In-person and via Zoom, One Friday per month, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM, conference room ( HPST, 13 rue du Four, 75006).
Organizers: D. Bonnay (U. Paris Nanterre), P. Huneman (IHPST, Paris), F. Poggiolesi (IHPST, Paris), M. Schuele (ZHAW)
With the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs), Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved to the forefront of public attention. At the heart of this interest are questions about the nature and potential of AI. These questions often refer to what makes us human. What is language and how does it work? What is reasoning and how does it operate? What defines an agent? What conditions are sufficient for the notion of personhood, and can a machine fulfill them? And, of course, what is consciousness, and is it the kind of thing a digital computer can be endowed with?
Recent technological advances invite us to approach these questions from new perspectives. They push us to examine our understanding and, potentially, to rethink long-established concepts. In this seminar, we address philosophical questions related to AI, drawing on the rich tradition of philosophical thought while integrating recent technical and mathematical advances, to better understand the scope and significance of the current AI revolution. Speakers include philosophers, cognitive scientists, and computer scientists.
2025-2026 Theme: Reasoning
As the first theme of our seminar, we propose to explore the concept of reasoning, as well as that of AI systems capable of reasoning, offering a stimulating and enlightening perspective—both in the context of recent AI developments and in relation to broader philosophical questions. On one hand, reasoning is a versatile faculty, fundamental to human cognition, as it allows us to integrate diverse information to draw new conclusions. From a more essentialist point of view, it can even be considered a distinctive trait that defines us as rational beings. On the other hand, the latest generation of AI models have been described as "reasoning models," as they are equipped with "think-before-you-answer" functionalities, associated with integrated chain-of-thought behaviors.
By combining philosophical perspectives with evaluations of these technologies, we aim to examine several resulting questions, such as:
2025-2026 First Semester Program
September 26: Carina Prunkl (INRIA)
https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/92503750086?pwd=GNFxA34QObTA9aWOu01HqcCDogzZ74.1
ID de réunion: 925 0375 0086
Code secret: 098107
October 10: Denis Bonnay (U. Paris Nanterre)
November 21: Reto Gubelmann (UZH)
December 12: Charles Rathkopf (Juilich Research Center)