Through his participation in the 2009 Turing Test, Brian Christian examines how computers are reshaping our idea of what it means to be human. As a contestant in the annual artificial-intelligence-vs.-human battle, the poet, science writer, and former Seattleite, author of The Most Human Human, hoped to be deemed “more human” than a computer. In the end, he discovered philosophical, biological, and moral issues raised by the Turing Test, and wonders: If computers can reason, what does that mean for the special place we reserve for humanity? Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU.
Advance tickets are $5 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006 and at the door beginning at 5:30 pm. Double feature! Ticket also gains admission to the Katie Kuksenok event at 8 pm.
LEARN MORE:
bchristian.com
Christian’s 2011 Atlantic Magazine article Mind Vs. Machine







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[...] to the public, culminating in an upcoming talk at Town Hall Seattle in March, 2012 right after someone whose book I was halfway through reading when I found out about the scheduling, so wow. Also, I attended a really great talk about open [...]
[...] Kuksenok explores how computers can ask people for help to do it better, in a companion talk to Brian Christian’s talk immediately preceding. Even as advances in language-processing technologies enable us to [...]
[...] Kuksenok explores how computers can ask people for help to do it better, in a companion talk to Brian Christian’s talk immediately preceding. Even as advances in language-processing technologies enable us to [...]