# Aristotle and AI: Insights from Τhe Lyceum Project, Worldwide Week at Harvard ## About the Event Key Information Short Biographical Notes of the Speakers Accessibility ## Key Information - **Topic:** Aristotle and AI: Insights from The Lyceum Project - **Date:** Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 6 pm (EDT) - **Location:** Barker Center, 110 Thompson Room, Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University - **Organized by:** CHS Greece, [CHS US](https://chs.harvard.edu/), [Pedagogies for Life Seminar of the Mahindra Humanities Center](https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/pedagogies-for-life), in cooperation with the [National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos"](https://www.demokritos.gr/) (NCSR "Demokritos"), the [World Human Forum](https://worldhumanforum.earth/), and the [Maliotis Cultural Center](https://maliotis.hchc.edu/) - **Open to:** All - **Language:** English - **Speakers:** [Vangelis Karkaletsis](https://karkaletsis.iit.demokritos.gr/) (NCSR "Demokritos"), [Alexandra Mitsotaki](https://worldhumanforum.earth/who/) (World Human Forum), [Maria Dagioglou](https://www.iit.demokritos.gr/people/maria-dagioglou/) (NCSR "Demokritos"), [Sergio Imparato](https://www.gov.harvard.edu/directory/sergio-imparato/) (Harvard); [Nicolas Prevelakis](https://socialstudies.fas.harvard.edu/people/nicolas-prevelakis) (Social Studies & CHS, Harvard) as the moderator; opening remarks by [Naomi Weiss](https://nweiss.scholars.harvard.edu/) (CHS, Harvard) and [Doris Sommer](https://rll.fas.harvard.edu/people/doris-sommer) (Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard) - **Activity Administration:** CHS Greece - **Contact Phone and Email:** (+30) 27520 47040, ext. 2, ### Overview The Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, together with the Center for Hellenic Studies in the United States and the Pedagogies for Life Seminar of the Mahindra Humanities Center, in cooperation with the National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos," the World Human Forum, and the Maliotis Cultural Center, is organizing a panel discussion on "Aristotle and AI: Insights from The Lyceum Project," taking place on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 6 pm at the Barker Center, 110 Thompson Room, Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University, as part of Worldwide Week at Harvard. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly part of our lives, it forces us to confront questions about its place and purpose. What kind of life do we want technology to serve? How can we make sure it remains in the service of humanity? What activities should be outsourced to technology and what, if any, should remain distinctively human? With its attention to human flourishing, its reflections on intelligence and virtue, and its philosophy of ends, Aristotle's ethical and political thought can give us very valuable tools for this discussion. This realization is at the heart of The Lyceum Project, an annual interdisciplinary initiative inspired by Aristotle's Lyceum and bringing together philosophers, scientists, technologists, policymakers, artists, and civil-society leaders in Athens every June. This panel will explore the origins and development of the project. It will consider why a renewed dialogue between Aristotle and contemporary technology is valuable, and how Aristotle's ideas might help us think differently about the development, governance, and human purposes of AI. This event takes place during [Worldwide Week at Harvard](https://worldwide.harvard.edu/events/worldwide-week-harvard-home/) which showcases the remarkable breadth of Harvard's global engagement. During Worldwide Week, Harvard Schools, research centers, departments, and student organizations host academic and cultural events with global or international themes. Worldwide Week 2026 will be held from October 11 to 17, 2026. ![Poster for "Aristotle and AI: Insights from The Lyceum Project," showing a marble bust of Aristotle overlaid with faint circuit-board lines. Full event details and speakers are listed on this page.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/2026-09/20260924%20-%20WWWk%202026%20Event.png?itok=q0lXWReh) ## Short Biographical Notes of the Speakers ### Vangelis Karkaletsis ![Portrait of Vangelis Karkaletsis](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/Vangelis-Karkaletsis-NCSR-Demokritos.jpg?itok=lbyfPt5v) Vangelis Karkaletsis is Director and Chairman of the Board of NCSR "Demokritos." For over twenty years, Karkaletsis has been dedicated to advancing AI from isolated research to a collaborative force driving progress in science and industry. His vision began to take shape during his leadership of the Software & Knowledge Engineering Lab (SKEL | The AI Lab) and has been further refined through his involvement with prominent global committees and associations in AI. As Director of the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications at NCSR "Demokritos," he champions transdisciplinary co-creation, bridging technology with societal challenges. Karkaletsis envisions AI as a catalyst for global innovation, policy transformation, and a tool to serve humanity in building a better future. ### Alexandra Mitsotaki ![Portrait of Alexanda Mitsotaki](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/Alexandra-Mitsotaki-World-Human-Forum.jpg?itok=eexbGJe0) Alexandra Mitsotaki is President and Co-founder of the World Human Forum, a citizen-led initiative born in Delphi in 2017 from a process of collective intelligence and the conviction that systemic change must grow from the bottom up. This conviction was shaped by decades of engagement with civil society and communities in the Global South. In 1998, she founded ActionAid Hellas, the Greek affiliate of ActionAid International, a global development antipoverty organization, and later co-founded Action Finance Initiative, Greece's first microcredit organization. Her long involvement with the Hellenic Cultural Centre in Paris, which she led for ten years, deepened another fundamental belief: that art and artists have an essential role to play in transforming the way we understand ourselves and the world. Her experience in Delphi revealed to her the power of place and the importance of bringing ancestral intelligence into dialogue with contemporary knowledge. Through the World Human Forum, she now brings together science, technology, education, democracy, sustainability, inner transformation, and the arts, activating emblematic ancient sites including Delphi, Delos, Aristotle's Lyceum, Eleusis, and Ancient Olympia as living spaces for addressing the challenges of our time. Educated at a German secondary school, Mitsotaki studied political science at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and obtained a postgraduate degree in Development Law. She began her professional life at the OECD, before choosing to move into the nonprofit sector, seeking to connect ideas and policy with action on the ground. A member of the European Commission's New European Bauhaus High-Level Roundtable, Mitsotaki is a passionate advocate for breaking down silos, connecting disciplines and generations, and turning collective intelligence into action toward a more ecological and humane civilization. ### Maria Dagioglou ![Portrait of Maria Dagioglou](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/Maria-Dagioglou-NCSR-Demokritos.png?itok=Pwv-19Hl) Maria Dagioglou is a researcher and Scientific Coordinator of "The Lyceum Project" at NCSR "Demokritos." She has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications (IIT) since 2014. She leads the [Roboskel](https://roboskel.iit.demokritos.gr/) group, the robotics group of the [Software & Knowledge Engineering Lab (SKEL | The AI Lab)](https://www.skel.ai/). Her research interests include the design and development of AI methods, as well as the understanding of human behavior, for safe, transparent, and fluent human-AI and human-robot collaboration. She studied Electrical and Computer Engineering (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece). She holds an MSc in Biomedical Engineering (TU Delft, the Netherlands) and a PhD in Psychology (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom). Between 2018 and 2021, she was a Stavros Niarchos Foundation industrial postdoctoral fellow working on robotics applications for human-robot collaboration in shared workspaces. Dagioglou has extensive experience in the implementation of multidisciplinary national and EU projects, including experience in coordinating roles and interdisciplinary research management. She lectures on topics related to human factors in AI ethics and human-robot interaction, in the context of two interdepartmental [Master of Science programs at IIT](https://www.iit.demokritos.gr/msc-programmes/) (MSc in AI, MSc in Data Science). She is actively involved in initiatives related to AI ethics, including being a member of the [High-level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence appointed by the National Commission for Bioethics and Technoethics](https://bioethics.gr/en/announcements-26/omada-empeirognwmonwn-gia-thn-texnhth-nohmosynh-3098) and being IEEE CertifAIEd AI Ethics Lead Assessor. She was the Special Secretary of the Hellenic Artificial Intelligence Society between 2023 and 2024. ### Sergio Imparato ![Portrait of Sergio Imparato](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/2026-09/Sergio-Imparato-Harvard.jpg) Sergio Imparato is a Lecturer in Government and Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Government at Harvard University. Imparato also teaches at Harvard Extension School, Harvard Summer School, and Harvard's Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Imparato's primary field of research explores the intersection of ethics, technology, and policy, with a particular emphasis on the ethical implications of emerging technologies in healthcare, artificial intelligence, and civics. Imparato is interested in how these advancements shape our understanding of human relationships, societal norms, and the future of governance. While at Harvard, Imparato was awarded many teaching awards and was chosen twice among the "12 best professors at Harvard" to give a lecture at "Harvard Lectures that Last." He is the recipient of the Harvard Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, the Harvard Certificate of Teaching Excellence, and the Dean's Commendation for Distinguished Teaching Performance. ## Accessibility The Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its events and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please email or call [(+30) 27520 47040](), in advance of your participation. Requests for accommodations should be made as far in advance as possible. We will explore each request on a case-by-case basis. However, please note that all services are subject to availability. See also:- [ CHS Greece at Harvard ](/activities-type/chs-greece-harvard) - [ Events & Conferences ](/activities-type/events-conferences) - [ Artificial Intelligence ](/activities-field/artificial-intelligence) - [ Humanities ](/activities-field/Humanities) - [ Open to all ](/target-audience/open-to-all) - [ Harvard Community ](/target-audience/harvard-community)