First afternoon session

Prof. Dr. Dr. Beisbart

What is artificial intelligence? Philosophical perspectives on AI

Lena Kästler had to cancel her talk due to illness. On very short notice Prof. Dr. Dr. Claus Beisbart, professot of Philosophy, Bern and a meber of the program committee jumped in. 

Hompeage Prof. Dr. Dr. Claus Beisbart

(Prof. Dr. Lena Kästner, philosophy, University of Bayreuth)

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword in recent times. It is associated with deep fakes, smart environments, self-driving cars, and chatbots. Historically, though, AI has been associated with computation, rule-based problem-solving, chess, and Turing Machines. That said, it is clear that modern AI has come a long way. Yet, it seems, we are no closer to answering questions about whether computers can think or have minds. This is, partially, because what we mean by “intelligence” has shifted over time. I shall contrast traditional with modern AI, shed light on the potentials and pitfalls of contemporary AI, and discuss how close we are to achieving human-level AI.

CV:
Lena Kästner is professor for philosophy, computer science and AI at the University of Bayreuth. She has a background in Cognitive Science and Cognitive Neuroscience and received her PhD in philosophy from Ruhr-University Bochum. Prof. Kästner’s research focuses on explanations, intelligence, and causation. Currently, she is also head-PI of the project “Explainable Intelligent Systems (EIS)”.

Homepage Prof. Dr. Lena Kästner

Prof. Dr. Siegried Handschuh, Computer Sciece, University of St. Gallen

Generative AI – a step towards Generic Artificial Intelligence?

The lecture deals with generative AI, in particular with Large Language Models. It explains how it works, thus deriving its strengths and weaknesses, as well as areas of application, and discusses current trends in research and industry.

CV:
Siegfried Handschuh is Professor of Data Science and Natural Language Processing at the University of St. Gallen's Institute of Computer Science. He earned his doctoral degree through a collaboration with Stanford University, contributing to the US DARPA DAML project. Siegfried Handschuh also worked on Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Digital Aristotle project. His research concentrates on Natural Language Processing, with an emphasis on Large Language Models (LLMs), quantitative Data Science, and generative AI. His latest book, "Generative AI," explores the inner workings and applications of generative AI in various domains, such as education, economy, and society.

Homepage Prof. Dr. Siegfried Handschuh

Coffee Break