^ArchiveArticles

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
January 24, 2019

Categorized
Machine Learning

Tagged
Featured, Machine Learning, Reinforcement learning, Supervised Learning, Unsupervised Learning}

Part 1: Navigating the Machine Learning Landscape

_{To choose the right type of machine learning model for your project, you need to answer a few specific questions} _{Jonathan Bartlett

January 24, 2019

6

Machine Learning}

Most machine learning systems fall into three main categories—supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning. The choice of system depends first on which category of machine learning best addresses your situation. Read More ›

Mission Control Center (MCC), Houston, Texas, during the Gemini 5 flight.

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
January 23, 2019

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Work

Tagged
employment, Engineering, Featured, Nerds, STEM fields, Technology, Work}

STEM EDUCATION 1. Pursuing Nerd Quality Over Nerd Quantity

_{Reducing math and science to practice is what engineers do. Scientists didn’t put a man on the moon. Engineers did.} _{Robert J. Marks

January 23, 2019

6

Artificial Intelligence, Work}

Overall, computer applications will impact our society and culture as much as electricity did. And we’re living smack in the middle of the transformation. Read More ›

Attendees listening to talk at conference

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
January 21, 2019

Categorized
Events

Tagged
AI Conferences, AI Nextcon, AWS re:Invent, IBM Think, TechCrunch Robotics+AI, The O'Reilly AI Conference}

Boost Your AI Knowledge and Skills at 2019’s Most Promising Conferences

_{Are you a software developer or business leader? Here’s where you want to be this year} _{Jonathan Bartlett

January 21, 2019

3

Events}

Do you ever feel frustrated when you hear about significant AI developments and you can’t be sure how — or whether — they relate to your organization? Are you missing out? Will a competitor “get it” ahead of your firm? The best strategy is to take a bit of time to get to know the technology, the companies, the people, and the ideas personally. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
January 21, 2019

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
ethics, Human value, Instrumental value, Intrinsic value, money}

The Creative Spark

_{An information theory justification for the intrinsic value of human beings} _{Eric Holloway

January 21, 2019

5

Ethics, Philosophy of Mind}

Because creativity is unique to humans and irreducible, all human beings have the ability in principle. The fact that a particular human being’s creativity is not in use or is perhaps unusable at present does not mean that that person does not have the ability. Consequently, all humans have at least latent intrinsic instrumental value. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 21, 2019

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Anna Buckley, Daniel Dennett, David Bentley Hart, David Papineau, Featured, John Horgan, Michael Egnor, Thomas Nagel}

Has Science Shown That Consciousness Is Only an Illusion?

_{Using clever analogies, Philosopher Daniel Dennett argues that consciousness is all smoke and mirrors} _{Denyse O'Leary

January 21, 2019

8

Philosophy of Mind}

British philosopher Papineau recommends taking Dennett’s theories “with a pinch of salt.” American essayist David Bentley Hart is less charitable: “Daniel Dennett’s latest book marks five decades of majestic failure to explain consciousness” Read More ›

Market with hundreds of stalls from above

^{Type
post

Author
Winston Ewert
Date
January 18, 2019

Categorized
Technocracy, Work

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Central Planning, Featured, free market, Machine Learning, Universal Basic Income}

Will the Free Market Help or Hurt Us in an AI-Empowered World?

_{We may need new institutions, such as insurance against job obsolescence} _{Winston Ewert

January 18, 2019

6

Technocracy, Work}

If humans are free to experiment with new institutions, I believe we will find an excellent solution. However, there is a great danger that those who benefit from the status quo will use their influence to prevent the adoption of new institutions. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 17, 2019

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Creativity, Machine Learning, Work

Tagged
Artwork, Ben Dickson, Creativity, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Portraiture}

Does AI Art Spell the End of the Artist’s Way of Life?

_{An AI-produced painting sold at auction for $432,500. But is it a trend or just a novelty?} _{News

January 17, 2019

5

Arts & Culture, Creativity, Machine Learning, Work}

Rather than announce that human artists are now doomed, software engineer Ben Dixon interviewed a number of them and came away with a rather different picture, that “AI-generated art will improve, but artistic creativity will remain a human discipline.”

How Can Consciousness Be a Material Thing?

_{Maybe it can’t. But materialist philosophers face starkly limited choices in how to view consciousness} _{Denyse O'Leary

January 16, 2019

7

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In analytical philosopher Galen Strawson’s opinion, our childhood memories of pancakes on Saturday, for example, are—and must be—"wholly physical." Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 14, 2019

Categorized
Data Privacy, Technocracy

Tagged
Ad personalization, Advertising, Anonymity, Big Data, Deanonymizing data, Featured, Privacy, Security}

Your Phone Knows Everything Now

_{And in a world where no data is anonymous, yours may be sold to the highest bidder} _{News

January 14, 2019

7

Data Privacy, Technocracy}

Your location can be a useful guide to your buying habits, whether or not you want to buy anything or think anyone has any business snooping on you to find out. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 14, 2019

Categorized
Ethics, Social Factors

Tagged
fake news, Featured, Information, journalism, Retraction, retractions, Social Factors, social media, studies, truth}

Research Showing That Fake News Easily Fools Us Collapses

_{A recent paper claiming that low-quality news (“fake news”) spreads as quickly on social media as accurate news has been retracted by its authors.} _{News

January 14, 2019

5

Ethics, Social Factors}

A team from the Shanghai Institute of Technology sought to study whether accuracy made any difference to whether a post goes viral on social media. They cited a concern about “the digital misinformation that threatens our democracy.” Read More ›

Amoebae move and feed by using pseudopods, which are bulges of cytoplasm formed by the coordinated action of actin microfilaments pushing out the plasma membrane that surrounds the cell.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 11, 2019

Categorized
Machine Learning, Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Amoebas, Animal Minds, Machine Learning, Slime mold, Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP)}

Is an Amoeba Smarter Than Your Computer?

_{Hype aside, the microbe’s math skills ace the Traveling Salesman problem and may help with cybersecurity} _{News

January 11, 2019

6

Machine Learning, Natural Intelligence}

When we hear hype about machines that will soon out-think people, we might put it in perspective by recalling that we still struggle to build a machine that can out-think amoebas looking for crumbs. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 8, 2019

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Consciousness, personhood, Salvo}

Consciousness Studies Is a “Bizarre” Field of Science

_{The question of whether machines can be conscious is bound up with attempts to study immaterial things while denying their existence} _{News

January 8, 2019

3

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

The person who is trying to build consciousness into a machine has only a human model so he is trying to build a little human into the machine. He cannot do so but he can try to make himself and others believe that he has done it. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
George Montañez
Date
January 7, 2019

Categorized
Ethics, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Bayes' Theorem, bias, Featured, Longform, Machine Learning, Minorities, Prejudice, Racism, Social Factors, Technocracy}

AI: Think About Ethics Before Trouble Arises

_{A machine learning specialist reflects on Micah 6:8 as a guide to developing ethics for the rapidly growing profession} _{George Montañez

January 7, 2019

18

Ethics, Medicine and Health}

To love mercy sometimes means to give up efficiency. It could mean losing a few points of model accuracy by refusing to take into account features that invade privacy or are proxies for race, leading to discriminatory model behavior. But that’s OK. The merciful are willing to give up some of their rights and advantages so they can help others. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
January 4, 2019

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Technocracy

Tagged
AI Winter, Backpropagation, Brendan Dixon, constrained vision, Data processing, Data processing inequality, Featured, Ray Kurzweil, Singularity, The Singularity, the unconstrained vision}

Will artificial intelligence design artificial super-intelligence?

_{And then turn us all into super-geniuses, as some AI researchers hope? No, and here's why not} _{Eric Holloway

January 4, 2019

8

Artificial Intelligence, Technocracy}

Because Moore's law is an exponential law, the numbers multiply rapidly and we could hit the physical limit rather suddenly. Current indications are that Moore’s law’s speed has already slowed or even ceased to be a true description of the IT industry today. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 3, 2019

Categorized
Social Factors

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, ethics, Featured, Longform, Machine Learning, Racism, Social Factors}

Can an Algorithm Be Racist?

_{No, the machine has no opinion. It processes vast tracts of data. And, as a result, the troubling hidden roots of some data are exposed} _{Denyse O'Leary

January 3, 2019

8

Social Factors}

It’s tempting to assume that a villain lurks behind such a scene when the exact opposite is the problem: A system dominated by machines is all calculations, not thoughts, intentions, or choices. If the input is wrong, so is the output. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 31, 2018

Categorized
Social Factors, Work

Tagged
economics, Featured, George Gilder, Information Theory, Knowledge and Power (book), Peter Thiel, Plato's Library, wealth, Zero to One (book)}

How Can Information Theory Help the Economy Grow?

_{New information is the true source of new wealth; everyone wins when we learn how to produce it more efficiently} _{Jonathan Bartlett

December 31, 2018

6

Social Factors, Work}

What gives humans the ability to increase in prosperity, according to Eric Holloway, is our ability to “read” from Plato’s Library of new ideas, thus providing an ever-growing supply of side information that powers the economy. Read More ›

camera record on crane in production on studio and light to stage for entertainment industry

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
December 31, 2018

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
2018 AI Hype, AI Delusion (book), Big Data, Cancer, Chamath Palihapitiya, Gary Smith, Health Care, IBM, Jeopardy, Job Displacement, Medicine, Social Capital (firm), Social Factors, Watson}

1: IBM’s Watson Is NOT Our New Computer Overlord

_{AI help, not hype: It won at Jeopardy (with specially chosen “softball” questions) but is not the hoped-for aid to cancer specialists} _{Robert J. Marks

December 31, 2018

10

Artificial Intelligence}

One problem that has dogged Watson has nothing to do with AI or medicine. The journalism around the introduction of projects like Watson is long on the Gee Whiz! An Electronic Brain! It Won at Jeopardy! And it is short on systematic inquiry as to outcomes versus goals. Read More ›