WHAT IF WE GOT AI RIGHT: Eleanor Drage in conversation

We are delighted to welcome Eleanor Drage to Blackwell's to discuss her book, What If We Got AI Right, an ethicist's call to re-determine what AI is for and how we should use it.

Doors: 6.30pm, Start: 6.34pm

About the book:

In a world obsessed with whether AI will destroy humanity, Eleanor Drage, one of the world’s leading AI ethicists, is asking a far more urgent -and actionable - question: what if we got AI right?

What If We Got AI Right? unpicks the dominant narratives around artificial intelligence and the culture and ideas that drive the AI arms race, offering a radically more hopeful, human-centred vision.

Drawing on cutting-edge research, real-world case studies and cultural analysis, Drage argues that the biggest risks of AI are not futuristic doomsday scenarios -but the systems, incentives and power structures shaping it today.

From Big Tech monopolies to hidden bias in algorithms, from ‘AI hype’ to the lack of public involvement in its design, this is a timely, provocative intervention that reframes AI as a social, political and ethical issue -not just a technical one. Only by bringing feminism, reparative justice and climate politics into the debate can we create a better future with machines.

‘It’s rare to find informed perspectives on AI that have both the imagination and the courage to counter the dominant narrative. This book makes space for possibility. Insightful, surprising and well-argued, it presents a refreshingly different take on AI and the futures it offers’ ― Sarah Housley, author of Designing Hope

About the author:

Dr Eleanor Drage is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. One of the UK’sleading AI ethicists, her work has been covered by the BBC, the Guardian, Telegraph and Forbes, and she frequently speaks on radio and at AI conferences. She is host of The Good Robot Podcast, and a Top 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics 2022.

If you cannot make the event but would like a dedicated copy of the book, please email events.manchester@blackwell.co.uk or call us on 0161 274 3331.

Our event format is usually a 45 minute discussion between the author and interviewer, followed by a chance for audience members to ask questions. There will be the opportunity to get your book signed/dedicated after the event. Events are a brilliant opportunity to discover new books, meet authors and likeminded readers and learn something new.

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