A Study of Contemporary problems

In this program--aimed at students in the hard sciences and policymakers at the intersection of science and politics--we hold discussions of an acute contemporary question over the course of a quarter.  The discussions culminate in a seminar in which judiciously chosen fundamental books, shedding light on the question, are discussed.

 There is much hope for what AI can do for human welfare and also much angst about the potential for AI to dehumanize and even destroy us. In this 90 minute web seminar, Bernhardt Trout, the Raymond F. Baddour, ScD, (1949) Professor of Chemical Engineering, MIT has teamed up with Svetozar Minkov, Professor of Philosophy at Roosevelt University, to offer this first ever web seminar on how to think about AI vs. true intelligence, and ramifications for society and human happiness. This will be a discussion-based web seminar via Zoom, in which we will explore the underlying engineering and philosophical issues regarding AI and their significance. Students will be expected to do the reading in advance and email a few study question responses in advance.

Readings:

Michael Jordan, “Artificial Intelligence—The Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet,” Medium, April, 2018

https://medium.com/@mijordan3/artificial-intelligence-the-revolution-hasnt-happened-yet-5e1d5812e1e7

Turing on Mind and the Turing Test

https://phil415.pbworks.com/f/TuringComputing.pdf

Descartes The World 

http://www.princeton.edu/~hos/mike/texts/descartes/world/worldfr.htm