AI and the Classical Greeks

Conversations and Lectures with Michael Sears

Since 2018, I've been teaching leadership and ethics at the intersection of the new technologies that are impacting our lives. Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Social Media have profoundly effected how we work and play and interact. A large part of that "teaching" has been by using cutting edge imagery and audio production technologies that make the lessons engaging. As such, I've been able to present to various audiences in community settings, academia and business conferences, as well as leisure environments in such a way that audiences stay captivated and asking for more.

In this episode of Radio Stockdale at the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership, we talk about how might the philosophies of the classical Greeks apply to today's AI technologies? Does the concept of a virtuous life translate into the development and use of artificial intelligence? Given their belief in the value of seeking knowledge as a pathway to virtue, how might this principle apply to the creation of AI systems that learn and evolve? Plato introduces the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, justice and temperance in Book 4 of "The Republic" and Aristotle expands them and explains how to make them practical in "The Nicomachean Ethics. How can these virtues be integrated into the design and operational principles of AI systems to ensure they contribute positively to society? The Greeks faced numerous ethical dilemmas that tested their principles. How might applying a classical Greek approach to ethics offer a path to resolving AI influenced ethical dilemmas?