16915
Seminar
Infinity and the evolution of intelligence
Daniel Louis Nethery
Kommentar
Subject: In a paper published in 1950, Alan Turing proposed a way to think about whether computers can think. He asked whether they might, one day, successfully imitate humans in writing. His question is now understood as seminal to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI).
Program: We will analyse this concept of AI as the culmination of two parallel develop¬ments: the elaboration of the mathematical concept of infinity on one hand and of the theory of biological evolution on the other. Among other topics we will cover, in a heuristic way: natural selection and eugenics; the “diagonal argument” demonstrating the existence of “uncount¬ably infinite” sets; Mendelean genetics and scientific racism; child (language) development and IQ; the “incom-pleteness” of mathematical arithmetic and the implications of this for so-called Turing machines.
Is this course for me? This course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites.
Workload and assessment: During the semester you will be required to read on average 20 pages each week. You will qualify for 5 ECTS points if your attendance is satisfactory, you engage with the course materials, and you pass the examination at the end of the semester.
Schließen
13 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung
Fr, 25.04.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 02.05.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 09.05.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 16.05.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 23.05.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 30.05.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 06.06.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 13.06.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 20.06.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 27.06.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 04.07.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 11.07.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Fr, 18.07.2025 12:00 - 14:00