Book Launch for ‘The Atomic Human’ by Professor Neil Lawrence
Hosted by the Centre for Machine Intelligence

Programme:

• Introduction by Professor James Marshall, Director of the Centre for Machine Intelligence
• Talk by Professor Neil Lawrence on The Atomic Human
• Fireside chat with Neil and James
• Q&A
• Book signing 

This event is free and open to the public, but we do ask that attendees register for tickets. 

Independent bookseller 'Rhyme & Reason' will offer discounted book sales and a signing session with Neil.

The Atomic Human

A vital perspective is missing from the discussions we’re having about Artificial Intelligence: what does it mean for our identity? Our fascination with AI stems from the perceived uniqueness of human intelligence. We believe it’s what differentiates us. Fears of AI not only concern how it invades our digital lives, but also the implied threat of an intelligence that displaces us from our position at the centre of the world.

Atomism, proposed by Democritus, suggested it was impossible to continue dividing matter down into ever smaller components: eventually we reach a point where a cut cannot be made (the Greek for uncuttable is ‘atom’). In the same way, by slicing away at the facets of human intelligence that can be replaced by machines, AI uncovers what is left: an indivisible core that is the essence of humanity.

I’ll contrast our own (evolved, locked-in, embodied) intelligence with the capabilities of machine intelligence and speculate on what it means for our futures.

This talk is based on Neil’s forthcoming book, The Atomic Human: Understanding Ourselves in the Age of AI, to be published by Penguin/Allen Lane on 6th June 2024.

Biography

Neil Lawrence is the inaugural DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge where he leads the University’s flagship mission on AI, AI@Cam. He has been working on machine learning models for over 25 years. He returned to academia in 2019 after three years as Director of Machine Learning at Amazon. His main interest is the interaction of machine learning with the real world. This interest was triggered by deploying machine learning in Africa, where ‘end-to-end’ solutions are normally required. This has inspired new research at the interface of machine learning and systems research, funded by a Senior AI Fellowship from the Alan Turing Institute. Neil is a visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield and the co-host of the Talking Machines podcast.