Robin Wolfe Scheffler: Clues and Caution for AI from the History of Biomedicine

ETHICS, COMPUTING, AND AI | PERSPECTIVES FROM MIT

Clues and Caution for AI from the History of Biomedicine

Robin Wolfe Scheffler

“The very intractability of biology and medicine to computation makes their history an essential counterpoint to more optimistic contemporary discussions of the challenges and opportunities for AI in society. Their past underlines two major points: ‘Quantification is a process of  judgment and evaluation, not simple measurement’ and ‘Prediction is not destiny.’”

— Robin Wolfe Scheffler, Leo Marx Career Development Professor in the History and Culture of Science and Technology

READ ARTICLE:  Clues and Caution for AI from the History of Biomedicine

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Series: Ethics, Computing and AI | Persectives from MIT

Robin Wolfe Scheffler: MIT website | MIT Program in Science, Technology and Society

Stories: Kendall’s Key Ingredient
Kendall Square in the 1970s was desolate and seemed an unlikely place to launch a biotech revolution. But the neighborhood had one thing going for it: people. More specifically, proximity to the right people, says MIT historian Robin Wolfe Scheffler.

Scheffler receives 2018 Levitan Prize
Prestigious award in the humanities includes a grant that supports Scheffler’s research into the factors that influenced the development of Boston’s booming biotech industry.

Ethics, Computing and AI series prepared by MIT SHASS Communications
Office of Dean Melissa Nobles
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Series Editor and Designer: Emily Hiestand, Communication Director
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Published 18 February 2019

https://shass.mit.edu/news/news-2019-ethics-and-ai-clues-and-caution-ai-history-biomedicine-robin-scheffler