Absence of Intelligence: the Science and Fiction of AI

Teresa Heffernan joins host Melissa Gismondi for a conversation about artificial intelligence (AI). They discuss topics like the public's perception of AI, as well as AI's limitations, environmental impact, and its relationship with fiction. They also touch on the narratives and hype surrounding AI, the concentration of wealth and power in the tech industry, and the need for regulation and ethical considerations in AI development. Teresa Heffernan was the JHI's 2023-24 Visiting Public Humanities Faculty Fellow and her research questioned what it means to speak of human-like qualities, like creativity or intelligence or ethics, in the absence of life. Host Melissa Gismondi was the JHI's 2020-21 New Media and Public Humanities Fellow.