“Thanks to work on artificial intelligence, we are in fact also developing new perspectives on human intelligence. In light of findings in fields such as behaviorism, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience and genetics, many thinkers have begun to argue that human beings, too, are something “programmed.” In light of these developments, it seems we will need to reconsider many of the things we believe to be uniquely human: free will, memory, love, aesthetics, language… In this talk, we will discuss what artificial intelligence research tells us about human beings.” – Dr. Umut Eldem

Taking the curatorial programs of Kundura Sinema & Sahne as its starting point, FelsefeLab invites participants to understand and read concepts by following philosophical methods, and throughout 2021 it will hold talks and film programs on intriguing topics ranging from artificial intelligence to science fiction cinema. FelsefeLab’s first event was the talk “Is the Human Being an Artificial Intelligence?” by academic Dr. Umut Eldem. Held in January, the talk took as its starting point Rimini Protokoll’s play “Uncanny Valley,” currently streaming online on Kundura Blog, and, following in the footsteps of thinkers such as Hubert Dreyfus, Jacques Derrida and Benjamin Libet, opened up for discussion concepts such as the philosophy of technology, behaviorism, free will and philosophical anthropology.

FelsefeLab’s talk series with Dr. Umut Eldem will continue with the talks “Artificial Intelligence Rights” on February 11 and “The Synthetic World of the Future” on February 25.

Click here to watch “Is the Human Being an Artificial Intelligence?”