The Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute has announced the six recipients of its 2022 Berggruen China Center Fellows.

The fellows will serve at the Berggruen Research Center at Peking University in Beijing and investigate questions raised by new understandings and capabilities in science and technology, exploring their implications for philosophy and other areas of study. Fellows at the China Center meet monthly with the institute’s Los Angeles-based fellows to provide an opportunity for cross-cultural dialogue.

The China Center Fellows include Peking University professor Chenjian Li, who is considering the philosophical and ethical considerations of gene editing technology; Haidan Chen, associate professor of medical ethics and law at the School of Health Humanities at Peking University, who will explore the social implications of brain/computer interface technologies in China; Xiaoli Liu, professor of philosophy at Renmin University of China, who is studying philosophical issues arising from the intersections of psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and art; Jianqiao Ge, lecturer at the Academic for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (AAIS) at Peking University, who is investigating the impact of artificial intelligence on the human brain; Xianglong Zhang, professor of philosophy at Peking University, whose work explores the interplay between literary culture and the development of technology; and Xiaoping Chen, director of the robotics laboratory at the University of Science and Technology of China, who is developing a new concept for describing innovation that draws from Daoist, Confucianist, and ancient Greek philosophical traditions.

“Amid the pandemic, climate change, and the rest of the severe challenges of today, our fellows are surmounting linguistic and cultural barriers to imagine positive futures for all people,” said Bing Song, director of the China Center and vice president of the Berggruen Institute. “Dialogue and shared understanding are crucial if we are to understand what today’s breakthroughs in science and technology really mean for the human community and the planet we all share.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images / 1971yes)