Join neuroscientist and physicist Kelly Clancy as she delves into our unrelenting fascination with games.

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This talk was recorded at the Ri on 15 June 2024.

Beyond mere entertainment, games serve as dynamic tools for learning about the world, understanding the intricacies of our minds, and even forecasting the future. But these insights beg the question: what happens when games blur the line between fiction and reality?

Kelly will trace the evolution of games since the Enlightenment, traversing diverse realms such as military theory, biology, AI, neuroscience and the evolving landscape of democracy.

From the influence of war games on the outcomes of actual conflicts in nineteenth and twentieth-century Europe to the transformative impact of game theory on our understanding of human behaviour, games have left an indelible mark. Discover their profound effects on all aspects of our society, from technology to economics and politics.

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00:00 Intro
3:20 The play instinct in humans and animals
8:44 How uncertainty and dopamine influence play
12:54 The history of gambling and chance
15:12 Probability theory and Blaise Pascal
21:54 Can we understand war through games?
30:41 Game theory as a branch of mathematics
36:33 Artificial intelligence and games
42:11 Gamifying reality and human behaviour
48:13 Using games to increase organ donation

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Kelly Clancy is an accomplished neuroscientist and physicist with an illustrious research career. She has been honored with fellowships from HFSP, EMBO, and the National Science Foundation, as well as receiving the prestigious Regeneron Prize for creative innovation in biomedicine. A recipient of the Branco Weiss Fellowship and the Berkeley Fellowship, Kelly's insightful writing has graced publications like Wired, The New Yorker, Nautilus, Utne Reader, Harper's Magazine, and the Massachusetts Review.
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