LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman speaks at Cambridge Judge

The sessions on 9 May were organised by the El-Erian Institute for Behavioural Economics and Policy at Cambridge Judge, and moderated by the Centre’s Director, Professor Lucia Reisch.

Faculty of Cambridge Judge outlined various areas of their research, especially on artificial intelligence (AI), including studies on AI and creativity, how AI can be used to address issues relating to healthcare and climate change, and ways government can become more efficient by applying AI and other digital technologies. Hoffman in 2022 co-founded AI studio Inflection AI, and earlier this year he co-founded Manas AI, a firm that leverages proprietary AI and biology to tackle cancer. 

Hoffman’s new book looks at the future of AI 

At the larger public event, Hoffman discussed ‘Superagency: what could possibly go right with our AI future’, the book he co-authored that was published earlier this year. The book argues that AI will increase human agency, or the ability to exert influence over your life through independent choices. It also imagines advantages that AI will bring such as “if every child on the planet suddenly has access to an AI tutor that is as smart as Leonardo da Vinci and as empathetic as Big Bird”, the kindly character on the children’s TV series Sesame Street. 

Beyond the book’s main theme of superagency, the question-and-answer session focused on topics such as how AI will affect the military, the effect AI will have on jobs and the workplace, and how AI will impact education and educational assessment.

We were really delighted to host Reid Hoffman for these Cambridge Judge events, as I know that our faculty, students and others gained really valuable insight from his experience as a founder and investor.

Lucia Reisch, El-Erian Professor of Behavioural Economics and Policy

Reid Hoffman photo credit: MIT Media Lab, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons