2016 AAAS Annual Meeting (February 11-15, 2016)

February 10 - 15, 2016

Artificial Intelligence: Imagining the Future

We are in the midst of a revolution in machine intelligence: the art and engineering of getting computers to perform tasks that, until recently, required natural intelligence -- in other words, people. We can speak to our phones, software can identify faces, and algorithms can teach themselves to play Atari video games. Top-of-the-line sedans have the ability to drive autonomously on the open road. Progress has been driven by machine learning techniques, such as deep convolution networks, dating to the 1980s, by Moore’s law, and by continual improvements in machine architecture. Progress is so dizzying that a few futurists, technologists, and philosophers have publicly mused about where the swift ascension of machines is taking us. In this session, leaders from different sectors imagine a few of these different utopian and dystopian futures. The discussion will be framed by an overview of the current state-of-affairs in AI and the science of consciousness.