There’s been much talk about AI disrupting the job market and enabling new weapons, but very few scientists talk seriously about the elephant in the room: what will happen once machines outsmart us at all tasks?
That’s the topic of this exiting public lecture and why Prof Tegmark wrote his book “Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”. This talk (and his book) is an effort to help you join the most important conversation of our time. We look forward to seeing you and to hearing your thoughts in the Q&A session following the lecture.
About the speaker
Max Erik Tegmark is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-founder of the Future of Life Institute. He is currently investigating the existential risk from advanced artificial intelligence.
Book reviews
“I was riveted by this book. The transformational consequences of AI may soon be upon us—but will they be utopian or catastrophic? The jury is out, but this enlightening, lively and accessible book by a distinguished scientist helps us to assess the odds.” —Prof. Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, cosmology pioneer, author of Our Final Hour, and co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
“Being an eminent physicist and the leader of the Future of Life Institute has given Max Tegmark a unique vantage point from which to give the reader an inside scoop on the most important issue of our time, in a way that is approachable without being dumbed down.” — Jaan Tallinn, co-founder of Skype, and also co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
“Tegmark seeks to facilitate a much wider conversation about what kind of future we, as a species, would want to create. Though the topics he covers AI, cosmology, values, even the nature of conscious experience can be fairly challenging, he presents them in an unintimidating manner that invites the reader to form her own opinions.” —Prof. Nick Bostrom, Founder of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, author of Superintelligence
“This is a compelling guide to the challenges and choices in our quest for a great future of life, intelligence and consciousness—on Earth and beyond.” — Elon Musk, Founder, CEO and CTO of SpaceX and co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors
“All of us—not only scientists, industrialists and generals—should ask ourselves what can we do now to improve the chances of reaping the benefits of future AI and avoiding the risks. This is the most important conversation of our time, and Tegmark’s thought-provoking book will help you join it.” — Prof. Stephen Hawking, Director of Research, Cambridge Centre for Theoretical Cosmology
“Tegmark’s new book is a deeply thoughtful guide to the most important conversation of our time, about how to create a benevolent future civilization as we merge our biological thinking with an even greater intelligence of our own creation.” — Ray Kurzweil, Inventor, Author and Futurist, author of The Singularity is Near and How to Create a Mind.
This lecture was part of the Blavatnik Public Lecture Series at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.