ALS Topic 13 - Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) Good for Us? Focus questions for Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar, 21 July 2018 (https://www.meetup.com/AdelaideLunchtimeSeminar/ ) Note: The
questions below are not supposed to suggest biased answers. You
really can adopt any point of view your can suggest evidence for. Do
be prepared for others suggesting counter-evidence! Note: clearly
not all of these questions can be properly covered in a meetup, but
they give us a conscious choice about what to talk about while
making the background context clearer. It is up to the people who
come on the day to choose what aspects they would like to deal with. Focus Questions:
1. What actually is AI (artificial
intelligence) in your understanding?
Extra Reading A.I. - there are no limits to where this
stuff is going: "'I was shocked it was so easy': meet the professor
who says facial recognition can tell if you're gay" - an interview
with the AI researcher and psychologist, Michal Kosinsky who also
says "I don't believe in free will" @
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/07/artificial-intelligence-can-tell-your-sexuality-politics-surveillance-paul-lewis
Traffic control on a grand scale: this looks
like a more benign use of AI: "China’s biggest ride-hailing platform
Didi Chuxing wants to crunch its data to improve traffic conditions"
@
https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2154027/chinas-biggest-ride-hailing-platform-wants-crunch-its-data-improve "Jack Ma says humans will never be able to
compete with AI" @
https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/videos/10155457887166479/
"The crucial flaw of self-driving cars? They
will always need human involvement - The introduction of new
technology into everyday life will always take longer than you
think" John Naughton @
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/15/crucial-flaw-of-self-driving-cars-always-need-human-involvement "Global workforce will be decimated by fourth
[industial] revolution, says Siemens boss" @
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/15/global-workforce-will-be-decimated-by-fourth-revolution-says-siemens-boss Python seems to be the language of choice for
AI programming. In the last year it has had more Google searches
than 'Kim Kardashian', which sounds hopeful. Python is being widely
introduced in schools, at least in America: "Code.org, a charity,
notes that 40% of American schools now offer such lessons, up from
10% in 2013. Around two-thirds of 10- to 12-year-olds have an
account on Code.org’s website. Perhaps unnerved by a future filled
with automated jobs, 90% of American parents want their children to
study computer science". @
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2018/07/21/python-has-brought-computer-programming-to-a-vast-new-audience?cid1=cust/ednew/n/bl/n/2018/07/19n/owned/n/n/nwl/n/n/n/137085/n "The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it
means, how to respond" Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum @
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond "Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things also cloud computing" Wikipedia @
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0 "The meaning of life in a world without work
As technology renders jobs obsolete, what will keep us busy? -
Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari examines ‘the useless class’ and a
new quest for purpose" - The Guardian @
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/08/virtual-reality-religion-robots-sapiens-book?CMP=fb_gu "The robot debate is over: the jobs are gone
and they aren't coming back". Tim Dunlop, The Guardian @
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/mar/31/the-robot-debate-is-over-the-jobs-are-gone-and-they-arent-coming-back "Who should die when a driverless car
crashes? Q&A ponders the future" - The Guardian @
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/03/who-should-die-when-a-driverless-car-crashes-qa-ponders-the-future "World’s largest hedge fund to replace
managers with artificial intelligence ". Wall Street Journal @
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-worlds-largest-hedge-fund-is-building-an-algorithmic-model-of-its-founders-brain-1482423694 "You Will Lose Your Job to a Robot—and Sooner
Than You Think" Mother Jones @
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/10/you-will-lose-your-job-to-a-robot-and-sooner-than-you-think/?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits
"How to ensure Australia thrives when the
robots come".Peter Hartcher @
www.brisbanetimes.com.au%2Fworld%2Fnorth-america%2Fhow-to-ensure-australia-thrives-when-the-robots-come-20170929-gyrgr9.html
"Are Russia’s leaders ready for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution?". Anastasia Kalinina, World Economic Forum,
2016 @
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/are-russia-s-leaders-ready-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution Pedro Domingo, 2015 "The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World" - [book, ebook or MP3] - on Amazon @ https://www.amazon.com/Master-Algorithm-Ultimate-Learning-Machine/dp/1501299387
Thor's own websites: 1. articles at http://independent.academia.edu/ThorMay ; 2. legacy site: http://thormay.net . |