Displaying items by tag: Artificial Intelligence

The arguments for and against AI as a threat all seem to be centered on the point of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). This is the point where the reasons skills of AI are on par with the average human brain. When reached it would mark an evolution in AI. The people saying AI is a threat are trying to slow down progress towards this, while those arguing it is harmless all say we are nowhere near that stage. I have argued that this point is irrelevant in terms of assessing the dangers of a blind rush to build and shove AI into everything.

Published in Editorials

There is a quote from the movie “The Matrix” that has always stuck with me. It was a scene where Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) is explaining to Neo (Keanu Reeves) the state of the real world and the history that allowed it to get there. The line is “We marveled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI.” There is another important line from the HBO series “From the Earth to the Moon. This line take place when Frank Borman (David Andrews) was asked what caused the Apollo One fire, he replied “A failure of imagination.” These two lines compete for how I view the state of AI development. As we marvel at our own magnificence, we should not stop thinking about the potential risks involved as we push to advance AI. Yet that seems to be what is happening.

Published in Editorials
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 09:18

When supercomputers learn slang

watson

There has been quite a lot written about IBM's Watson. The supercomputer that once won on the famous quiz show Jeopardy!. One of the most covered topics is about the algorithms which provide an excellent understanding of conversational language. This nice bit of programming not only understands what’s spoken, but it also sounds human, with sentences that use informal relaxed syntax and vocabulary of everyday life.

Published in News