MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Event

Jan 23, 2024
Artificial Intelligence and the Second Inflection

Extremist discourse around the future potential of artificial intelligence illustrates an ignorance not only of its scientific bases, but more importantly of the history of human society, which has long been characterised by our innovations of intelligence prosthetics. Here I provide brief primers on the sciences of computation, cooperation, and the evolution of language. I then trace the present sustainability crises to a first inflection that looks very much like the "intelligence explosion" some anticipate as creating a coming of an AI "singularity." I situate this first inflection about 10,000 years ago with the origin of writing. Finally I discuss the potential that we can deploy the AI tools of the present era to help us negotiate a second inflection to a sustainable socio-political economy.

Biography

  • Joanna Bryson
    Joanna Bryson

    Joanna J Bryson is an academic recognised for broad expertise on intelligence, its nature, and its consequences. Holding two degrees each in psychology and AI (BA Chicago, MSc & MPhil Edinburgh, PhD MIT), Bryson is since 2020 the Professor of Ethics and Technology at Hertie School in Berlin, where she is a founding member of the Centre for Digital Governance. From 2002-2019 she was Computer Science faculty at the University of Bath; she has also been affiliated with Harvard Psychology, Oxford Anthropology, The Mannheim Centre for Social Science Research, The Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, and the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy. Bryson advises governments, corporations, and NGOs globally, particularly on AI policy. Her research has appeared in venues ranging from reddit to Science. It presently focuses on the impacts of technology on human societies and cooperation, and improving governance of AI and digital technology.

Organizer(s)
Address
MPIWG, Boltzmannstraße 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Room
Main Conference Room
Contact and Registration

This event is open to all and also accessible via Zoom.
Please register at the following link: https://eu02web.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/u5YqdeuqrjwuEtIBlX0ZRIbsdNs9qIoOnHWu

 

2024-01-23T14:00:00SAVE IN I-CAL 2024-01-23 14:00:00 2024-01-23 15:30:00 Artificial Intelligence and the Second Inflection Extremist discourse around the future potential of artificial intelligence illustrates an ignorance not only of its scientific bases, but more importantly of the history of human society, which has long been characterised by our innovations of intelligence prosthetics. Here I provide brief primers on the sciences of computation, cooperation, and the evolution of language. I then trace the present sustainability crises to a first inflection that looks very much like the "intelligence explosion" some anticipate as creating a coming of an AI "singularity." I situate this first inflection about 10,000 years ago with the origin of writing. Finally I discuss the potential that we can deploy the AI tools of the present era to help us negotiate a second inflection to a sustainable socio-political economy. Biography Joanna Bryson Joanna J Bryson is an academic recognised for broad expertise on intelligence, its nature, and its consequences. Holding two degrees each in psychology and AI (BA Chicago, MSc & MPhil Edinburgh, PhD MIT), Bryson is since 2020 the Professor of Ethics and Technology at Hertie School in Berlin, where she is a founding member of the Centre for Digital Governance. From 2002-2019 she was Computer Science faculty at the University of Bath; she has also been affiliated with Harvard Psychology, Oxford Anthropology, The Mannheim Centre for Social Science Research, The Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, and the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy. Bryson advises governments, corporations, and NGOs globally, particularly on AI policy. Her research has appeared in venues ranging from reddit to Science. It presently focuses on the impacts of technology on human societies and cooperation, and improving governance of AI and digital technology. MPIWG, Boltzmannstraße 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany Main Conference Room Yishu MaoDieu Linh Bui Dao Yishu MaoDieu Linh Bui Dao Europe/Berlin public