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1st Sunday: Griefbots, LLMs, and the Technological Uncanny

Over Zoom, Prof. Kirk Besmer presents how radically novel technologies produced by rapid innovation - such as ‘lab-grown meat’ and CRISPR gene editing - may engender an unsettling experience that something fundamental has been altered, an experience he calls the ‘technological uncanny,’ He will explore the notion with two current technologies that can induce the experience, griefbots and companion chatbots, as a place to begin philosophizing about our technological condition. Kirk Besmer is currently a Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University, and a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. Note: 1st Sundays have more interaction, and some live music starts at 9:30.

 

Sunday, June 1, 2025 - 10:00am