6:00–7:30 pm online
The Humanities Division Spring Salon Series presents
Speech and the Soul: Language, Artificial Intelligence, and the Mind
Hey, Siri, do you think?
In recent years, we have seen the rise of language models such as GPT-3 or digital assistants like Alexa or Siri that appear to use language in ways similar to humans. These and other developments in artificial intelligence raise profound questions about the nature of the human mind and cognition that have long been subject to intense debate. In this Dean’s Salon, Allyson Ettinger, assistant professor in linguistics; Sanjay Krishnan, assistant professor in computer science; David Schloen, professor in Near Eastern languages and civilizations; and Malte Willer, associate professor in philosophy, discuss what artificial intelligence can and cannot tell us about what it is to be human.