We’re living in the age of the AI craze—or is it perhaps an AI scare? After Chat GPT was launched in 2022, some have named the 21st century the age of AI, but its history actually dates back to the 1950s. In this episode, Professor Georg Rehm from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence joins us to debunk some of the myths and misconceptions about AI. The episode also covers the topic of AI’s functioning, its further potential, and the capabilities that are associated with its vast range of tools. “You end up in a system that is able to essentially be a partner in a conversation,” says prof. Rehm about Large Language Models.

In the second part of the conversation, prof. Rehm addresses the risks of feeding AI with data from various sources, including spam and propaganda content, the challenges of improving AI’s quality and accessibility to the public, as well as the significance of AI as a commercial product in the era of mass culture.

This conversation was recorded back in December 2024 during the Humanities-Society-Identity Congress at the Faculty of Modern Languages in Warsaw.

Host: Maria Łusakowska, Wydział Neofilologii UW

Guest: prof. Georg Rehm, DFKI

Text Edit: Bartłomiej Krupa 

Sound Edit: Franciszek Wójcicki

Mentioned in the episode:

1956, John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, workshop at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, project: “Artificial Intelligence” 

Web crawls, hyperlinks 

Language Data Space Connector 

Digital Language Distinction

If you liked this episode you can give us five stars, subscribe, or simply recommend it to your friends.

NeoTalk is the official podcast of the Faculty of Modern Languages at the University of Warsaw. You can find us on ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠or ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠.

You can also write to us at [email protected]