Book Club: Empire of AI by Karen Hao

Sunday Assembly PGH presents

Empire of AI by Karen Hao

Sun, Aug 3 at 3 pm

Commonplace Coffee, 7514 Thomas Blvd, Pittsburgh

Karen Hao, who has closely reported on the rise of the artificial intelligence industry, with a focus on Sam Altman’s OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. She compares the actions of the AI industry to those of colonial powers in the past. They, too, seize and extract precious resources to feed their vision of artificial intelligence: the work of artists and writers; the data of countless individuals posting about their experiences and observations online; the land, energy, and water required to house and run massive data centers and supercomputers. Taking a measured view, Hao raises questions about how AI is to be regulated to do the least harm, and comes at a time when the Republican Congress is attempting to block states from regulating AI for the next decade.

Other options rather than reading the book include watching either of these two interviews:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtQCthF2vlY ( 1hour)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NzW3o8zFEc (17 min)

Please join us!

Participants are encouraged to join the Pittsburgh Freethought Community if not already a member.
https://pghfreethought.org/Become-a-member