Good. He received a DPhil in Computer Science from Oxford, with postdoctoral training at UPenn and MIT.

Moderator bio: The talk will be moderated by Priyaa Varshinee Srinivasan. Priyaa is a postdoctoral fellow at the Tallinn University of Technology, and a former colleague of Brendan (the speaker). She specializes in applied category theory specializing in quantum sciences. Her vision is for everyone to experience the joy of mathematics in their own way.

Computer scienceMathematics

Audience: researchers in the topic

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Relatorium seminar

Series comments: The name "Relatorium" combines "relator" with the Latin root "-ium," meaning "a place for activities" (as in "auditorium" or "gymnasium"). This seminar series is a platform to relate ideas, interact with math, and connect with each other.

In this series, we explore math beyond what we usually hear in standard talks. These sessions fall somewhere between a technical talk and a podcast: moderately formal, yet conversational. The philosophy behind the series is that math is best learned by active participation rather than passive listening. Our aim is to “engage and involve,” inviting everyone to think actively with the speaker. The concepts are accessible, exploratory, and intended to spark questions and discussions.

The idea of relatability has strong ties to compassion — creating space for shared understanding and exploration - which is the spirit of this seminar! This is a pilot project, so we’re here to improvise, learn, and evolve as we go!

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