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Understanding the AI Revolution: Risks Imagined and Real

When: Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Where: GO Jones Lecture Theatre, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End

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A series of three lectures will present the core ideas of Prof. Shalom Lappin's forthcoming book, Understanding Artificial Intelligence: Neither Catastrophe nor Redemption (Polity Books, 2025). The book is aimed at a general readership interested in exploring both the basic engineering concepts of current AI systems and the broader social issues they raise.  Whether you’re a computer scientist or someone intrigued by the social and economic impacts of the AI-driven technological revolution, this series offers insights that will be of interest to you.

 

Lecture 1 - The Roots of the Deep Learning Transformation, 15 October 2024 - 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

In this talk, Prof. Shalom Lappin provides a brief history of AI, tracing its origins from the immediate postwar period through the fluctuations in funding and support during the latter part of the past century, leading up to the current era of transformers and Large Language Models. He examines the diversity of methods and concepts that shaped earlier work in the field and tracks the factors that led to the dominance of deep neural networks across various applications and developments. Prof. Lappin will also illustrate the range of deep learning applications that are transforming the world in which we work and live.

Lecture 2 - Dangers Imagined and Real, 29 October 2024 - 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Prof. Shalom Lappin will consider some of the apocalyptic scenarios envisioned by various commentators as a consequence of the AI revolution. He will argue that these scenarios generally lack clear factual grounding in the actual capabilities of existing systems or those likely to emerge in the foreseeable future. However, he notes that current AI technology does create a variety of problems that pose acute dangers to our collective well-being. These issues are often underappreciated due to the focus on more dramatic but unlikely eventualities. Prof. Lappin will review methods that might be available or could be developed to address the real, as opposed to imagined, dangers of AI.

Lecture 3 - Towards a Rational Public Policy on AI, 12 November 2024 - 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Prof. Shalom Lappin discusses how current AI systems are primarily designed and supported by large tech companies. He addresses the recent debate on whether AI should be regulated to prevent harm and promote social benefit, which often focuses on how to regulate these companies. He explores various legislative regimes and regulatory mechanisms implemented in different countries, considering their motivations and effectiveness in achieving their stated objectives. Prof. Lappin emphasises that devising efficient methods to constrain tech companies for the public interest is a complex and challenging task. Successfully navigating this challenge is essential to our enjoying the benefits of AI technology while while mitigating its destructive effects. This constitutes a major challenge of the AI revolution.

About the SpeakerDr Shalom Lappin

Shalom Lappin is a Professor of Natural Language Processing in the School of Electronic Engineering at Queen Mary University of London. He is also Emeritus Professor of Computational Linguistics in the Department of Informatics at King's College London, and Scientific Researcher in the Centre for Linguistic Theory and Studies in Probability at University of Gothenburg. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, and a Member of the Academia Europaea. His research focuses on the application of machine learning to the representation and acquisition of natural language.

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