July 11, 2019: What is an algorithm?

Thursday, July 11, 2019, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., UM Polytech, Serge Peytavin Lecture Hall (Triolet Campus, Building 31),
(free but mandatory registration required), reception to follow
Please note: due to construction, the walk from the tram station is longer than usual.

What is an algorithm?

Registration is free but required

Abstract:
Developments in artificial intelligence have sparked numerous debates about the role it may soon play in human societies. The range of possibilities opened up by these technologies inspires both enthusiasm and concern. At the core of all these systems lie algorithms. In this lecture, I will therefore begin by asking: what is an algorithm? I will expand on this by asking: what gives an algorithm the specific ability to “recognize patterns”? Indeed, “pattern recognition” is another—perhaps more accurate—term for artificial intelligence. In this regard, I will ask where the equation between intelligence (artificial or otherwise) and pattern recognition comes from. This simple question leads, as we shall see, to a revisiting of the entire history of philosophy.

Pascal Nouvel, who holds a Ph.D. in Science (Biology) and a Ph.D. in Letters (Philosophy), is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tours, a member of the Education, Ethics, and Health research team (EA 7505), and Director of the Center for Ethics and Contemporary Philosophy. He is the author of *The Art of Loving Science* (PUF, 2000), *An Inquiry into the Concept of the Model* (2003, ed.),The Possible and Biotechnologies (PUF, 2003, with Claude Debru), History of Amphetamines (PUF, 2009), Philosophy of Science (PUF, 2011), and Axiomatics of Feelings (Hermann, 2015).