FEATURED DEBATE

Artificial Intelligence: The Risks Could Outweigh the Rewards

As technology rapidly progresses, some proponents of artificial intelligence believe that it will help solve complex social challenges and offer immortality via virtual humans. But AI’s critics are sounding the alarm, going so far as to call its development an “existential threat” to mankind. Is this the stuff of science fiction? Could the “Terminator” become reality, or will these fears prevent the next technological revolution?

March 9, 2016
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Jaron Lanier

FOR THE MOTION

Jaron Lanier
Computer Scientist , Author of ‘Who Owns the Future?’
Andrew Keen

FOR THE MOTION

Andrew Keen
Author , "How to Fix Democracy" podcast host
James Hughes

AGAINST THE MOTION

James Hughes
Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
Martine Rothblatt

AGAINST THE MOTION

Martine Rothblatt
Transhumanist Entrepreneur , Author of ‘Virtually Human’

FEATURED DEBATE

March 9, 2016
LEARN MORE

Artificial Intelligence: The Risks Could Outweigh the Rewards

As technology rapidly progresses, some proponents of artificial intelligence believe that it will help solve complex social challenges and offer immortality via virtual humans. But AI’s critics are sounding the alarm, going so far as to call its development an “existential threat” to mankind. Is this the stuff of science fiction? Could the “Terminator” become reality, or will these fears prevent the next technological revolution?

Jaron Lanier

FOR THE MOTION

Jaron Lanier
Computer Scientist , Author of ‘Who Owns the Future?’
Andrew Keen

FOR THE MOTION

Andrew Keen
Author , "How to Fix Democracy" podcast host
James Hughes

AGAINST THE MOTION

James Hughes
Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
Martine Rothblatt

AGAINST THE MOTION

Martine Rothblatt
Transhumanist Entrepreneur , Author of ‘Virtually Human’

John Donvan In Conversation with David McRaney on the Science of Changing Minds
What’s it take to change a mind? It turns out there is a science to it. That’s at least according to David McRaney, a journalist, author, and host of the You Are Not So Smart…
With David McRaney

Changing Your Mind, with Adam Grant, Ray Dalio, and Bo Seo
What does it take to admit you’re wrong? And why is it so difficult? Cognitive psychology and neuroscience studies reveal that human decision-making relies on a host of factors that don’t always lead to objective…
With Ray Dalio, Adam Grant, Bo Seo

Should We Search for Extraterrestrial Life?
For decades, scientists around the world have dedicated their lives — and research dollars — to one question: Is there anyone else out there? In the early 1970s, NASA joined the hunt with its own…
With Paul Sutter, Jill Tarter

Should We Use Gene Editing to Make Better Babies?
A genetic disease runs in your family. Your doctor tells you that, should you wish to have a child, that child is likely to also carry the disease. But new gene-editing technology could change your…
With Françoise Baylis, George Church, Marcy Darnovsky, Amy Webb

Prohibit Genetically Engineered Babies
Imagine a world free of genetic diseases, where parents control their offspring’s height, eye color and intelligence. The science may be closer than you think. Genes interact in ways that we don’t fully understand and…
With Nita Farahany, Sheldon Krimsky, Lee Silver, Lord Robert Winston

Is Parenting Overrated?
What shapes us more: our DNA, or the way we’re raised? This debate, commonly recognized as “nature versus nurture,” has drawn disagreement for thousands of years. So which one matters more? Emerging genetic research indicates that…
With Paige Harden, Ann Pleshette Murphy, Robert Plomin, Nancy Segal
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