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),
—registration is free but required; a cocktail reception will 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 heart of all these systems lie algorithms. In this lecture, I will therefore begin by asking: What is an algorithm? I will then expand on this by asking: What gives an algorithm the unique ability to “recognize patterns”? Indeed, “pattern recognition” is another—and perhaps more accurate—term for artificial intelligence. In this regard, I will ask where the equation between intelligence (whether artificial or not) 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 Doctorate in Science (biology) and a Doctorate 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), *The Philosophy of Science* (PUF, 2011), and *Axiomatics of Feelings* (Hermann, 2015).