timo_honkela_phil_16aug2017

Since 2014, Timo Honkela has served as a professor at the department of modern linguistics of University of Helsinki, Finland. Earlier he has worked as a professor and other academic positions at the Helsinki University of Technology and University of Art and Design Helsinki (both currently part of Aalto University).

The central themes in Honkela’s work have been related to the epistemological questions regarding computational modeling of language, communication, and human knowledge. For more than twenty years he has studied language and human use and understanding of language as a dynamic, adaptive and socio-cognitive phenomenon rather than symbolic and rule-governed system. A specific theme has been process of emergence. As a lot of technological development takes place, Honkela finds careful consideration of philosophical questions in epistemology and ethics more important than ever.

Since the beginning of 2017, Honkela has concentrated on developing the concept of Peace Machine(s). This concept glues together methods and tools from artificial intelligence and machine learning with understanding from philosophy, humanities and social sciences.

Lecture / Kiasma Theater / 10:20 pm / 20 min


A Night of Philosophy in Helsinki 2’s full program