In an era of seemingly rapid technological expansion, technology is widely praised for simplifying menial tasks and reducing the likelihood of human error. But when increasingly sophisticated algorithms and automation are predicted to master tasks traditionally performed by professionals, what are the dangers of outsourcing decision-making, skill and expertise? This Battle of Ideas panel grapple with key questions. What kind of values are being programmed into algorithms and whose view of humanity does artificial intelligence seek to replicate or surpass? Are humans just advanced information processing machines or is there something unique about human judgement, knowledge and ingenuity which are threatened by the drive to quantify and process data?
The speakers are: Dr Tom Chatfield, writer, broadcaster and author of Live This Book! and How to Thrive in the Digital Age; Dr Norman Lewis, director of innovation at PwC and co-author of Big Potatoes: the London manifesto for innovation; Juliette Morgan, C&W Tech Global Lead and London Head of Property, Tech City UK; Andrew Orlowski, executive editor, Register and assistant producer, All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace; the chair is Claire Fox, director, Institute of Ideas and panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze.
