The philosophical questions raised and the practical solutions that can provide answers to their correct and ethical application artificial intelligence were at the center of the Lyceum Project conference, held yesterday, Thursday, June 20, at the Athens Conservatory.
Professors of Philosophy, Sociology and IT from around the world were present and gave their own answers and suggestions on the ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), while the Prime Minister also gave a greeting, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Mitsotakis focused on three main questions: the relationship between humans and machines, who is the brain behind a development, and the philosophical heritage and how it helps us understand complex work, but also the complex choices we have to make. .
One of the main parts of the conference was the discussion on the “White Paper” on Aristotelian Ethics in the application of artificial intelligence (White Paper on Aristotelian AI Ethics), by professors John Tasioulas and Josiah Ober.
According to professors, Aristotelian Ethics contains universal truths and offers a solid foundation for the challenges we face in relation to artificial intelligence.
The ideas
There are two main ideas from the two professors, which revolve around the concept of human good and Democracy. “The first thing we say is that AI must serve the ‘human good’. However, our view of what is defined as “human good” is very weak and is mainly based on consumer preferences. Aristotle gives us a richer definition of the human good, which includes practice and the capacity for rational thought,” Professor John Tassiolas, director of the Institute of Ethics and AI, told the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.) and professor of Moral and Legal Philosophy at the School of Philosophy, University of Oxford.
“The second is that the AI space is dominated by very powerful international actors who can decide the direction in which AI will be researched and developed. Therefore, it is Democracy that controls AI if it serves the human good,” he added.
As noted, it depends on how we choose to develop artificial intelligence whether its use will be pro-democracy. “Do we choose to develop it to turn people into zombies, to distract them online into buying things they don’t need, or do we use it to help us do things we need to do? In our work we say that perhaps we should revive Democracy, using the tools of artificial intelligence”, emphasized Mr. Tassiolas.
“We understand concerns that AI can be used to undermine democracy, but why not use it to strengthen democracy?”
However, Aristotelian Ethics must be viewed critically, creatively inserted into the public debate and adapted to the current technological reality.
“For artificial intelligence to be a tool, it must not take on human characteristics. It would be like creating new “slaves”. Even in this part, Aristotle can help us: his worst idea was that of “slaves of nature”, incapable of orienting themselves towards human good. Aristotle, therefore, also serves as a warning: If a philosopher as great as Aristotle cannot make his argument about the “slaves of nature” work, how are we going to do it?”, highlighted the Balliol College professor. , Oxford and holder of the “Konstantinos Mitsotakis” Chair at the Stanford University Josiah Obero School of Humanities and Sciences, specialized in the areas of Ancient and Modern Political Theory and Historical Institutionalism.
“Therefore, we should stop trying to create beings that will be fully human, because they will no longer be useful to us and we don’t know what use they will be to…themselves. It will no longer be a question of improving our own lives, we will have failed morally if we manage to make beings that we will use as slaves”, he explained and concluded: “The objective of developing intelligent artificial intelligence tools is the right path, but not to develop fully human beings.”
Introducing AiTHERION
As part of the conference, the AiTHERION program was also presented, which aims, through interactive exhibitions, educational programs and other initiatives, to function as a hub for reflection and public dialogue. “Informed by technology and ancient Greek philosophy, we have created an experiment that we hope will help develop a dialogue on the ethics of artificial intelligence,” said EKEFE-Demokritos postdoctoral researcher, head of “Artificial Intelligence for Culture.” and curator. by AiTHERION, Leda Arnellou.
AiTHERION has been installed at the Athens Conservatory and is expected to remain there for the next four years. “The experience happens through a script, Aithra is a digital entity, which tries to understand the way people think and make decisions, how values are measured, which is good”, observed Arnellou.
More than 3,000 visitors have already pondered ideas, interacted with others, created informal policy, engaged in argumentative dialogue, and made morally informed decisions around the question “What constitutes a good life?”
From theory to practice
In addition, the conference featured a panel discussion between leading professionals in the technical, commercial and regulatory areas of AI, addressing the issue of bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Professors Kostis Daskalakis (Professor of Computer Science, EECS and CSAIL, MIT), Alondra Nelson (Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, former Principal Deputy Director of the White House Office of Political Science and Technology), Yuval Shany (Hebrew University, Jerusalem/University of Oxford, former President of the UN Human Rights Commission) and Brendan McCord, Founder and President of the Cosmos Institute and Visiting Fellow of St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford discussed how each guides research so that man is in the center.
They made special reference to the part of the biases that can be transmitted to the data, on which the development of AI can be based, and to the issues of privacy and copyright.
It is noted that, at the same time, six young scholars with an interest in the Aristotelian Ethics of Artificial Intelligence presented their work, according to the call for finalist works of the Liceu Project. The day ended with an Interdisciplinary Youth Dialogue from diverse disciplines (Humanities, Arts and Sciences) accompanied by the experience of “In C”, a choreographic system by German choreographer Sasha Waltz, which is composed of 53 choreographic figures based on Terry’s open score Riley’s ‘In C’ written in 1964.
The conference was organized by the Institute of AI Ethics, in collaboration with Stanford University and the Greek National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”.
Naftemporiki.gr with information from APE-MPE