SSE library session: knowledge and judgment in the age of the artificial
Today's rapidly changing information landscape raises questions of both an ontological and epistemological nature. Information is more abundant than ever, but what happens to knowledge production when technology shortcuts the processes of human reasoning?
This session explores the role of knowledge in contemporary life through a philosophical and historical lens. We will examine questions of trust, expertise, and learning, and consider their implications for academia and society at large.
Please join us for the first SSE Library Session. This afternoon will include seminars by Sharon Rider (Uppsala University), David Larsson Heidenblad (Lund University), and Klas A.M. Eriksson (SSE). Moderated by Anna Wozny (SSE).
PROGRAM
13.00-13.15 Welcome and introduction to the SSE Library and the Center for Philosophies of Markets
13.15-14.00 David Larsson Heidenblad, Circulating Knowledge in a Distracted World (15 minutes Q&A)
Handelsbanken Foundations & Publishing recently funded a center for the circulation of knowledge and contemporary history (CEKOS). Learn what the research says about how societal breakthroughs of knowledge can be made in challenging times. How can we strengthen the role of knowledge in a distracted world?
14.15-15.00 Sharon Rider, Symbiotic Reasoning: Potential and Pitfalls in Human–AI Collaboration (15 minutes Q&A)
This seminar examines symbiotic reasoning—the ideal of constructing a framework that combines human contextual judgment with AI’s computational capabilities in a unified and transparent problem-solving process. The focus will be on questions concerning the epistemic as well as practical risk and benefits involved in the ongoing reshaping of how we think about knowledge, learning and judgment in academic research and higher education.
15.00-15.15 Coffee break
15.15-16.00 Klas A.M. Eriksson, From Socrates to AI: How Technologies Transform Human Thought (15 minutes Q&A)
Socrates resisted writing because he feared it would weaken human memory and understanding. Similar concerns surround AI today. Explore how general-purpose technologies—from fire and the wheel to electricity and AI—transform human thought and society. What kinds of thinking can machines perform, and what remains distinctly human? What can oral, literate, and mass-media cultures teach us—and why do artificial systems, from digital money to AI, ultimately depend on human trust?