Re-enchanting... artificial intelligence

An academic expert in AI, Ros Picard helps Justine and Belle explore the big questions around artificial intelligence. What does it mean for the future of humanity? And, how do we ensure that it doesn't dehumanise its creators?

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

a woman at a desk video call gestures with her hands to make a point.

Professor Rosalind Picard is founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at MIT. She has pioneered the field of life-saving wearable technology that responds to human emotion and wellbeing. Ros is an expert in machine learning and AI - a field that has exploded in public consciousness recently, moving from the world of sci-fi to everyday life with the advent of Chat GPT and numerous other interactive AI programmes.

What does all this mean for the future of humanity? How do we ensure that technology doesn't dehumanise its creators? Ros approaches these questions not only as a computer scientist but as a Christian, having undergone an adult conversion to faith. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall ask how we can re-enchant AI and technology in a world where the human touch seems to be being replaced by automated chatbots and virtual relationships.

For Ros Picard: https://web.media.mit.edu/~picard/

For Re-Enchanting: https://www.seenandunseen.com/podcast

There’s more to life than the world we can see. Re-Enchanting is a podcast from Seen & Unseen recorded at Lambeth Palace Library, the home of the Centre for Cultural Witness. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall engage faith and spirituality with leading figures in science, history, politics, art and education. Can our culture be re-enchanted by the vision of Christianity?

Podcast

Podcasts

Seen & Unseen Aloud

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1 min read

Laughing, unruliness, and diplomacy

Jonny Torrance: we’re less in control than we think; Henna Cundill: AI will never codify the exceptions. And Jamie Mulvaney ask what's the right backdrop for diplomacy.

Natalie Williams

Natalie is the chief executive of Jubilee+ and an author.

A group of comedians pose on a TV show set.

On this Bank Holiday Monday, Jonny Torrance comments on Last One Laughing, deciding we’re less in control than we think; Henna Cundill suggests that AI will never codify the many unruly exceptions to rules as they are what make us human; Jamie Mulvaney asks whether or not a funeral is the appropriate backdrop for diplomacy.