A FOCUS
If Computers Could Think
FALL 2015
uc.utoronto.ca/alumni
Are conscious machines on the way? Or are they already here?
AUTHOR
James John Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream Department of Philosophy UC Cognitive Science Program PHOTOGRAPHER
Christopher Dew
Machines with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) are in the news and on our minds. Every week—sometimes every day, it seems—we learn of astonishing advances in machine intelligence. Newspapers and magazines abound with think pieces on the future of AI. And we’re busy on blogs and comments threads, Facebook and Twitter, arguing about What It Means For Us. While much of this discussion has the kind of gee-whiz techno-optimism one associates with 1960s-era enthusiasm for the space program, it is difficult to miss the note of anxiety, even fear, running through it all. What are we afraid of?
12 — UC ALUMNI MAGAZINE