Can We Share the Planet with Smarter than Human Machines?
This talk explores the dystopian consequences of creating superintelligent computers. Google, IBM, and companies and organizations such as DARPA and the NSA, in the US and abroad, are developing machines aimed at matching human intelligence. Today arms makers are weaponizing AI technology in autonomous battlefield robots and hunter-killer drones. In as little as a decade we could create intelligent machines whose cognitive capabilities eclipse our own – but can we possibly control them? Can we share the planet with machines thousands or millions of times more intelligent than we are, and survive?

While exploring the unrestricted development of AI, Barrat’s talk probes some of the most important questions of our time: ethics in technology development, privacy in a digital world, job displacement, and the intellectual and social costs of our reliance on increasingly intelligent machines.

“Is AI Our Final Invention?”

“What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Turns On Us?”

“Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?”

“Why We Should Think About the Threat of Artificial Intelligence”

“James Barrat held a deeply knowledgeable Purdue audience in rapt attention during a compelling but also entertaining hour presentation on our campus. It’s safe to assume that he will have at least as powerful an impact on listeners hearing about the risks and possibly existential dangers of AI for the first time.”
— Mitchell Daniels, President at Purdue University

“James Barrat talked to a very technically astute audience consisting of students, faculty and technical staff and credibly and entertainingly presented both optimistic and pessimistic visions of the future. His obvious ease and familiarity with both the risks and opportunities of technology combined with his wry sense of humor to create a top-rate event for the audience.”
— Gerard McCartney Ph.D., System CIO and Vice President for Information Technology at Purdue University

“James Barrat gave an inspiring and compelling presentation on one of the most significant ethical issues of our time. His talk was exceedingly well received by students, faculty, and members of the wider Richmond region.”
— Craig Kocher, University Chaplain and Lecturer in Leadership Studies at University of Richmond

“James Barrat is a compelling writer and a powerful, eloquent speaker on a timely topic. Whether from the podium, on a radio broadcast by the local NPR affiliate, or over a cup of coffee in my office, Barrat holds his listeners and spectators spellbound by consistently raising urgent questions about the human condition.”
— Carol Quillen, President, Davidson College

“James Barrat’s broad cultural fluency and acute sense of humor combine for an invitingly personal and accessible take on the subject of artificial intelligence. He presents technologically and philosophically complex topics with popular attraction as well as intellectual appeal.”
— John Syme, Senior Writer & Media Relations Coordinator, Davidson College

“James Barrat was a wonderful campus guest and the perfect keynote speaker to launch our School of Business Center for Innovation and Ethics. He visited classes and engaged students in deep discussions throughout the day. In the evening, he spoke eloquently to the college community and the public about the ethical challenges of AI. Equal parts talk and conversation, the evening was compelling, and struck just the right balance between the technical and the human challenges we face.”
— Kevin H. Michels, Director of the School of Business Center for Innovation and Ethics, The College of New Jersey

“James gave KIE’s Eleventh Annual Fall Lecture and did a terrific job, speaking to around 350 people. He presents a clear and compelling argument, one to which everyone should be paying close attention. The implications for advanced artificial intelligence range from utopian to the end of human planetary dominance, possibly even the end of our species. James gives us plenty of reason to think it could be the latter — a wake-up call if there ever was one. The feedback from his talk has been wonderful — he made KIE look good!”
— Christopher Meyers, PhD, Director of Kegley Institute of Ethics