« The state of the art in demon summoning, a.k.a. Artificial Intelligence »
Jana’s relationship with AI is a 25-year journey from using genetic algorithms to predict the maximum theoretical conductivity of certain polymers, to seeing if neural nets could help distinguish Paula Abdul’s voice from that of a backup singer’s, to expert systems that at this moment decide which driver is behind the wheel of any of tens of thousands of semi-tractor trailers.
Today, the most frequent AI question she gets, is whether Elon Musk is right: are we summoning the demons with AI? She’ll share with you a sorted version of machine intelligence to help you decide for yourself. She admits it will not be the sordid version of AI presented by people she respects greatly, like Mr. Musk, Mr. Hawking, and Mr. Gates.
You’ll learn the current state of machine learning, the players and their tribes, what’s possible today and a bit into the future, and where she worries and where not, from the perspective of someone who considers daily if she is, indeed, in the belly of the beast. She’ll be delighted to get your feedback and experience in questions during and after.
