34.3400, Calls: Agency and Intentions in Artificial Intelligence

Tue Nov 14 15:05:03 UTC 2023

LINGUIST List: Vol-34-3400. Tue Nov 14 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.3400, Calls: Agency and Intentions in Artificial Intelligence

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Date: 13-Nov-2023
From: Julie Goncharov [julie.goncharov at uni-goettingen.de]
Subject: Agency and Intentions in Artificial Intelligence

Full Title: Agency and Intentions in Artificial Intelligence
Short Title: AIAI

Date: 15-May-2024 - 17-May-2024
Location: University of Goettingen, Germany
Contact Person: Julie Goncharov
Meeting Email: julie.goncharov at uni-goettingen.de
Web Site: https://ail-workshop.github.io/aiai-conference/index.html

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Cognitive Science;
Computational Linguistics; Discipline of Linguistics; Linguistic
Theories; Philosophy of Language
Subject Language(s): English (eng)

Call Deadline: 11-Feb-2024

Meeting Description:

"Agency and Intentions in Artificial Intelligence" (AIAI) builds on
the success of our workshop series "Agency and Intentions in Language"
(AIL), which  brings together scholars in theoretical linguistics,
philosophy, and psychology who are interested in questions related to
agency, intentions, reasoning about actions, and causation. AIAI aims
at extending this interdisciplinary theoretical discussion of
fundamental principles underlying human-human interaction to
human-machine interaction, broadly construed.

The talk of “artificial intelligence” is everywhere. From its use in
medical diagnosis to relationship chatbots, AI technology is improving
rapidly in the diverse tasks it can perform, offering genuine benefits
to human social life along with novel risks. With so much at stake, it
is surprising that we have so little basic theoretical understanding
of AI systems as unique agents that encode, or can be interpreted as
encoding, intentional actions in communication with humans. The goal
of this conference is to start a sober conversation about AI systems
as agent-like collaborators.

In particular, we are interested in understanding whether (and how)
the conceptual baggage that Large Language Models (LLMs) come with is
similar to (or different from) the conceptual fundamentals that
underlie human linguistic competence. LLMs are often used by humans in
unique forms of request-making, collaboration, and problem solving.
This is the same range of tasks that has shaped the evolution of our
faculty of language. We are now in the era where these two language
related systems interact with each other.

We want to bring together theoretical linguists, philosophers,
cognitive scientists, and computer scientists in a rich and
multi-faceted discussion regarding conceptual representations of
agency and intentions in LLMs and their connection to related
representations based on human linguistic competence. The conference
is interdisciplinary in nature. Rather than viewing the complexity of
these topics as a challenge to productive conversation, we think of it
as an opportunity to bring thinkers from diverse backgrounds together
to share various tools, methods, theories, and perspectives on how to
make sense of agency in non-human computational systems and their
interaction with human agency. We do not expect all of the presenters
at the conference to share the same methodological assumptions or
research backgrounds, nor do we expect such congruence in our
attendees. This allows all participants to benefit from seeing
questions of agency and AI from new standpoints. Additionally, it
encourages speakers and attendees to present their ideas and questions
in clear and accessible ways so that, say, a linguist can effectively
communicate their work to philosophers and cognitive scientists.

Keynote speakers
Andrey Kutuzov (University of Oslo)

Rick Nouwen (Utrecht University)

Anna Strasser (Berlin)

Important dates
November 13, 2023 open Call for Papers

February 11, 2024 abstract submission deadline

March 11, 2024 notification of acceptance

May 15-17, 2024 conference dates

Scientific committee
Julie Goncharov (University of Göttingen)
Kyle Thompson (Harvey Mudd College)
Olga Kellert (Universidade da Coruña, Grupo LyS, contracted CL and AI
scientist)
Hedde Zeijlstra (University of Göttingen)
Brian Keeley (Pitzer College)
Thomas Weskott (University of Göttingen)

Call for Papers:

We cordially invite submissions from linguists, philosophers,
cognitive scientists and computer scientists exploring topics related
to agency and intentions with respect to human linguistic competence
and/or in AI systems. Some questions and topics that will be in the
scope of the conference are as follows:

Are AI systems, or LLMs in particular, unique kinds of agents? How
should we understand the human propensity to treat them as such? Do AI
systems and LLMs produce linguistic outputs that can be understood
through the concepts of "intentional action" or "intentions"?
Are AI systems or LLMs unique language users? How can we best study,
discuss, and engage with their linguistic outputs?
What semantic properties and conceptions can be attributed to outputs
from LLMs or other AI systems? How similar (different) are they from
semantic properties and conceptions that we use for theorizing about
human linguistic competence?
What do LLMs teach us about concepts themselves, specifically those
related to agency, such as "intentions" and "decision-making" and
"reasons" and "judgment"? Are there fundamental differences in the way
"intentional action" is captured in human language as compared to how
it is captured in LLMs?
Are LLMs participating in acts and expressions in similar ways to
human agents? For example, do LLMs encode for something like an
“understanding” of concepts? Do they “refer” to things and ideas in
their linguistic outputs? Are they “responding” to human requests and
inquiries?
Are LLM concept vectors sufficiently grounded, i.e., are they
connected in the right ways to the real world, to constitute certain
semantic properties that human expressions possess?
How are specific ethical problems related to AI informed by the above
questions about the linguistic capacities of AI systems? How might
those ethical issues be better addressed?
Can cognitive scientific models of human thinking, agency, and
decision-making benefit from studying LLMs? What can cognitive science
tell us about how LLMs “process” information?
How do computer scientists think about the role of agency and
intentions when developing LLMs?
The list of topics above is not exhaustive. The heart of the topics is
a drive to learn and discover more about AI systems as potential
agents and decision-makers. While the conference is not directly
focused on providing solutions to ethical problems in AI development,
questions of ethics and moral responsibility both motivate the
discussion and will be included in the conference. What AIAI will
uniquely achieve, though, is an interdisciplinary conversation about
the technical philosophical and linguistic features of the very AI
systems that humans will continue to employ in ever more domains of
social life. A new phase AI is here, and we think this offers new
opportunities and challenges for people in all areas of life. Our goal
is to meet these opportunities and challenges through the unique
theoretical perspectives offered by linguists, philosophers, computer
scientists, and cognitive scientists. After all, it is impossible to
take practical moral action in response to AI systems if we cannot
make sense of what AI is, does, or intends.

Abstract submission
Submission opens: November 13, 2023

Submission deadline: February 11, 2024

Anonymous abstracts, not exceeding 2 pages (including references and
examples), with font no less than 11 Times New Roman, and 2 cm
margins, should be uploaded on AIAI EasyChair website
(https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=aiai1). We expect to notify
authors of their acceptance by March 11, 2024. Presentations will be
allotted 30 minute slots with 15 minutes for questions and discussion.

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