The anthropologist explains why being scared about AI has more to do with our fear of each other than killer robots
Genevieve Bell: ‘Humanity’s greatest fear is about being irrelevant’
Science
Understanding the four types of AI, from reactive robots to self-aware beings
The common, and recurring, view of the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence research is that sentient and intelligent machines are just on the horizon. Machines understand verbal commands, distinguish pictures, drive cars and play games better than we do. How much longer can it be before they walk among us? By Arend Hintze, Michigan State University The new White House report on artificial intelligence takes an appropriately skeptical view of that dream. It says the next 20 years likely won’t see machines “exhibit broadly-applicable intelligence comparable to or exceeding that of humans,” though it does go on to say that in the coming years, “machines will reach and exceed human performance on more and more tasks.” But its assumptions about how […]
Broadcasting the wow factor
TV chat shows can be great platforms to introduce a new product, create interest in going to the cinema and see a hot movie, or any manner of things celebrity guests talk about and likely to attract a big audience. In today’s sharing society, you also want to extend the reach of a topic and its wow factor by building buzz online. A cool product that played a big part in the latest The Graham Norton Show last night – undoubtedly the preeminent TV chat show in the UK, broadcast every Friday night on BBC1 – was a little robot that wowed Graham Norton, his three guests – Gary Oldman, Toni Collette and Nick Frost – and the studio audience. […]
Too much FUD and too little facts about fracking
If there’s one major issue of significant public interest today that’s shrouded in fear, uncertainty and doubt, it’s fracking. If you believe the supporters of this mining process to extract natural gas and petroleum deposits from shale rock – formally known as “hydraulic fracturing” – it could be the salvation of our energy needs for the foreseeable future, maybe for the next forty years or more. If you believe the opponents of fracking, it’s a major threat to the environment and to public health, causes earth tremors if not actual quakes and is not the answer to meeting our energy needs. In the midst of all this FUD are governments looking for that political and economic Holy Grail of meeting […]
Tuning in to Hurricane Sandy
The ability for people to be connected via the internet is no more valuable when it comes to crises and disasters of one type or another, natural or otherwise. Hurricane Sandy – the super #Frankenstorm on track to hit the US East Coast today – is a perfect example. The latest advisory from the US National Hurricane Center is sobering: ..SANDY STRENGTHENS…EXPECTED TO BRING LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE…COASTAL HURRICANE WINDS AND HEAVY APPALACHIAN SNOWS… Being able to find out what’s happening, how it affects you, your loved ones and your community can be the difference between risk and safety, even life or death. It provides those in government and public safety organizations with multiple communication channels and tools that enable them […]