Jan 20 2024 to Jan 20 2024 6:30 p.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

While the promises and perils of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been hotly debated in academic and startup circles for the past couple of decades, the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 took the world by storm, bringing AI to the forefront of global conversations overnight.

In a few short months, all the Big Tech companies have released their versions of Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI graphics algorithms, which underlie the AI boom. The rapid pace of worldwide adoption of these tools has everyone from technologists and ethicists to bureaucrats and politicians concerned about the possibility of humanity having ‘crossed the Rubicon’ or reached a point of no return.

While parallels are being drawn with the invention of the nuclear bomb, the implications of adopting AI without robust public debate and massive upgrades in the regulatory frameworks, especially for democracies, go far beyond those of conventional weapons and warfare.

This lecture explores the implications of AI in the critical areas of intellectual property and political speech, both of which are witnessing worrying trends in India and the Western world. At one end, AI is disrupting the incentive structures of a variety of artists, setting up high-profile intellectual property battles and forcing societies to contemplate the value of creative endeavors. On the other end, it is supercharging the misinformation and fake news ecosystem, threatening beleaguered journalistic enterprises and posing novel challenges to democratic societies.

If long-drawn Hollywood strikes, US bans on export of critical AI hardware, and President Biden’s executive order related to AI are any indication, we are only at the beginning of this new battle between technology and regulators. With real-life examples of AI implementations, the lecture tries to separate the hype from reality and underlines areas of immediate concern. It ends on a philosophical note about the meaning of machines creating rich, nuanced information – being disseminated as knowledge – to humanity.