What can we learn about artificial intelligence from studying the race to develop the atomic bomb? A lot, according to Jennet Conant, writer, granddaughter of Manhattan Project adviser James B. Conant, and author of Alta Journal’s Issue 24 cover story, “The Cautionary Tale of J. Robert Oppenheimer.” Conant joins Alta publisher and editor Will Hearst to explore the parallels between the work done by Oppenheimer in the 1940s and the present day rapid emergence of AI software. Could AI become a weapon of mass destruction and create new global battlefields, or will this innovation help us achieve a happier, more equitable planet? Discuss this and much more in a very timely episode of Alta Live.
About the guest:
Jennet Conant is the granddaughter of James B. Conant, a former president of Harvard University and a key scientific adviser on the Manhattan Project who oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and its deployment against Japan and, along with Oppenheimer, later led the opposition to the development of the hydrogen bomb. She is the author of six books, including 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos. Her Fierce Ambition: The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins will be published this fall.
About the moderator:
Will Hearst is the editor and publisher of Alta Journal, which he founded in 2017. He is the board chair of Hearst, one of the nation’s largest diversified media and information companies. Hearst is a grandson of company founder William Randolph Hearst.•
