Join the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy and ai@cam for the launch of Atomic Human: Understanding Ourselves in the Age of AI ,a visionary new book from Neil D. Lawrence on the evolution of human and machine intelligence.
The book reveals the technical origins, capabilities and limitations of AI systems, and how they should be wielded; not just by the experts, but also ordinary people. It outlines how we can choose the future we want – either one where AI is a tool for us, or where we become a tool of AI – and how to counteract the digital oligarchy to maintain the fabric of an open, fair, and democratic society.
Professor Gina Neff, Executive Director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, will host a conversation with Neil about the book. The talk will explore human identity, society’s fascination with AI, and our oft misplaced fears about AI futures.
Notes:This event will be recorded. Copies of the book will be available at the event. It is also available for purchase online.
Reviews
“The clarity, authority, wit and insight Lawrence brings to bear are like torches shining into the turbulent darkness of a subject we all wonder at, but which we mostly feel unable to even to think or talk about with any confidence.” – Stephen Fry
“This is an utterly absorbing account of humans, computers, and how much they differ. It explains why AI cannot substitute for human intelligence even as machine intelligence poses enormous challenges for how information is used and societies are organised.” – Dame Diane Coyle, Co-Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy
“According to Prof Neil Lawrence, all of us suffer from locked-in syndrome … I have been gripped by this insight. Lawrence’s book concludes that whatever AI becomes, and whether or not it ultimately poses a threat to our species, it will never replicate or penetrate the essence of what it means to be human … To be a human is, indeed, to be locked in. But it is in our struggle against inarticulacy that we find our deepest voice and highest meaning.” – Matthew Syed, The Sunday Times
Biography
Professor Neil D. Lawrence is the inaugural DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge where he leads the University’s flagship mission on AI, ai@cam. He has been working on machine learning models for over 25 years. He returned to academia in 2019 after three years as Director of Machine Learning at Amazon. His main interest is the interaction of machine learning with the real world. This interest was triggered by deploying machine learning in Africa, where ‘end-to-end’ solutions are normally required. This has inspired new research at the interface of machine learning and systems research, funded by a Senior AI Fellowship from the Alan Turing Institute. Prof Lawrence is a Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield and the co-host of the Talking Machines podcast.
About the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy
The Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy is an independent team of academic researchers at the University of Cambridge, who are radically rethinking the power relationships between digital technologies, society and our planet. We are part of the Centre for Research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CRASSH).
About ai@cam
ai@cam is building an infrastructure for interdisciplinary AI innovation through research, education, and innovation programmes that leverage the world-leading research already taking place across the University of Cambridge and connecting this to real-world needs.
