Phi Beta Kappa hosted George Dyson, an author and historian, to speak Jan. 25 on technology at the Harper Center. His speech, titled “Artificial intelligence: From analog to digital and back,” addressed issues in today’s world and discussed their developments over time.
According to Dyson, computers and the possibilities they allow are perhaps the greatest phenomena of this generation, though sometimes the weight of their impacts can go largely unnoticed. Billions of people utilize them every day, yet most people never stop to consider their capabilities.
Initially, the speech focused on the history of digital computing and the people who contributed to each phase. People like Alan Turing, a mathematician and key figure in decoding messages during World War II. He was also the subject of the film “The Imitation Game.”
Dyson, who lived in a treehouse after dropping out of high school, implied that he did not have the typical background of a historian. However, he is an expert in the history of technology and sees dangers in the concept of artificial intelligence: the theory that computers are able to perform tasks that would typically require a set of human capabilities.
Brian Kokensparger, assistant professor of Computer Science, was one attendee who commented on this idea. “[Dyson] mentioned that a computer is an abstraction of our human experience, and I think we can all see this happening today,”
Kokensparger said.
The abilities computers have to overrun human work in many fields was the main topic of the speech, but Dyson also recounted the complexities of computers, telling his audience that even those considered experts on the topic do not understand all of the abilities and potential — positive and negative — of the device.
“It’s possible to build a system without understanding it,” Dyson said. “This is the Internet. We are not sure of its capabilities.”
The audience seemed to agree with this message. Kokensparger said he appreciated the topic of the speech and was able to connect the general idea to each of his classes.
“A computer can do anything that a person can program it to do,” Kokensparger stated, stressing where the responsibility rests. “It is all of us who are giving the computer meaning by simply agreeing on the inputs and outputs.”