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Why machines can't be smart.
AI can write. It cannot mean. Language models like ChatGPT, Claude, & Gemini have no meaning - only math. That distinction is the most important thing nobody is talking about.
AI Literacy is a space to consider where AI meets human process - deciphering how these tools shape our attention, our communication, & the ways we work with computers & each other.
Most conversations about AI focus on what it can do. This one asks something different: what does it mean to understand it?
Salon #2: Signal & Sign
Can a calculator understand poetry?
In a famous experiment, researchers found a single neuron in a patient's brain that fired for Jennifer Aniston - her photo, her name, even a cartoon sketch. One cell, one concept. That's how human cognition organizes meaning: sharp, symbolic, compressed.
Large language models do something else. They process language as statistics - probabilities & distances between tokens. The output can sound like understanding, but no concept is held anywhere inside. The fluency is real. The comprehension isn't.
A language model has no Jennifer Aniston neuron. It has no neurons at all - just weights. There is no "there" there.
This salon sits in that gap. As AI gets embedded in how we write, summarize, & decide, the difference between meaning & pattern-matching is shaping real judgment calls. We'll explore what that means for how we communicate, think, & what literacies we need to stay intentional.
If you've been impressed by ChatGPT, this salon will change what you're impressed by.
Come ready to think, question, & engage. Curiosity over conclusions.
Facilitated by Nitzan Hermon - coach & educator working at the intersection of complexity, systems thinking, leadership, & personal development.
Featured guests:
Johnny Dance - investor, author, & artist. Originally from Australia, he spent many years in Hong Kong & London before settling in Boston. He is writing a book on mathematics, games, & ontology.
Kristy Zadrozny - NYC therapist & Chief Clinical Officer at Calla Collective, a reproductive mental health practice. Drawing on psychodynamic theory, motivational interviewing, & mindfulness, she helps thoughtful people wake up from autopilot & build a richer relationship with uncertainty & meaning.
Stephen P. Williams - journalist, author, & ghostwriter of narrative nonfiction & fiction, & collaborator on books with leading thinkers & public figures. He's currently teaching the models of a large AI company how to write better - & in the process learning what it's like to collaborate with a machine.
Presented by Critical Business School. Hosted at Index Chinatown.
Tickets: $20 (link above)
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