Part of the “Philosophers at Work” series:
Annette Zimmermann
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, UW-Madison ( DPhil Nuffield College, University of Oxford, 2018)
We are in the midst of an AI boom. The hype is understandable. Cutting-edge generative AI tools can now solve a wide range of problems at an unprecedented scale and speed, and at a level of complexity that seemed unthinkable even a few years ago. But at the same time, those tools often replicate social biases, spread potentially dangerous misinformation, and rely on vast amounts of data harvested without people’s consent. Some even worry that AI may eventually spiral out of control, posing an existential risk for humanity. Faced with these problems, how should we as a society respond? What role do we want this technology to play in our lives going forward—and which values are at stake as we search for our answer?
Annette Zimmermann’s research interests cover a range of topics within the philosophy of AI and machine learning, political philosophy, moral philosophy, social and moral epistemology, philosophy of law and philosophy of science. At UW-Madison, Professor Zimmermann is a member of the University’s interdisciplinary cluster in the ethics of computing, data, and information. In addition, Professor Zimmermann is a 2020-2023 Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University.
This event is sponsored by the UW-Madison Department of Philosophy. In an effort to promote the Wisconsin Idea, the department sponsors an annual lecture series entitled “UW Philosophers at Work.” Talks in the series are free and are open to everyone interested in attending, and are recorded for future viewing. If you’d like to read an abstract of a given talk or see a video of the lecture, please see the UW Philosophers at Work Archive.
