‘There’s this deep mystery of what, actually, is this thing?’: the philosopher inside Google DeepMind AI – podcast
Iason Gabriel, a philosopher who has worked at Google DeepMind since 2017, features in this Guardian Audio Long Read exploring the role of ethicists inside a leading AI company. The piece examines how Gabriel and colleagues attempt to anticipate the societal impact of artificial intelligence and grapple with fundamental questions about the nature of these systems, even as commercial competition and geopolitical rivalry accelerate AI development.
The article, written by Robert P Baird and read by Simon Darwen, probes whether philosophical and ethical reflection can genuinely shape the direction of a technology being pushed forward largely by market and international pressures. It offers an inside look at the tension between DeepMind's in-house ethics work and the wider commercial race to build ever more powerful AI systems.
- Philosopher Iason Gabriel has worked on ethics at DeepMind since 2017.
- Piece questions whether ethicists can influence AI amid commercial pressures.
- Long-read podcast explores deep uncertainty over what AI systems actually are.