Event Details

In 1950, Alan Turing famously asked “Can Machines Think?”  This lecture traces AI’s remarkable and troubled history — from Turing’s vision through decades-long cycles of hype and disappointment, to the Machine Learning revolution and today’s Large Language Models.  Illustrated with live demonstrations, it aims to bring the fundamental ideas to life for a broad audience.  We end where Turing began, but in even more unsettling territory: could modern AI systems become not only intelligent but conscious—and might they deserve moral consideration?

About the Speaker
Professor Peter Millican is the inaugural Tan Chorh Chuan Professor at NUS College, jointly appointed with the Department of Philosophy at the National University of Singapore and the University of Oxford. A world-renowned scholar on the philosophy of David Hume—and Alan Turing—Prof Millican brings with him a wealth of experience, including his leadership in developing the Computer Science and Philosophy degree programme at Oxford, and more recently, he contributed to the development of the new Centre for Computational Social Science and Humanities at NUS.

The Tan Chorh Chuan Professorship, one of two newly endowed chairs at NUS College, was established to foster cross-disciplinary learning and innovation.

Terms & Conditions

1. Registration for the event will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
2. The organiser reserves the right to make changes to the event programme - including but not limited to speakers, schedule, and content - without prior notice.
3. The organiser reserves the right to cancel or reschedule the event of unforeseen circumstances beyond the organiser's control. Registered participants will be notified via email or other means of communication provided during registration.
4. By participating in the event, participants agree to indemnify the organiser from claims, damages, losses, or expenses arising out of their participation.
5. Participants acknowledge that photographs, videos, or audio recordings may be taken during the event, and agree to grant the organiser the right to use such media for promotional or documentation purposes.