CS 195

Week 11 Activity: Colloquium talk @ Mudd

This week, Harvey Mudd College hosts a talk by Eric Schwitzgebel, from University of California, Riverside. The talk begins at 4:15 PM on Thursday, but a reception with refreshments will be held outside at 4:00 PM.

For students enrolled in CS Colloquium (CS 195):

  • If you’re in Section 1, we expect you to attend the event when it occurs (synchronously).
  • If you’re in Section 2, we hope to record the event and post it for you to watch asynchronously.

People Will Soon Disagree about Whether AI Is Sentient, and That's a Moral Disaster

Abstract

Leading consciousness researchers have predicted that, within a decade or so, some AI systems will likely meet the criteria for sentience according to some of the more liberal mainstream theories of consciousness. Thus, it will likely soon be reasonable to wonder whether some of our most sophisticated AI systems might be sentient. This will create troubling moral dilemmas about our ethical duties to such systems. Can we ethically delete them? Must we give them rights? I will argue that to the extent possible we should avoid creating AI systems of unclear moral status.

About Eric Schwitzgebel

Eric Schwitzgebel is a professor of philosophy at University of California, Riverside, specializing in consciousness, philosophy of mind, and moral psychology. His books include Describing Inner Experience? (2007), Perplexities of Consciousness (2011), A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures (2019), and The Weirdness of the World (2024).

When and How to Attend

  • Thursday, April 4
    • Location: Galileo McAlister, Harvey Mudd College
    • Talk runs from 4:15–5:30 PM
    • Optional reception begins at 4:00 PM

Recording for Section 2

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This video is provided for students in Section 2 of CS 195 (and students in Section 1 who had to miss the talk due to extenuating circumstances). This is a private video, so please do not share it with others.

Required Assessment

To receive full credit for attending this colloquium, complete the assessment:

Please do so at your soonest convenience, within 24 hours of seeing the talk.

(When logged in, completion status appears here.)