The Story of AI (So Far) – with Professor Murray Shanahan
public in-person lecture
The story so far...
Professor Murray Shanahan - Professor of Cognitive Robotics, Dept. of Computing, Imperial College London; Senior Research Scientist, DeepMind.
In this talk Professor Shanahan told the extraordinary story of artificial intelligence: the origins of the field, its ups and downs, and how we arrived at the technology we have today with all its potential. Along the way we learnt how neural networks work, got a feel for the many ways they can be applied, and saw some pictorial examples of the remarkable things today's AI can do.
Professor Shanahan’s research and publications span artificial intelligence, robotics, logic, dynamical systems, computational neuroscience, and philosophy of mind.
His work up to 2000 was in the tradition of classical, symbolic AI. He then turned his attention to the brain and its embodiment. His current interests include neurodynamics, consciousness, machine learning, and the impacts of artificial intelligence. His book "Embodiment and the Inner Life" (Oxford University Press, 2010) was a significant influence on the film Ex Machina for which he was a scientific advisor.
He is active in public engagement. He has been on BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, and Radio 5, Channel 4 (television), and on the BBC's 6 o'clock news, 10 o'clock news, and Breakfast Time. He has appeared several times at Cheltenham Science Festival, the World Science Festival (New York), and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, and his work has featured in Focus magazine and (several times) in New Scientist.
