We now live in a world where computational machines built by humans are learning to speak natural human languages in ways that allow them to generate original and convincing forms of communication. This means they now pass the test articulated by one of the fathers of modern computing, Alan Turing, for ascribing the capacity to think to machines. Computers also now exceed human intelligence in a wide variety of domains, for instance, reading medical diagrams, managing electronic communication and commerce, playing chess and go, guiding weapons… And there is no reason to expect that machine intelligence won’t continue to grow at an exponential rate, especially if computers (which currently already train themselves to learn new tasks) become better than humans at programming themselves to learn (designing more sophisticated neural nets or new architectures of cognition) and designing their own hardware. Does all of this mean that we are entering the era of thinking machines? To answer this question, we need to be clear about what we humans mean by thinking and how much the truly impressive capacities of machines to learn and solve problems reflects something akin to human thought. In other words, current developments in AI solicit an investigation that integrates philosophy and psychology, alongside cognitive, brain and computer science. Further, to the extent that the potential take-off of machine intelligence makes it prudent to anticipate the arrival of artificial general super-intelligence (i.e., intelligence across a wide range of domains that exceeds human intelligence) in the current century, practical questions concerning the regulation of the use and control of this technology also require urgent attention.

In this course, we will discuss these wide-ranging issues from various perspectives, in part by addressing classical and contemporary scholarship in philosophy of mind and ethics, cognitive, brain and computer science, and various policy proposals for the regulation of AI. Given the broad ranging nature of the relevant material, I will also bring in conversation partners with specialized expertise in various topics to discuss these themes. Finally, rather than attempting to tackle all of this in six consecutive weeks, this course will be structured with two consecutive classes per month, followed by a break to digest and recover, and then two more classes over each of the following two months. The classes will occur on Sundays in July, August and September, and recordings will be available for anyone who is not able to participate live in any session (or who want to ponder the material covered for a second time). The broad outline for topics to be covered includes two classes on our best efforts to understand the nature of the life of the human mind (July), two classes on the nature of and prospects for the growth of machine intelligence (August), and two classes on different scenarios for interaction between human and machine intelligence and proposals for norms and policies with the best prospects to make this interaction as ethical, safe and mutually beneficial as possible. A detailed outline, including invited guest experts, will be made available as soon as possible.

Part I: How Humans Think: Philosophical & Psychological Perspectives the Nature and Value of Cognitive Life:

• Session 1: Probing the Mysteries of the Mind: Philosophical Explorations of Consciousness (Sunday, July 23, 2023. 2PM to 4PM EST -11AM to 1PM PST-)
• Session 2: Journey into the Depths of Human Cognition: Psychology Seeks Secrets of Mind and Thought (Sunday, July 30, 2023. 2PM to 4PM EST -11AM to 1PM PST-)

Part II: What Machines are Doing When They Think, How It Differs, & Why that Matters—Technological and Philosophical Perspectives:

• Session 3: From Silicon to Singularity: Exploring the Growth and Potential of Machine Intelligence (Sunday, August 20, 2023. 2PM to 4PM EST -11AM to 1PM PST-)
• Session 4: The Rise of Super-intelligent Machines: How Sharing the World with AI Will Reshape the Human Condition (Sunday, August 27, 2023. 2PM to 4PM EST -11AM to 1PM PST-)

Part III: The Life of the Mind in the Age of Intelligent Machines: Anticipating Benefits and Challenges of the Loss of Our Dominance

• Session 5: Bridging the Gap: Ethical and Safe Interactions Between Humans and Machines (Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023. 2PM to 4PM EST -11AM to 1PM PST-)
• Session 6: Crafting a Future of Harmony: Forging Ethical Guidelines for Human-Machine Cooperation (Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. 2PM to 4PM EST -11AM to 1PM PST-)

[Non-refundable and non-transferable]