Abstract

A rapid and tumultuous technological transformation of our societies has triggered a self-exploratory public debate about what it means to be human. What are our human potential, talents, and powers – what, essentially, is our place in the modern world? Will a culture of machines out-compete a culture of humanity? In this talk, we will explore the cultural and political implications of our evolving relationship with AI. Current debates about AI often portray humans as powerless and flawed – in essence, outdated software in dire need of a technological fix. Through reflections on seven unique human traits: Creativity, intuition, emotion, defiance, life, love, and wisdom, we’ll consider how to protect and promote our human power in an AI machine age.

If human power is not a computational process, then what is it? This talk is based on the book Human Power: Seven Traits for the Politics of the AI Machine Age giving human power – our humanity and fundamental “humanness” – a renewed voice in a debate dominated by fears and preconceptions about technological power.

Speaker Bio

Gry Hasselbalch is a Danish author of several impactful books, tech critic, and scholar working on data/AI ethics, human rights and politics. Through two decades, she has participated in global discussions on internet governance, digitalisation, AI and data in various positions with contributions in policy, academia, and public speaking. She was a member of the EU's High-Level Expert Group on AI (2018-2020), which developed the EU's AI ethics guidelines that were transferred into the EU's momentous AI Act, and she is also the co-founder of the think tank DataEthics.eu, which has been active since 2015 in challenging the power of big tech companies.

In her work, she promotes a humanistic approach to AI and data, highlighting the critical role of humanity in navigating the challenges posed by these technologies.