On October 10, ISEG welcomes the author of the book
"Le Mythe de la Singularité: Faut-il craindre l'intelligence Artificielle?", Jean-Gabriel Ganascia.
The "Singularity" or "Technological Singularity" is one of the new buzzwords of contemporary futurology. It is what will happen when artificial intelligence exceeds that of humans. This trend, which will materialize in the coming decades, is proclaimed with great pomp by Silicon Valley technologists such as R. Kurzweil (project manager at Google!). On the other hand, some scientists and entrepreneurs, such as Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates, are concerned about this development, where humanity is expected to entrust decision-making power to machines. Jean-Gabriel Ganascia is trying to show that:
- The very term "artificial intelligence" is misused by promoters of the "Singularity", and that computer capabilities, however impressive, cannot manipulate such fearsome powers;
- Far from being new, the "Singularity" perspective recycles ancient gnostic and millennial ideologies, now wrapped in a techno-futuristic garb, and supported by the mercantilist strategies of multinational Information Technology companies.
The author, a leading expert in digitally mediated humanities, will speak about this critical essay, which has a great public impact.
Jean-Gabriel Ganascia is a professor at Pierre-et-Marie Curie University, where he conducts research on artificial intelligence. He is also chairman of the ethics committee of the CNRS and has published numerous books such as L'Âme machine, au Seuil (1990), Les Sciences cognitives, Le Pommier (2006), Voir et pouvoir: qui nous surveille?, Le Pommier (2009), Idées reçues sur l'intelligence artificielle: vers une domination programmée?, Le Cavalier bleu (2017).
The conference will also be attended by Professor Mário Caldeira (President of ISEG), Professor Almiro de Oliveira (ISEG and UCP-Porto), M. Vincent Brignol (Attaché for Scientific and University Cooperation of the French Embassy) and Artur Lopes Cardoso (translator of the book "Le Mythe de la Singularité".
The session starts at 17:30 in the Salão Nobre (Ed. Quelhas, 4th floor).
Free entry, subject to available places.
Register at
www.tinyurl.com/conf-lemythe
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