Philosophy in Pubs, Oxford

Might Artificial Intelligence dispense with humans?

***

Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, the ‘godfather of artificial intelligence’ believes there is a 10-20% chance that AI will cause human extinction within 30 years. Most of the CEOs of AI companies (eg Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, Elon Musk) have given higher figures and shorter timeframes. Some whistle blowers and former AI insiders believe that the risk is greater than 50% and that we are probably heading for the apocalypse. Others inside and outside the industry dismiss these claims as woefully and dangerously alarmist. But even if the risks are exaggerated, it is worth bearing in mind that nobody would dream of boarding a plane which had a 1% risk of crashing, or even a 0.1% risk that nobody would survive the journey.
Disagreements are monumental. They are not only about the seriousness of the risk and about what should be done about it, but about the nature of the problem. There is no agreement about the very nature of artificial intelligence. Is it intelligent, is it conscious, is it sentient, does it have agency, can it act independently, could it have feelings, might it have rights, can it be securely aligned with human values, could it be malevolent, should we be nice to it, can we ever hope to control it, how will we relate to something which is enormously more intelligent than we are? To a considerable extent these are philosophical questions. Indeed philosophical questions may never have had such practical relevance. The enormity and intractability of the issue may mean that philosophy itself gets a brand upgrade, at any rate if it shows signs of being able to answer some of these questions.
If you come to the Britannia Inn on October 7th you may not find many answers. You should though have an interesting evening, and it is possible that you will improve your understanding of the most serious issue ever to face humanity,

Anyone can attend this session. No experience in philosophy or knowledge of the subject is required in advance. Just come along and enjoy. Our events use the the 4Cs of community philosophy:

• Caring for others, making space for their contributions
• Collaborating to get a better mutual understanding rather than scoring points
• Critically assessing what we say, clarifying what is meant and asking what reasons support assertions
• Creatively coming up with alternative perspectives, rather than dogmatically sticking to our initial positions

Topic to be confirmed.

***

PiPs is part of a national movement to encourage people to think about some of the 'big ideas' in life. No expertise necessary, only the desire to do what Wittgenstein described as 'untangling the knots in the way we think about things'.

It is a collective activity, not a debating club.
Everyone attending, and there is often a wide range of people present, is encouraged to listen to and engage with the topic. We hope it is fun and provides plenty of food for thought.
The organisers are trying to find ways to collect money from attendees towards the costs of running the sessions, mostly the costs of using this Meetup site. One of the organisers has something on their phone that can take payments. Suggested amount? Just a few quid now and again for regulars. For anyone turning up for the first time, it's free.

We follow the 'four C's' to manage sessions. These are -

• Caring for others, making space for their contributions
• Collaborating to get a better mutual understanding rather than scoring points
• Critically assessing what we say, clarifying what is meant and asking what reasons support assertions
• Creatively coming up with alternative perspectives, rather than dogmatically sticking to our initial positions

Topic to be confirmed.

***

Anyone can attend this session. No experience in philosophy or knowledge of the subject is required in advance. Just come along and enjoy. Our events use the the 4Cs of community philosophy:

• Caring for others, making space for their contributions
• Collaborating to get a better mutual understanding rather than scoring points
• Critically assessing what we say, clarifying what is meant and asking what reasons support assertions
• Creatively coming up with alternative perspectives, rather than dogmatically sticking to our initial positions

We welcome everyone of a wide range of ages, social and educational backgrounds etc. Don't worry if you don't have a qualification in philosophy - almost no-one does. Occasionally, attendees will be asked to watch, read or listen to a short piece of material in advance of the session (as the 'stimulus' for discussion), but this will be minimal and will be made clear in the description of the session.

We ask for donations of £1 per session from those who can afford to pay to cover the costs of the Meetup subscription. First timers are exempt. Don't feel obliged to pay if you can't afford it - or pay less. Feel free to put £5 to cover five sessions or however you want to donate - this is left entirely up to you.

Topic to be confirmed.

***

PiPs is part of a national movement to encourage people to think about some of the 'big ideas' in life. No expertise necessary, only the desire to do what Wittgenstein described as 'untangling the knots in the way we think about things'.

It is a collective activity, not a debating club.
Everyone attending, and there is often a wide range of people present, is encouraged to listen to and engage with the topic. We hope it is fun and provides plenty of food for thought.
The organisers are trying to find ways to collect money from attendees towards the costs of running the sessions, mostly the costs of using this Meetup site. One of the organisers has something on their phone that can take payments. Suggested amount? Just a few quid now and again for regulars. For anyone turning up for the first time, it's free.

We follow the 'four C's' to manage sessions. These are -

• Caring for others, making space for their contributions
• Collaborating to get a better mutual understanding rather than scoring points
• Critically assessing what we say, clarifying what is meant and asking what reasons support assertions
• Creatively coming up with alternative perspectives, rather than dogmatically sticking to our initial positions