| Kooperation | DIGHUM lectures: Can we have pro-human AI?
13. Februar 2024
Zoom | meeting: 9638 9928 143, password: 0dzqxqiy

DIGHUM lectures: Can we have pro-human AI?

The initiative DIGHUM lectures started with regular online events to discuss the different aspects of Digital Humanism. The bidt and the TU Wien are cooperation partners for DIGHUM lecture series.


Speaker: Daron Acemoğlu (MIT Economics, USA)
Moderator: Moshe Y. Vardi (Rice University, USA)

This talk argues that advances in generative AI are compatible with a pro-human direction of future technology. This means, in particular, production technologies that increase the contribution of workers to productivity, and communication technologies that boost human agency and democratic participation. However, we are currently on a path leading in the opposite direction—anti-worker production technologies and anti-democratic communication technologies. This is both because of distorted incentives and priorities within the tech industry and also because of some of the architectural features of leading generative AI models. The talk concludes with some policy suggestions to help engineer a course correction towards pro-human AI.

About the Series

A roughly bi-weekly seminar offers presentations and panels from worldwide thought leaders. It is typically held on Tuesday afternoons at 17:00 CET.

The bidt and the TU Wien are cooperation partners for DIGHUM lecture series.

Digital Humanism deals with the complex relationship between man and machine. It acknowledges the potential of Informatics and IT. At the same time, it points to related apparent threats such as privacy violations, ethical concerns with AI, automation, and loss of jobs, and the ongoing monopolization on the Web.

For this reason, a new initiative — DIGHUM lectures — started with regular online events to discuss the different aspects of Digital Humanism.

We will have one or more speakers on a specific topic followed by a discussion, or panel discussions, depending on topic and speakers. The exact dates will be announced at least two weeks before.