- 11-11.40 Nikolaj Pedersen (Yonsey University) - "Language Model Agents and Democracy"
- 11.40-12.20 Duncan Pritchard (UC, Irvine) - "AI and the Epistemology of Education"
Many commentators are concerned that artificial intelligence (AI) may pose an existential threat to education. While I agree that it may have a transformative effect on educational practices, I think that these concerns are overstated, at least with regard to the kind of large language model (LLM) variety of AI that is currently in vogue. Indeed, I will be suggesting that the use of this form of AI in educational contexts may actually serve a positive role in reminding us what the actual purpose of education is. To this end I will be revisiting some of the debates about the overarching epistemic goal of educational practices and defending the thesis that this should be understood as the cultivation of virtuous intellectual character. Crucially, however, while many intellectual skills may be off-loaded in the future to AI, such that there is little need to educate for these skills anymore, this is not a feasible option for virtuous intellectual character. At most, AI can be a tool that may assist the development of virtuous intellectual character. Properly understood, then, while educational practices may be transformed by AI, they cannot be undercut by it, at least so long as we keep in mind what the true overarching epistemic goal of education is.
- 12.20-12.50 Lunch break
- 12.50-1.30 Peter Graham (UC, Riverside) - "Did Claude tell you that? Testimony and AI"
Sponsored by the Center for Knowledge, Technology & Society