The Imperative Pythagoreanism

Two important technosciences of today, AI and genocentric biology, are based on “imperative” views of nature. Without engaging with the “intrinsic’’ structure of reality, this talk compares different perspectives, showing how the use of discrete mathematical structures places a particular bias on the understanding of ‘‘what causes what.” As a consequence, digital methods rely on the use of immense databases and “brute force” to find optimal paths or maximize statistical correlations. The talk will consider alternatives to the currently prevalent use of these technologies – in AI and, if time permits, in organismal biology.

This event has been organized by Neubauer Collegium Visiting Fellow Adam Nocek (Arizona State University) in partnership with the research project at the Neubauer Collegium.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

is an Italian mathematician, epistemologist, and theoretical biologist. He is the Research Director Emeritus at Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) at the Cavaillès interdisciplinary center of École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris. Longo has conducted research in the fields of mathematics (focusing on the mathematics of computing) and its connections with biology, computer science, and physics. He has authored or co-authored five books and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. Longo is a Member of Academia Europaea,and was the founder and Editor in Chief of Mathematical Structures in Computer Science from 1990 to 2015, and co-founder of the Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy.

READINGS

G. Longo, The systemic unity in mathematics and science: beyond techno-science myths. Systems, to appear, 2025.

J. Lassègue, G. Longo, L'empire numérique. De l'alphabet à l'IA. PUF, Paris, 2025.

Host or Publisher Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society | University of Chicago