Tuesday 7th May - 06:00 PM BST
Headline Debate: AI and the End of Humanity
What does it mean to be human?
Join IAI Live May TODAY, an online programme of debate, discussion, and discovery with the world's leading thinkers on the critical issues of our time taking place in our online festival venue. May's event, 'AI & the end of humanity' will be questioning what it really means to be human in the face of rapid AI development.
From sophisticated robots to the development of new drugs, artificial Intelligence is shaping our future in many sectors. The creation of original text and forms of art were once thought to be the select preserve of human being but the exponential development of AI is challenging these assumptions. An increasing number claim that AI threatens the very idea of what it is to be human.
A recent survey of more than 900 technology pioneers and policy leaders predicted AI would threaten human autonomy and agency, with over a third saying we would be worse off in the future. This fear is confirmed they argue by Musk's proposal that we should link our brains directly to machines.
Should we see AI as opening up an era of groundbreaking innovation, or does it foreshadow the loss of vital human attributes and independence? Does AI fundamentally challenge what it means to be human? Or is all the talk of its radical importance a sign that we have been taken in by the marketing hype of a enormously profitable industry, and humans not only remain very much in control but will continue to do so?
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Joscha Bach
Leading cognitive scientist
Joscha Bach is a trailblazing cognitive scientist who is pushing the limits of what we can achieve with Artificial Intelligence. As an AI researcher for MIT Media Lab and the Harvard Programme for Evolutionary Dynamics, he is constantly exploring new frontiers in cognitive architectures, mental representation, emotion, social modeling, and multi-agent systems. With a passionate mission to build a model of the mind that rivals the complexity and capability of the human brain, Bach is at the forefront of the creation of new AI systems.
Liv Boeree
Poker Champion & Philanthropist
Liv Boeree is an educator and researcher specializing in the intersection of game theory, technology and risk. She is also one of the UK's most successful poker players, winning multiple championship titles during her professional career. In 2014 she co-founded the charity movement Raising for Effective Giving, and today continues her work in the area as an ambassador for Longview Philanthropy. Liv also hosts the Win-Win Podcast.
Güneş Taylor
Molecular biologist and science communicator
Güneş Taylor is part of the Francis Crick Institute, the London-based biomedical research centre. As a molecular biologist she uses many cutting-edge technologies to understand how reproductive systems are built. Güneş is a highly experienced public speaker, who has interviewed Richard Dawkins, Yuval Harari, Slavoj Zizek, Robert Plomin, Simon Baron-Cohen and Lord Robert Winston.
Eliezer Yudkowsky
Influential AI safety researcher
Eliezer Yudkowsky founded the field of AI Safety and is one of the world's leading voices on AI alignment. As a co-founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and the founder of the Less Wrong rationalist community, he is one of the most outspoken people calling for an immediate halt to AI development.