Is the conversation possible? – AI and communication on eternal issues

In 2023, the Human Observatory for Digital Existence, within the framework of Professor Amanda Lagerkvist’s research project “BioMe: Existential Challenges and Ethical Imperatives of Biometric AI in Everyday Lifeworlds” funded by WASP-HS, will organize two public activities on the theme The digital noise: conversation and silence as an existential method. On 19 January 2023, the Human Observatory and the Nobel Prize Museum will co-organize an open lecture by Archbishop emerita Antje Jackelén, which concludes the exhibition Eternal Life at Liljevalchs. The exhibition examines both scientific discoveries and existential issues and moves associatively between art, science and cultural history with the aim of providing different perspectives on our lives. The inspiration is taken from the Nobel Prize, and the discoveries, works and peace efforts that give us indispensable perspectives on our lives and our future. The exhibition includes an AI chatbot that visitors can interact with. The idea is to create a friendly and philosophical conversation with visitors that focuses on the exhibition’s theme and eternal life in general. The personality of the chatbot is inspired by the character Klara from Kazou Ishiguro’s book Klara and the Sun. This is a collaboration with AI Sweden and Magnus Sahlgren’s team. The lecture is titled: Is the conversation possible? AI and communication on eternal issues.

It is followed by a conversation between the Archbishop emerita, Magnus Sahlgren from AI Sweden, and Amanda Lagerkvist, professor of media and communication science at Uppsala University. The conversation will, among other things, be about what the human is and how we evolve in a world of digitalisation. Is the conversation possible – not only because of the logic, the affective tone and the height of the conversation in social media, but also because the machines increasingly talk to each other directly? What is contained in human language in relation to the development of AI and language models? Can a machine make an existential call? Are language and its codes also the codes of the human? What happens when the machine is to teach us to speak of the eternal, and of being human in the world?

The Life Eternal exhibition can be visited before or after the conversation, and your ticket also gives you entry to the Nobel Prize Museum within a month.

To purchase tickets, see below. Purchased tickets are non-refundable.
Members: free (use code from member letter)
Standard ticket: 130 SEK
Students/seniors: 90 SEK
Nobel Prize Museum membership with ticket included: 395 SEK
Nobel Prize Museum membership students/seniors with ticket included: 295 SEK