The AI Mirror: Why Machines Reflect Us More Than They Think (with Shannon Vallor)

Can AI ever be truly wise, or are we just seeing reflections of ourselves? Philosophy Professor Shannon Vallor joins Igor and Charles to explore how technology shapes human wisdom, why we’ve been thinking about AI all wrong, and what it really means to align machines with our values. Shannon unpacks the AI Mirror metaphor, suggesting that today’s AI isn’t a thinking mind but a reflection of human data, Igor considers whether technology could ever help us become wiser rather than just more efficient, and Charles wonders if philosophy can guide better decisions in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms. Welcome to Episode 63.

• Shannon Vallor | University of Edinburgh
• Shannon Vallor | Edinburgh Futures Institute, The University of Edinburgh
• The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking - Shannon Vallor (2024)
• How philosopher Shannon Vallor delivered the year’s best critique of AI - Fast Company (2024)
• The Turing Lectures: Can we live with AI? - Shannon Vallor
• The Danger Of Superhuman AI Is Not What You Think | Noema - Shannon Vallor
• The Thoughts The Civilized Keep | Noema - Shannon Vallor
• AI Is the Black Mirror | Nautilus - Philip Ball
• Technology and the Virtues A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting - Shannon Vallor (Book)
• Moral Machines: From Value Alignment to Embodied Virtue - Wendell Wallach, Shannon Vallor (2020)
• AI and the Automation of Wisdom - Shannon Vallor (2017)
• The AI Mirror — how technology blocks human potential | FT (Subscription Required)