The Language of the Possible

Abstract

Our particular moment in history, and the coming two decades, are likely to yield dramatic shifts in relationships between human populations on individual and national scales, as we navigate our relationships to and with intelligent machines and tools. Without a language to articulate the shifts in these relationships, legislation to regulate and protect human dignity, and sensitivity to the myriad of necessary translations across language systems and cultural contexts, we will face grave difficulties. In this paper, we introduce an experimental teaching project that focused on building a common lexicon amongst budding humanists and technologists at Carnegie Mellon University: Artificial Intelligence & Humanity. Our goal was to develop a shared language through lines of inquiry that explore the societal impact of Artificial Intelligence and robotics on contemporary society.