D-CUBED. Artificial Intelligence: Threat or Opportunity? @ SECULAR SATURDAY

Artificial intelligence (AI) is in the news again, owing primarily to the impressive (scary?) performances of ChatGPT and other AI-based “chatbots.” But while corporations rush to develop and implement AI-based systems, and investors try to get in on the action, the recent advances in AI have reignited the doomsayers, some of whom warn that this technology poses an existential threat to humankind. What about all this? What is AI? Its major variants? What benefits and opportunities does it promise? What risks does it pose? Our discussion will address these and other questions.

D-Cubed (Discussion, Debate, and Dinner) is a bi-monthly gathering sponsored by HumanistsMN and hosted by Jerry Smith. This month’s discussion will take place in the live Saturday (D-Cubed) and on-line D-Squared (No dinner!) sessions. The same topics will be covered in each session and the discussions should be quite similar. Saturday’s discussion will be from 3:00 to 4:30, after which we will join other Secular Saturday attendees in the gallery for refreshments and socializing. If enough people are interested, we will repair to a nearby restaurant for dinner and further conversation.

To promote a thoughtful, informed discussion, we recommend that participants read some or all of the following in preparing for the event:

Overview of AI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

Applications and Benefits of AI: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2023/ai-jobs-workplace/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3976f65%2F641893a0e7f5585f19d65833%2F596d4a689bbc0f067a71f881%2F30%2F68%2F641893a0e7f5585f19d65833&wp_cu=ddaeea316564082acdb1845023713a0f%7CFC973076DA173FA5E040007F0100742C
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/technology/chatbots-explained.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20230302&instance_id=86649&nl=the-morning&regi_id=100443069&segment_id=126660&te=1&user_id=0f0bb98a080f20a1c200b6695b97e617

Limitations of AI: https://newrepublic.com/article/170855/artificial-intelligence-chatgpt-hype-kissinger?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tnr_daily
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/opinion/noam-chomsky-chatgpt-ai.html?campaign_id=39&emc=edit_ty_20230308&instance_id=87143&nl=opinion-today&regi_id=59247550&segment_id=127186&

Threats Posed by AI: https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/02/ai-chatgpt-microsoft-bing-chatbot-questions/673202/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/opinion/microsoft-bing-sydney-artificial-intelligence.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20230302&instance_id=86649
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23621198/artificial-intelligence-chatgpt-openai-existential-risk-china-ai-safety-technology

This event is sponsored by HumanistsMN. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining to help us cover our costs and build the humanist movement. Not ready to join? Donations are gratefully accepted! Join or donate at https://humanistsmn.org/

To register or comment on this event, view listing on Meetup.com.