Thinking AI Through the Lens of 20th Century Philosophy: Hannah Arendt
A three-hour seminar led by Audrey Borowski
Dear all,
I am excited to announce that Audrey Borowski, who many of you will know from her fantastic events series “AI and the Digital”, has generously agreed to host a three-hour seminar next month on the topic of “Thinking AI Through the Lens of 20th Century Philosophy: Hannah Arendt”. All details below. I’d imagine all places for this will go pretty quickly, so sign up now!
Thinking AI Through the Lens of 20th Century Philosophy: Hannah Arendt
Sat 23 Nov 2024, 9am-12pm ET/2pm-5pm UK
Online, Zoom
"Total power can be achieved and safeguarded only in a world of conditioned reflexes, of marionettes without the slightest trace of spontaneity."
In this three-hour online seminar, we will probe the nature and effects of the digital age and the algorithmization of society through the lens of Hannah Arendt’s thought and writings. The 20th-century German philosopher’s work – and in-depth study of totalitarianism – lends itself particularly well to analyzing how, in the algorithmic age, we are rendered ‘superfluous’, stripped of our subjectivity and even our ability to think. Algorithmic systems exert a devastating hold: mechanizing language, making us beholden to digital signals and temporality, and funnelling us further down the rabbit hole of algorithmic complexity and isolation. Crucially, they undermine democracy by favouring ideological propaganda over traditional political processes.
Seminar Leader: Dr Audrey Borowski is a Research Fellow on a project entitled 'Desirable Digitization: Rethinking AI for Just and Sustainable Futures' between the Universities of Bonn and Cambridge. Her research lies at the intersection of philosophy and the study of the digital world. She received her D.Phil from the University of Oxford, and her first book, Leibniz in His World: The Making of a Savant, will be published next month.
Date and time: Saturday 23 November 2024 at 9 am ET / 2 pm UK / 3 pm CET / 7:30 pm IST
Booking details: The registration fee is £30 for paying Patreon members, regular donors, and print subscribers. £50 for all other participants. A limited number of free places are available for those who cannot afford to pay. If you wish to be considered, please write to us at: thephilosopher1923@gmail.com. Free spaces will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
You can register for this seminar here.
I’d love to attend but maybe I don’t wake up at 3am Australian Eastern Daylight Time and the free ticket I could hope to use might have been better off for someone who is more local thus more chance of being awake at the time.