A leading expert on artificial intelligence will speak about how developments in the field force humanity to reframe how it sees itself, in the latest in a series of public events in South West London exploring Quaker concerns.

In the talk, Ghost in the Machine: Artificial Intelligence and Human Spirituality, Quaker Kenneth Cukier, an editor at The Economist and bestselling author of books on technology, will discuss how the breakneck pace at which artificial intelligence is developing poses a challenge to humanity. The technology already exceeds people's cognitive abilities -- but can it develop a sense of the transcendental that defines human experience? In a humorous, accessible talk, Kenneth will explain how AI works and why cognitive science underscores that people are even more intelligent.

Kenneth says: "AI replaces the mind as the fount of all that is knowable, overturning the Enlightenment and humanist traditions. However AI has inherent shortcomings that make individuals the masters of the technology not its servants. AI is unable to develop and use 'mental models' of the world, which people do by nature. AI is all rationality, no spirituality. People possess both -- but we need to bolster the latter in counterpoise to the machines."

The event will be held at Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House, 59 Wandsworth High Street, SW18 2PT at 7pm, doors open at 6.30pm, on Tuesday 6 February. 

Entry to the event is free and open to all, and refreshments will be provided. It is the latest in a series of events organised by Quakers in South West London. Previous events have addressed the climate crisis, the status of refugees and asylum seekers, nuclear disarmament and prison reform. 

Future events for 2024 will include a dialogue in April on Truth and Integrity in Public Life and Business.