They call him a modern-day Einstein, a genius of computer science, he is a professor at MIT and at just 27 years old he solved the Nash puzzle of game theory, an unsolved problem for decades of Nobel Prize-winning economist John Nash, whose life was made into a film a few years ago starring Russell Crowe and entitled "A Wonderful Man.".
After graduating with honors from the National Technical University of Athens, Konstantinos Daskalakis went to America for a master's degree at Berkley, worked for just 1 year at Microsoft and left to pursue an academic and research career at the most famous university in the field of Information Technology, MIT.
We asked the 31-year-old Konstantinos Daskalakis to answer a few questions ahead of his long-awaited speech the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, in Athens, at The Hub Events – Science, entitled: From Information to Informatics.
Interview with Irini Nikolopoulou and eirinika.gr
– When you solve the Nash puzzle before you turn 30, life becomes more interesting and what do you want to do next? You who have focused your research since then?
The life of a researcher is exciting. When you solve a problem, you open a door that opens up many new paths of exploration. Life at MIT is intense, with many responsibilities but also the privilege of interacting with the most intelligent people in the world. My previous research found the inadequacy of economic theory for studying the Internet. What I am burning with now is finding the right theory.
– After Steve Jobs who "left" and Bill Gates who is - he says - less involved with the internet, are there new "heads" in the IT field for you and who are they?
I consider Jobs and Gates to be very important businessmen. However, the Internet is more "democratic". Innovation comes from below. For example, we don't know who created Bitcoin, the new Internet currency.
-What will you tell us on Wednesday? Do you know that your bright path in itself creates optimism and gives wings to the young and the old? What would you like to say to them to encourage them besides the "special speech"? Do you know that everyone will be hanging on your lips..
On Wednesday I will talk about the role of algorithms in the complex world that surrounds us: information overload, the Internet, global markets. Greece has talents. I don't mean those of television shows. We need to discover our dynamism in the global environment that the Internet is partly setting up around us. But who are our patients in this? Is it our politicians or our academics?
– Like all loves, so too with internet love, now that time has passed, everyone is only talking about how personal data is affected in this. How do you see the future in this sensitive sector?
It would be a shame if one of the greatest discoveries of the last century did not involve risks. We need to see how we can protect ourselves from them. Technology, education, and public debate will provide the solutions. I will try to describe technological solutions in my speech. The future will be exciting, however.
– What do your foreign students ask you about Greece, Mr. Daskalakis?
My students ask me about Greek history, Greek ideals, the sun and the sea.
– When you talk about Crete, what do you say and what do you miss about your beautiful, strange, special homeland? What do you take with you to America from the island?
Although I grew up in Athens, a large part of my identity includes Cretan characteristics. I miss a lot from Crete: the place, the sea, the mountains, but most of all the people. I will tell you just one mantra: Leventia is a grief that bleeds, my god, and how the one who has it endures it.
– What do you dream of, Mr. Daskalakis? How do you see yourself in a few years? Do you love family? How would you introduce a child to the internet?
I feel like a servant of science and my dream is the advancement of human knowledge. I am not moved by material dreams. I want to have a family. By then, the Internet will be so intertwined with our lives that children will not need any introduction to it. Our clothes will be on the Internet, our coffee mug will be on the Internet, our car will be on the Internet (if it is not already).
– When you're not studying math, when you're not on your computer, what are you doing? What relaxes such a complex, intricate mind like yours?
My ideal rest is relaxing in the sunlight with a literary book in hand or a favorite song in my ear, a theater performance on a Saturday night, a movie, a walk on the beach at sunset.
– Why did you say no to Microsoft? How can you refuse a giant? Was it overconfidence or another life project?
Where would I find a better environment for my scientific pursuits than academia? And especially that of MIT?
– The question of the speech: We are bombarded daily with news and data. But how can we compare the information content of the data? Are there news items that contain more “information” than others? What is information and how is it measured? Please give a very brief answer.
Without wanting to get into technicalities, the information content of a news item is related to how much the news item was expected. For example, the announcement that “it will be cold tomorrow” carries less information than the announcement that “so-and-so minister was bribed.” I will talk about the role of algorithms in information processing.
– I know you admire Cavafy. This year, all of Greece adored him on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth. Which poem of his would you honor him with?
On my website I have Satrapy as my life compass.
"The Hub Events" and Nikolas Protonotarios continue for the third year the series of scientific lectures entitled "Hub Science", with the aim of presenting the natural and social sciences in a fascinating and understandable way and introducing the audience to their magical but possibly misunderstood world.
On Wednesday, January 8, 2014, at 8:00 PM, we invite you to the fourth Hub Science meeting of the year, during which the lecture of MIT professor Konstantinos Daskalakis on the topic "From Information to Informatics" will take place.
From information to Informatics
We are bombarded daily with news and data. But how can we compare the information content of data? Are there news items that contain more “information” than others? What is information and how is it measured? What is the role of computer science and algorithms in a world where information bombards us incessantly?
Konstantinos Daskalakis
Konstantinos Daskalakis is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and a member of CSAIL at the same university. He studied at the School of Electrical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, and received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, under the supervision of Professor Christos Papadimitriou. Before teaching at MIT, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft.
K. Daskalakis became particularly well-known when, in 2009, he received the award for the best doctoral thesis of the year from the Association for Computer Science (ACM). In his thesis, “The Complexity of Nash Equilibria”, Daskalakis showed that for some complex systems, finding the Nash equilibrium point is computationally infeasible. With this work, he answered an algorithmic question that had remained unanswered since 1950, that is, since the time when John Forbes Nash (Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 1994) posed it.
Free admission
The Hub Events (Alkminis 5, Petralona Square, Kerameikos metro station)
Wednesday, January 8, 2014, 8:00 PM
Information
tel.: 210-3411009 e-mail: info@thehubevents.gr website: www.thehubevents.gr https://www.facebook.com/events/574560535947663/
