Welcome to a new series of seminars under the theme: AI ETHICS at Chalmers. The series first speaker is Karim Jebari from the Swedish Institute for Futures Studies.
Welcome to a new series of seminars under the theme: AI ETHICS at Chalmers. The seminars are organised by the AI
Ethics Committee, within Chalmers AI Research Centre. The series' first speaker is Karim Jebari from the Swedish Institute for Futures Studies.
Abstract: An intelligent machine surpassing human intelligence across a wide
set of skills has been proposed as a possible existential catastrophe
(i.e., an event comparable in value to that of human extinction). Among
those concerned about existential risk related to Artificial
Intelligence (AI), it is common to assume that AI will not only be very
intelligent, but also be a general agent (i.e., an agent capable of
action in many different contexts).
This article explores the characteristics of machine agency, and
what it would mean for a machine to become a general agent.
In
particular, it does so by articulating some important differences
between belief and desire in the context of machine agency. One such
difference is that while an agent can by itself acquire new beliefs
through learning, desires need to be derived from preexisting desires or
acquired with the help of an external influence. Such influence could
be a human programmer or natural selection. We argue that to become a
general agent, a machine needs general desires, but general desires
cannot sui generis be derived from non-general desires. Thus, even
though general agency in AI could in principle be created, it cannot be
arrived at spontaneously by an endogenous process. In conclusion, we
argue that a common AI scenario, where general agency suddenly emerges
in a non-general agent AI, is not plausible.
Time: 10 September, 10:00-11:00
Place:
Lecture Hall Palmstedt, university building, Chalmersplatsen 2, Campus Johanneberg
Welcome! (no registration required)
About Karim Jebari
Karim Jebari is a researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies. He defended his
doctoral thesis in December 2014 at the Royal Institute of Technology
(KTH). The thesis is about applied ethics and in particular how we should
relate to the risks and opportunities of technological innovation.
Photo: Sara Moritz
About AI ETHICS at Chalmers
A new series of seminars highlighting ethical perspectives of artificial intelligence. The series will feature invited speakers and Chalmers researchers with the aim of cultivating an informed discussion on ethical issues. The seminars are organised by the AI Ethics Committee, within Chalmers AI Research Centre, CHAIR.
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