Boston Book Festival

Both the internet and AI are in many ways a boon to society, and yet the threats they pose are undeniable. This session looks at both the benefits and perils and offers a nuanced approach to managing these powerful technologies. Internet maven Jeff Jarvis defends the internet in The Web We Weave: Why We Must Reclaim the Internet from Moguls, Misanthropes, and Moral Panic. The internet is only as good as the people who use it, he argues, and the regulations that have been proposed will fail to fix hate speech, but may imperil freedom. AI researcher and computer scientist Daniella L. Rus, co-author of The Mind’s Mirror: Risk and Reward in the Age of AI, highlights the enormous benefits to society of AI, while also addressing how to mitigate the potential dangers. Andrew Smith explores how algorithmic code works by learning how to write it. In Devil in the Stack: Searching for the Soul of the New Machine, he explores the fascinating history of coding and the threats to privacy and human autonomy that fuel this ultimately anti-social technology. Join us for a provocative discussion led by Dan Lothian, Editor-in-Chief of GBH News and The World.