In this episode of The Bankers’ Bookshel, host Paolo Sironi speaks with Dr. Jobst Landgrebe and Professor Barry Smith about their book, “Why Machines Will Never Rule the World: Artificial Intelligence without Fear”. The guests argue that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot achieve true intelligence or consciousness due to fundamental mathematical and philosophical limitations. Dr. Landgrebe explains that AI, including models like ChatGPT, is unable to solve novel problems independently, as it relies on patterns from pre-existing data. Professor Smith adds that human intelligence involves both “knowing how” and “knowing that,” which AI lacks. They assert that AI’s current capabilities are limited to specific tasks and cannot replicate the complexity of human thought or active perception. The authors emphasize the importance of understanding AI’s limitations to prevent misuse and manage expectations. They encourage a realistic view of AI, focusing on its role as a tool rather than a threat. The episode challenges the hype around artificial general intelligence, advocating for a practical and informed approach to AI development and deployment.

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Dr. Jobst Landgrebe – Chief Technology Strategist, Indivumed Therapeutics
Dr. Jobst Landgrebe obtained his MD/PhD in cell biology in 1998. He is a licensed physician and studied medicine, biochemistry and mathematics. He works as head of R&D in a cancer research biotech company based in Hamburg. His current research interests are theory of science (for which he is a visiting professor at the University of Italian Switzerland) and biomedical/biomathematical cancer research.

Barry Smith – Professor of Philosophy, Computer Science, and Biomedical Informatics, University of Buffalo

Barry Smith is one of the world’s most widely cited contemporary philosophers, known especially for his application of ideas derived from logic and ontology to the solution of problems in domains outside philosophy, including economics, biology and medicine. Most recently he has been working on extending this approach to the military and intelligence domains, where his proposals have been adopted as baseline standards by the US Department of Defense and by the US Intelligence Community.

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On the book:
The main thesis of Why Machines Will Never Rule the World (Routledge 2023)’s main thesis is that so-called ‘Artificial General Intelligence’ – an AI with the level of intelligence achieved by human beings – is for mathematical reasons impossible. This means that many assumptions surrounding current AI, including assumptions concerning the future takeover of the planet by autonomous robots, are founded on hype.

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