In 1955, John von Neumann published an article entitled Can we survive technology? Today, after a first phase of broad enthusiasm about the democratising value of digital platforms and emerging technologies, the key question seems to be rather "can we survive Artificial Intelligence (AI)?" and more precisely "will our democracies be resilient enough to AI?" This question will be addressed by Senior Fellow Helga Nowotny in the first Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Lecture with opening remarks by Prof Daniel Innerarity and comments by Prof Giovanni Sartor.
In the current era of rapid technological advancements and big data evolution, one important question revolves around whether the growing development and use of AI systems in all spheres of our private and social lives constitute a threat to our political systems. Will it radically change the way we govern ourselves in an AI-mediated society? Will algorithms rule us in the not so distant future?
Both techno-pessimists and techno-enthusiasts seem to share the idea that predictive algorithms could eventually replace democratic politics; but would this be possible? How ready are the new AI solutions to replace traditional institutions? What does it mean to have a democracy in an AI-mediated environment and, consequently, is it possible to democratise AI?
In her latest book In AI We Trust: Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms , former President of the European Research Council, Professor Emeritus of Science and Technology Studies at ETH Zurich, and Senior Fellow of the Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Helga Nowotny offers several clues to approach these questions that she will share during this presentation.
The lecture will be followed by drinks in the courtyard of Palazzo Buontalenti.
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Further, Helga Nowotny will discuss her publication in a joint book presentation with Daniel Innerarity (STG Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Democracy; author of "Una teoria della democrazia complessa. Governare nel XXI secolo"), and Fabrizio Tassinari (Executive Director of the School of Transnational Governance, author of "La stella polare. Dispacci dal futuro del buongoverno’’). The event, "Il Futuro della Democrazia e del Buongoverno nella Complessita dei Sistemi di Intelligenza Artificiale", "), organised by the Chair of AI and Democracy, will take place on Wednesday, 18 January 2023 at 18.30 at Libreria Malaparte (Via dell'Agnolo, 30/r, Florence). Registration is not required.