This is Your Brain on AI

This is an experimental session for exploring the existential implications of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. The goal of the session is to explore how study and use of AI may influence human thought processes.

This session is for people into AI, neurology, psychology, brain science, and psychedelics. It helps to have an appreciation for the writings of Robert Anton Wilson, Timothy Leary, and Aldous Huxley.

Talk - 30 Minutes - The session will start with a short talk on the current state of AI and its implications for the future. I will then share stories from artists & scientists working with AI on the changes they have observed in their thinking that seem related to their study. Finally I will wrap up the stories with some wild speculation to set the stage for open discussion.

Discussion - 60 Minutes - After the talk we will open the floor for participants to share their AI related stories. We will discuss and explore the rationality and implication of the stories and see what conclusions if any we can collectively reach.

Background

A little over a year ago I began to come up to speed with the latest in AI. Having taken workshops at SFPC and ITP Camp on the subject I began studying the technology and experimenting with all sorts of applications. My ITP Camp project last year was a series of interactive paintings made using AI.

After several months of intense study I began noticing changes in certain aspects of my own thinking. It seemed as if what I had learned from studying AI was influencing how my own mind functioned.

A year later, AI has become a central topic of global discussion as it transforms the landscapes of countless businesses.

A year later, I continue to observe significant changes in my thinking as I study the technology, and I'm increasingly hearing similar stories from other people.

In general I prefer to spend a significant amount of time synthesizing ideas around a subject before giving a talk on it. However this is an area moving so quickly that it feels necessary to begin discussion sooner than later.