Events
Upcoming Lecture: The Mothers of AI?
While the field of AI is full of “fathers”, “mothers” are noticeably absent. One of the only contenders is the nineteenth-century mathematician Ada Lovelace, who recognized that Babbage’s Analytical Engine, an early model of the computer, could not only crunch numbers but could also manipulate, according to rules, other symbols (for instance, musical notes or letters). For this brilliant insight, she has been recognized by some as the first computer programmer. However, she also pointed out that, although a useful tool, this hypothetical machine could never “create”. Alan Turing objected to her argument and the “fathering” metaphor and his “child machine” has since become ubiquitous in the field. Over seventy years later is it time to revive Lovelace’s insight?
Title: “The Mothers of AI? Alan Turing’s Response to Ada Lovelace”
Speaker: Teresa Heffernan (Saint Mary’s University, Halifax)
When: Thursday February 9, 2023
Time: 6 pm (CET), 1 pm (AST), 12 noon (EST)
Where: via ZOOM at https://uni-potsdam.zoom.us/j/69421923124, passcode: 90667269
In person: ZeM – Brandenburgisches Zentrum für Medienwissenschaften
Hermann-Elflein-Straße 18 14467 Potsdam
Please register to participate either on site or via livestream at mail@zem-brandenburg.de.
This event is hosted by the Brandenburgisches Zentrum für Medienwissenschaften (ZeM).