Do I actually need to worry about AI?

7:30PM Thursday 9 November 2017 The King's Arms
Who is right about AI: Elon Musk, who calls AI our biggest existential threat, or Mark Zuckerberg who thinks it's just naysayers drumming up doomsday scenarios? Well, as usual, it's a little bit more complicated than that.

In this talk, we'll look at the reasoning behind a 'superintelligence' takeoff scenario, and the arguments for various risks associated with AI. We'll consider both immediate, applied issues (such as algorithmic bias and autonomous weapons) as well as underlying theoretical challenges (such as value alignment and the control problem). We'll examine the media's treatment of AI, and why there is such disagreement in the field, even among respected experts.

Rosie Campbell is a research engineer working on AI projects at BBC R&D. She will soon begin a new role as Assistant Director of the Center for Human-Compatible AI at UC Berkeley, working with Professor Stuart Russell who literally wrote the book on AI.

Rosie's academic background is in Physics, Philosophy and Computer Science. She is co-founder of Manchester Futurists, a community group aiming to explore the implications of technological advancement on society. Rosie is an advocate of rationality, effective altruism, science and skepticism, and is passionate about the wise application of technology to shape a positive future.