Join Us for a Kluge Center Author Salon with Susan Schneider on Artificial Intelligence

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On Thursday January 30, at 4pm in the Montpelier Room of the Madison Building, the John W. Kluge Center will hold a discussion with Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation Susan Schneider.

Schneider will discuss her new book, Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind, which is an exploration of what artificial intelligence can, and cannot, achieve.

Humans may not be Earth’s most intelligent beings for much longer: the world champions of chess, Go, and Jeopardy! are now all AIs. Given the rapid pace of progress in AI, many predict that it could advance to human-level intelligence within the next several decades. From there, it could quickly outpace human intelligence. What do these developments mean for the future of the mind?

In Artificial You, Susan Schneider says that it is inevitable that AI will take intelligence in new directions, but urges that it is up to us to carve out a sensible path forward. As AI technology turns inward, reshaping the brain, as well as outward, potentially creating machine minds, it is crucial to beware. Homo sapiens, as mind designers, will be playing with “tools” they do not understand how to use: the self, the mind, and consciousness. Schneider argues that an insufficient grasp of the nature of these entities could undermine the use of AI and brain enhancement technology, bringing about the demise or suffering of conscious beings. To flourish, we must grasp the philosophical issues lying beneath the algorithms.

Schneider will discuss these topics and more, with a reception to follow.

The event is free, but tickets are recommended. Visit the event ticketing site for more information and to secure your ticket. Entry is not guaranteed.

Register for a ticket here.

Questions? Please contact (202) 707-9219 or scholarly@loc.gov