Provocateurs wanted.
Do you enjoy thinking about what others say as much as they enjoy arguing their own views?
The Langara College Department of Philosophy invites you to attend the Philosophers' Jam, a forum for the expression of provocative ideas. This dialogue series is intended for people who want to discuss ideas but whose busy lives prevent them from signing up for a credit course.
Philosophers' Jams are free and open to all Langara faculty, staff, and students, as well as the general public. Bring a friend or colleague and see you at the next Jam session! Just scroll down to register for future sessions.
Philosophers’ Jam Schedule
Speaker: Dr. Melinda Hogan (PhD)
Topic: Is AI Value-Neutral?
Date: Monday, March 3, 2025
Time: 5-7 PM
Location: L224 at Langara College
Refreshments: Complimentary coffee, tea, and snacks provided.
Abstract:
There is much excitement around current developments in AI. We sometimes hear that this is all hype. At other times, we hear that we’ll get left behind if we don’t rush to adopt generative AI in our work. It's pretty clear that this technology will disrupt some industries and cause people to lose jobs. And it is also clear (at least to those of us who work and study in colleges and universities) that it has already transformed the manner in which we share knowledge. But how big a deal is generative AI, really? After all, technological invention has always been a fact of life for humans. Many past technologies have disrupted industries or changed the way knowledge and information are shared.
In this presentation, I will describe some distinctive features of large language models. These features give rise to fundamental social and ethical issues. Many of us like to think of technology as value-neutral—a tool that can be used for good or ill, depending on the user's choices. This notion of value-neutrality assumes that users can make independent decisions rooted in their understanding of the world. However, when a technology hampers a person's very capacity to make sense of the world or to exercise free choice, it's unclear whether it can still be considered value-neutral. I will argue that generative AI, along with other digital technology that has developed over the past 20 years, is having these effects. Our abilities to negotiate privacy, to enjoy social trust and to assume shared facts—and to exercise autonomous choice—are being diminished. This is not inevitable. There is a role for more public input into the design and implementation of generative AI.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Hogan is a longtime faculty member at Kwantlen Polytechnic, where she teaches courses in logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and ancient philosophy. Her PhD and MA degrees are from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her undergraduate degree is from UC Berkeley, where she first heard the famous Chinese Room Argument and became interested in the philosophy of AI. She's held visiting positions at York, Dalhousie and UBC, and has served as Chair of the philosophy department at KPU.