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Emily M. Bender, " Meaning making with artificial interlocutors and risks of language technology"

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
The Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois, AI Research
Location
Siebel Center 2405
Date
Sep 18, 2023   10:00 - 11:30 am  
Speaker
Emily M. Bender, Professor of Linguistics, Adjunct Professor, School of Computer Science and the Information School, University of Washington
Contact
Prof. Julia Hockenmaier
Views
268
Originating Calendar
Siebel School Speakers Calendar

Abstract: Humans make sense of language in context, bringing to bear their own understanding of the world including their model of their interlocutor's understanding of the world. In this talk, I will explore various potential risks that arise when we as humans bring this sense-making capacity to interactions with artificial interlocutors. That is, I will ask what happens in conversations where one party has no (or extremely limited) access to meaning and all of the interpretative work rests with the other, and briefly explore what this entails for the design of language technology.

 

Bio: Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Linguistics and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Computer Science and the Information School at the University of Washington, where she has been on the faculty since 2003. Her research interests include  multilingual grammar engineering, computational semantics, and the societal impacts of language technology. In 2022 she was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

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