The Future of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is attracting a lot of attention both from industry and from the media. But what can today's AI really do?

The idea that human history is approaching a “singularity”—that ordinary humans will someday be overtaken by artificially intelligent machines or cognitively enhanced biological intelligence, or both—has moved from the realm of science fiction to serious debate.

Some singularity theorists predict that if the field of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop at its current dizzying rate, the singularity could come about in the middle of the present century.

Murray Shanahan, Professor of Cognitive Robotics at Imperial College London, graduated from Imperial with a First in computer science in 1984 and obtained his PhD in computer science from Cambridge University (King's College) in 1988. Since then he has carried out extensive work in artificial intelligence, robotics, and cognitive science.

His publications span artificial intelligence, robotics, logic, dynamical systems, computational neuroscience, and philosophy of mind. His book "The Technological Singularity" was published by MIT Press in 2015.

He has been on Radio 4, Radio 5, Channel 4, and on the BBC's 6 o'clock news, 10 o'clock news, and Breakfast Time. He has appeared at the Cheltenham Science Festival (twice), the World Science Festival (New York), and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, and his work has featured in Focus magazine and (several times) in New Scientist.
In this lecture, discover and debate the current understanding of long-term implications for humanity of AI technology.

Main image courtesy of Universal Pictures International and DNA Films.

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