Our future is full of robots and artificial intelligence. Intelligent systems like the ones we already have in our smartphones assess our health, make financial transactions, take strategic decisions and actions in warfare, drive our cars, and more. Some people dream of intelligent systems that will perfectly match our desires and needs, be beneficial for everybody, and make us happier, healthier, richer, and smarter. Others fear intelligent systems will turn against us, make us unhappy and unemployed, damage us, enslave us, and dehumanize us (if not kill us). Which scenario will eventually be realised crucially depends on the question of whether we as a society will be able to control the direction of future technological development. 

In this talk Filippo Santoni de Sio will introduce some general concepts from the field of ethics and philosophy of technology and will address the following questions: Can we keep artificial intelligence and robots under control, and what does it mean to have "meaningful" human control over technology, as opposed to a superficial, useless form of it? 

Filippo Santoni de Sio — Assistant Professor in Ethics of Technology in the department of Ethics/Philosophy of Technology of Delft University of Technology, adjunct professor in Ethics of Transportation at Politecnico di Milano, and Rapporteur of the EU Commission Expert Group to advise on ethical issues raised by driverless mobility. Specialized in philosophical and interdisciplinary research on issues of human control and responsibility for emerging technologies. Has a PhD in Moral Philosophy and co-authored a popular book in Italian on the philosophy of football