The artificial imaginary is what artificial intelligence (AI) is popularly imagined to be or become. Its origins are in science fiction, journalism and the long intellectual tradition of philosophy and psychology that has compared the workings of the human mind and brain to the latest technologies. While the artificial imaginary has been relatively stable throughout the last seventy years of AI’s existence, in contrast the specific technologies called “AI” have changed every few years. The technology most frequently called “AI” today — “neural networks” — is based on a form of arithmetic or algebra. Anyone who remembers some high school algebra, has what it takes to understand its fundamentals. In this presentation I will examine the history and workings of AI in order to understand how perfectly banal techniques and technologies are ascribed the name “artificial intelligence” and, thereby, are seen to have powers that will both create our world anew and destroy it.

Warren Sack is a media theorist, software designer, and artist whose work explores theories and designs for online public space and public discussion. He is Professor + Chair of the Film + Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has been a visiting professor in France at Sciences Po, the Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme, and Télécom Paris. His artwork has been exhibited by SFMoMA (San Francisco), the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), the New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York), the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), and the ZKM (Karlsruhe, Germany).

This event is part of The Humanities Institute’s ± AI Initiative