We are pleased to present the first Catz Cosmos Lecture in Human-Centered AI, to be delivered by Turing Laureate Leslie Valiant of Harvard University. This lecture will be presented by Philipp Koralus, the inaugural McCord Professor of Philosophy and AI. The lecture series is sponsored by the Cosmos Institute and St. Catherine’s College.
Host: Philipp Koralus, McCord Professor of Philosophy and AI and Director of the Human-Centered AI Lab (HAI Lab), Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford
Speaker: Leslie Valiant, Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University
Title: Educability
Abstract: “We seek to define the capability that has enabled humans to develop the civilization we have, and that distinguishes us from other species. For this it is not enough to identify a distinguishing characteristic – we want a capability that is also explanatory of humanity’s achievements. “Intelligence” does not work here because we have no agreed definition of what intelligence is or how an intelligent entity behaves. We need a concept that is behaviourally better defined. The definition will need to be computational in the sense that the expected outcomes of exercising the capability need to be both specifiable and computationally feasible. This formulation is related to the goals of artificial intelligence research but is not synonymous with it, leaving out, for example, the many capabilities we share with other species.
We make a proposal for this essential human capability, which we call “educability.” It synthesizes abilities to learn from experience, to learn from others, and to chain together what we have learned in either mode and apply that to particular situations. It starts with the now standard notion of learning from examples as captured by the Probably Approximately Correct model and used in machine learning. The demonstrated ability of Large Language Models learning to generate smoothly flowing prose is a clue that pursuing computationally well-defined tasks constitutes a promising approach to simulating human capabilities. The basic question then is how to extend this approach to encompass broader human capabilities beyond learning from examples. This is what the educability notion aims to answer.
What we ask computers to do, in the main, reflects human capabilities. Hence a better understanding of human capabilities can be expected to provide goals for our future technology.”
Event schedule:
15:00 — Introduction by Professor Philipp Koralus and brief remarks by Chair of the Cosmos Institute Brendan McCord
15:05 — Lecture by Professor Leslie Valiant
16:00 — Q&A
This year’s Catz Cosmos lecture will be held in the auditorium of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The event is free and open to all. Please be ready to show your eventbrite ticket at the door.
The Cosmos Institute (www.cosmos-institute.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting human flourishing in the age of artificial intelligence. Through research, fellowships, grants, and education, Cosmos aims to cultivate a new generation of technologists and entrepreneurs equipped with deep philosophical thinking to navigate the uncharted territory of our AI age.
