Axioms of AI

From its inception, modern computing has faced a series of hard problems, that is, some prize or domain that seems to elude computation. These hard problems include meaning, quality, the real, continuity, and mind. Historically, digital computing has either been definitionally barred from claiming one or more of these prizes, or has thus far been unable to perform satisfactorily in obtaining them. When tackling a hard problem, most of the work is performed by the integers, plus a series of attendant operations borrowed from arithmetic, logic, and linear algebra (namely, matrix manipulation). Meanwhile a ton of heavy lifting is performed elsewhere, by a series of "invisible" operations. While not typically labeled technologies per se, we must include these invisible operations as axioms.

For this lecture, Alexander R. Galloway will address five axioms of AI: the Turing Test, the Eliza Effect, float fusion, scale, and arbitrage.

Lecture followed by a moderated Q&A with researcher Mikkel Rørbo.

Alexander R. Galloway is a writer and computer programmer working on issues in philosophy, technology, and theories of mediation. Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, he is author of several books on digital media and critical theory, including Uncomputable (Verso, 2021) and, most recently, Digital Theory (Minnesota/meson, 2026) written with M. Beatrice Fazi, Matthew Handelman, and Leif Weatherby. A new book on the digital and the analog, Alphanumerische Philosophie, is forthcoming in German from Suhrkamp Verlag.