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The Conversation @ the MIT Museum

The MIT Museum is partnering with The Conversation US to host lively conversations with researchers on the frontlines of science, technology, and society.

Each event will follow on the heels of a published article and allow for deeper, sustained conversations between the authors, moderators, and you, our audience.

$15 General Public
$5 MIT ID holders

Seating is Limited. Advance purchase recommended.

Reserve tickets
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A human cognitive glitch – mistaking AI generated fluent speech for fluent thought

This past summer a Google engineer made international headlines claiming that Google’s AI chatbot system LaMDA is sentient—capable of thinking, feeling, and experiencing—because it can generate grammatical, meaningful language.

The news generated a number of articles and posts in the broader community including The Conversation’s article, “Google’s powerful AI spotlights a human cognitive glitch: Mistaking fluent speech for fluent thought” which explores how the human mind perceives intelligence in others and how a smart-sounding AI says as much about us as it does about technology.

We'll further explore this question with Josh Tenebaum, MIT Professor of Computational Cognitive Science and Anna Ivanova, MIT postdoctoral researcher at the intersection of language, cognitive science, and machine learning and give you the chance to add your thoughts to the conversation.

Eric Smalley, Moderator

Technology editor, The Conversation, US

Josh Tenenbaum, Speaker

Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT

Anna Ivanova, Speaker

Postdoctoral research associate, MIT

Thank you to our partner