[PHILOS-L] Uppsala Vienna AI Colloquium: Selene Arfini on Answering Epistemic Opacity With R(el)ational Ignorance

[Matteo Pascucci]

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The Uppsala Vienna AI Colloquium is a series of online colloquium-style talks focused on philosophical issues surrounding AI technology. Each talk will address a specific issue of relevance to AI systems (e.g., intelligence, agency, responsibility, etc.) and will be delivered by an expert with a research background on the topic. The intended audience of the talks is philosophically informed individuals with an interest in the philosophy of artificial intelligence. More details about the Uppsala Vienna AI Colloquium are available at: https://uv-colloquium.com/ 

This month's talk will be delivered on  13th February at 1730 Hrs (Central European Time) by:

Selene Arfini

Researcher and Professor of Philosophy of Science 

Computational Philosophy Laboratory, University of Pavia 

Institutional webpage: UNIFIND - UNIPV -ARFINI SELENE

Personal webpage: Selene Arfini

Title:  A Look Beyond the Infopocalypse: 

Answering Epistemic Opacity With R(el)ational Ignorance

Abstract: Consuming information online today means dealing with AI-powered technologies from filter algorithms to deepfakes on a daily basis. The bells of the so-called infopocalypse or epistemic apocalypse have been sounded and are being discussed both inside and outside academic settings with claims that the inherent opacity of these technologies could harm our epistemic practices. This paper challenges two narratives: that epistemic opacity is primarily a technological problem requiring technical solutions and that it represents a fundamental threat to human epistemic agency that must be overcome. In particular I argue that the necessity of using AI-mediated technology to stay informed forces us to adopt a r(el)ational approach to ignorance: we must strategically choose what not to know (rational ignorance) while negotiating how we depend on others through technologically mediated epistemically opaque channels (relational ignorance).

To register and to receive the zoom link to join the talk, please fill the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/1MxRxDRfW5

(The zoom link will be emailed a few hours before the talk to all those who register using the link above.) 

On behalf of all the organizers, 

Matteo Pascucci

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