Abstract: Can AI systems such as ChatGPT think? This paper presents an argument from rationality for the negative answer to this question. The argument is founded on two central ideas. The first is that if ChatGPT thinks, it is not rational, in the sense that it does not respond correctly to its evidence. The second …
Abstract: LLMs have dramatically improved in capabilities in recent years. This raises the question of whether LLMs could become genuine agents with beliefs and desires. This paper demonstrates an in principle limit to LLM agency, based on their architecture. LLMs are next word predictors: given a string of text, they calculate the probability that various …
Date: November 15, 2024 (Friday) Speaker: Dr Raphael Milliere, Macquarie University in Sydney Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Abstract: Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have been largely driven by deep learning. However, deep neural networks (DNNs) are often characterized as inscrutable “black boxes”: while we can study their performance on various tasks, we …
Date: December 9-10, 2024 (Monday, Tuesday) Time: 09:30 – 16:30 Venue: CPD-3.04, Run Run Shaw Tower, HKU Registration: here Alien Contents and Alien Metasemantics (with Prof Herman Cappelen) Prof Joshua Dever, University of Texas at Austin Aliens, Octopuses, and Robots, Again Prof Lawrence Shapiro, University of Wisconsin-Madison Aliens, Octopuses, and Robots, Again Prof Thomas Polger, University of Cincinnati What remains …
Date: November 1, 2024 (Friday) Speaker: Michael Frank, Founder and CEO, Seldon Strategies and 2430 Fellow, 2430 Group Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Abstract: In the artificial intelligence era, national governments are going to great lengths to support their domestic AI ecosystems. But how much can governments actually achieve? In this talk, titled “Strategic …
Strategic Determinism: the Limitations of Governments in Shaping AI Development Read More »
Date: November 8, 2024 (Friday) Speaker: Dr Sean Donahue, Australian National University Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Abstract: Political philosophers have long been concerned with how to avoid state tyranny, the condition of governments having arbitrary power over citizens. A standard response is that avoiding tyranny requires making power holders conform to …
Platform Tyranny, Rule of Law, and Virtual Community Read More »
Date: October 28, 2024 (Monday) Speaker: Prof Carlos Montemayor , San Francisco State University Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Abstract: The two prevailing paradigms of artificial intelligence, based on symbolic systems and neural networks, need further refinements in order to qualify as general artificial intelligence. I will argue that the best way to …
Date: September 17, 2024 (Tuesday) Speaker: Prof David Plunkett , Dartmouth College Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Abstract: Consider the following three familiar philosophical issues: the nature of consciousness; what distributive justice requires; and what constitutes knowledge. These issues – as well as countless others throughout many subareas of philosophy – are …
Date: September 20, 2024 (Friday) Speaker: Dr Adam Bales, University of Oxford Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Abstract: At some future point, AI systems could come to deserve moral consideration, in much the way that humans do now. It will be tempting to design these systems as willing servants, who vacuum, shop, …
Date: October 17, 2024 (Thursday) Speaker: Dr Alice Wong, Chapman University Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Abstract: This talk explores the philosophical implications of simulating algorithms, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence and its relationship to biological cognition. I begin with a brief examination of the nature of simulating (implemented) algorithms, …