Artificial Intelligence is achieving evermore impressive milestones, but it is often confusing to orient between the media hype and the reality of what technology can actually do. Recently, a Google engineer sparked controversy by claiming that the chatbot he was working with (LaMDA) had become sentient. He arrived at this conclusion because of the program’s supposed relational abilities and apparent interest in God, redemption, and existential concerns. Is spirituality something uniquely human, or could advanced AI someday become self-aware and even religious? If that were the case, how would we even measure it? What societal implications would such a scenario entail? We'll tackle all these fascinating questions in a one- day interdisciplinary workshop at VU Amsterdam by bringing together international experts in AI, philosophy, ethics, and religion.
When: Monday, 12 December, 900 - 1700
Where: VU Amsterdam Faculty of Medicine, Room D-665
Who:
Dr. Pim Haselager, Professor of Philosophy (Societal Implications of AI), Donders Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen
From angels to artificial agents? AI as a mirror for human (im)perfections
Dr. Jordan Joseph Wales, Associate Professor of Theology at Hillsdale College (US)
Minders, swordsmen, and sextoys: Medieval theology and the apparently personal robot
Dr. Lily Frank, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Ethics at TU Eindhoven
Life with pious robots: Exploring the ethical terrain
Dr. Marius Dorobantu, Research Associate Theology & AI, Faculty of Religion & Theology, VU Amsterdam
Could robots become spiritually intelligent?
Attendance: FREE (no registration required)