CAMDEN — Over the coming months, the Camden Philosophical Society will be delving into ethical and philosophical issues raised by generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). The introductory August session, Tuesday, Aug. 20, will focus on the varying definitions applied to terms used in discussing AI, and also on the practical and ethical concerns raised by the different modes of advanced AI and their likely future combination. 

The Society’s Aug. 20 meeting will, as usual, be a hybrid gathering from 3:30-5:30 p.m. EDT. All are welcome to participate, in-person at the Picker Room of the Camden Public Library, or by Zoom. That goes for summer visitors, as well as year-rounders in Maine, and friends of the society wherever you may be, according to the Society, in a news release. No formal background in philosophy is required.

If you wish to participate via Zoom, please email in advance to sarahmiller@usa.net. You will receive a Zoom invitation on the day of the meeting. Click on the “Join Zoom Meeting” link in that invitation at the time of the event.

While background knowledge isn’t required, advance reading on the topic helps in getting the most out of the discussion. The first core reading for this session will be a New Yorker article by Cal Newport titled  “Can an A.I. Make Plans?” It discusses the skill sets and potentials of different modes of generative AI, including the large language models (LLM) used in ChatGPT, as well as more predictive modes so far used primarily in targeted programs such as those for driving, playing chess and other complex games.

The article can be found at this link https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-artificial-intelligence/can-an-ai-make-plans. It is dated March 15, 2024.  

The Society also encourages attendees to check out a “briefing” tool on AI terminology from the World Economic Forum (Davos). It allows you to drill down in various directions: https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1G0X000006DO7RUAW?utm_source=ed75b345-f6ec-4412-8191-31e01ec50155

On the impact side, the Society’s core reading is the transcript of a debate between Yann Le Cun, a director of AI research at Facebook and professor at NYU; and Yuval Noah Harari, author of best-sellers Sapiens and Homo Deus. It appeared in French magazine Le Point. Le Cun extols the potential for AI, even while conceding some of the concerns voiced by Harari, who is in the camp of commentators who warn of extreme danger to humanity from this technology.

The article can be found at this link: https://www.lepoint.fr/sciences-nature/yuval-harari-sapiens-versus-yann-le-cun-meta-on-artificial-intelligence-11-05-2023-2519782_1924.php#11 It is dated May 14, 2023.

Participants are encouraged to supplement that by reading a piece by Australian philosopher and Fellow in the Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI, Seth Lazar, on ”Frontier AI Ethics” https://aeon.co/essays/can-philosophy-help-us-get-a-grip-on-the-consequences-of-ai  and/or listening to one or both of these recorded interviews with British/Canadian computer scientist, psychologist, and University of Toronto professor Geoffrey Hinton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrvK_KuIeJk (13 minutes duration from “60 Minutes”); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpoRO378qRY (More in-depth, from CBS).

The Camden Philosophical Society was founded in 2005. We hold a reading and discussion group on the third Tuesday of each month at 4 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend, in-person at the Camden Public Library or via Zoom.