^CategoryArtificial Intelligence

^{Type
post

Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
September 10, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Technocracy

Tagged
Alan Turing, Charles Darwin, Erik J. Larson, Featured, Myth of Artificial Intelligence (book)}

Isn’t It Time for an Artificial Intelligence Reality Check?

_{Why do we think we’re so close to artificial general intelligence (AGI) when there are so many obstacles to overcome?} _{Andrew McDiarmid

September 10, 2021

5

Artificial Intelligence, Technocracy}

The Singularity is coming! The Singularity is coming! If you’re getting tired of hearing that “strong AI” is just around the corner, you’re not alone. The Stephen Hawkings, Ray Kurzweils, and Elon Musks of the world have been putting humanity on notice with predictions of machines overtaking humans for decades. It’s either the dawn of utopia or the start of a nightmare, depending on who’s talking. And every time they’re issued, the media jumps on them, because being on the cusp of a new era of intelligent beings is news. What’s missing from these confident claims, however, is a realistic assessment of the problems that rank-and-file computer scientists wrestle with every day — namely, the problem of intelligence. In their Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
September 9, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, China, Elon Musk, Erik J. Larson, Francois Chollet, Jack Ma, Jonathan Bartlett, Michael I. Jordan, Nikola Danaylov, Singularity Weblog, The Myth of Artificial Intelligence (book)}

Danaylov: Right on Technology, Wrong on AI

_{Danaylov's confidence in the future of AI super-intelligence is exaggerated} _{Caitlin Cory

September 9, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence}

Our future is determined by the stories we tell ourselves. So says futurist Nikola Danaylov in his online series exploring the years and decades to come for humanity. In our previous posts, we introduced you to Danaylov and examined his perspective on science. Now we will turn to his treatment of technology and artificial intelligence. The Technology Story Like his perspective on science, Danaylov brings a balanced understanding to technology. Technology “is not an end-in-itself,” he says. “Instead, technology is merely a means-to-an-end, a tool.” Jonathan Bartlett has also written about technology as a tool. In 2019, Elon Musk and Jack Ma shared a stage to debate the future of technology and artificial intelligence. Here’s what Bartlett had to say about it: For Ma, Read More ›

Young woman looking on the black board with mathematical formulas and calculations. Bright idea, way of thinking, discovery and challenge concept.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 6, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Austin Russell, COSM2021, Featured, George Gilder, Jay Richards, Kai-Fu Lee, Luminar, Niall Ferguson, Philip M. Parker}

If You Fear High Tech Debates, Stay Away From COSM 2021

_{COSM 2021 will be held in person. You will interact with the real movers and shakers.} _{News

September 6, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics}

Recently, George Gilder and Jay Richards enjoyed a wide ranging discussion on the topics and people converging for the COSM 2021 Technology Summit: From Life After Google to Life After Capitalism. In the first portion, they discussed life after capitalism. Who can still innovate? In this portion, they talk about innovations that will make a difference: This portion starts at about 10:30 min. Here is a partial transcript and notes: George Gilder: Kai-Fu Lee will be there to talk about his new book, Ten Visions, about artificial intelligence. We hope that he can give us some ideas that are relevant to the new environment for US-China relations… But people like Kai-Fu Lee are keeping world of knowledge and wealth, then Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 2, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
COSM 2021, COVID-19 (government reactions), Featured, Friedrich Hayek, George Gilder, Jay Richards, Life After Capitalism (book), Life After Capitalism (COSM 2021), Neil Ferguson, Niall Ferguson, Peter Thiel (at COSM 2021)}

What Do We Need To Know About Life After Capitalism?

_{At COSM 2021, a number of thinkers will discuss and debate the pressing questions} _{News

September 2, 2021

7

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics}

Recently, George Gilder and Jay Richards enjoyed a wide ranging discussion on the topics and people that will converge for the COSM 2021 Technology Summit: From Life After Google to Life After Capitalism. They cover the paradoxes of the future of technology. Here is a partial transcript of the first ten minutes: Jay Richards: The theme of COSM 2021 is Life After Capitalism, which is also the name of your forthcoming book. What does that mean exactly? What are you referring to, this idea of life after capitalism? George Gilder: In the last few months, literally trillions of dollars of new money has been printed. Money has been deprived of its informational content. It’s now merely an expression of government Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 30, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity

Tagged
Art (criticism), Artificial intelligence (and works of art), Claques (promoting art works), Featured}

It’s AI Art — But Is That Really Art?

_{Much depends on the claque that agrees that it IS art} _{Robert J. Marks

August 30, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity}

There are reports that AI has created wonderful music and great paintings. But who judges whether a creation is or isn’t art? 19th century writer Margaret Wolfe Hungerford claimed that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”1 So any analysis of AI art or music will be subjective. One person’s modern art masterpiece can be viewed by others as like a child’s finger painting. The same is true for music. The delightful chaos of Charles Ives music is interpreted by some as noise. The value of all art can cannot be quantized but, indeed, “is in the eye of the beholder.” The degree to which art is held in high regard can be emotionally manipulated. A great example is Read More ›

Bussiness man Hand press button on panel of printer, printer scanner laser office copy machine supplies start concept.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 26, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Science

Tagged
Computer science journals, Elsevier (on plagiarism), Guillaume Cabanac, Plagiarism}

Science Sleuths Catch Authors Using AI Tool for Plagiarism

_{Odd phrases like “counterfeit consciousness” instead of “artificial intelligence” began appearing in computer science journals, triggering an investigation} _{News

August 26, 2021

2

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Science}

The expression “tortured phrases” likely reminds teachers of student essays. Paradoxically, it takes time to develop a “natural” style. But last April, when that sort of language started appearing in computer science journals, some alert researchers suspected that something more serious than mere awkwardness was at work: The researchers could not understand why researchers would use the terms ‘counterfeit consciousness’, ‘profound neural organization’ and ‘colossal information’ in place of the more widely recognized terms ‘artificial intelligence’, ‘deep neural network’ and ‘big data’. Holly Else, “‘Tortured phrases’ give away fabricated research papers” at Nature But they figured it out. Many computer science papers, especially from China, were partly constructed using automated translation and software that may disguise plagiarism. But the software Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
August 25, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Events

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, COSM 2021, Kai-Fu Lee, speech recognition software}

Kai-Fu Lee, Inventor of Speech Recognition, to Speak at COSM 2021

_{Lee is one of many technological geniuses appearing in Seattle this November} _{Caitlin Cory

August 25, 2021

2

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Events}

This November in Seattle, some of the most brilliant minds in technology will gather for COSM, an exclusive national summit on how technology is remaking the world as we know it. Among its many speakers will be Kai-Fu Lee, a computer scientist, businessman, and the inventor of speech recognition. Lee’s credentials are many and impressive. After his Ph.D. work at Carnegie Mellon (which produced continuous speech recognition), he has journeyed through the offices of Apple, SGI, Microsoft, and Google. In 2009, he launched Sinovation Ventures in an effort to financially support up-and-coming Chinese high-tech companies. In 2018, Lee gave a TED talk on how human beings can thrive in an era of AI. The video (posted below) is worth the Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 25, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Big Tech, COSM 2021, Featured, Peter Thiel}

Peter Thiel Speaking in Person at COSM, Seattle, November 10

_{As a world class venture capitalist, he is known for bluntness about what works and what doesn’t} _{News

August 25, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics}

COSM 2021 is the place to be, November 10–12, to get the inside track on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it. This year, iconic Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel will be speaking in person, addressing the question “Is Technology Soaring or Slumping?” At the first COSM in October 2019, Peter Thiel spoke by interactive video. Not one to mince words, he told the attendees bluntly that Silicon Valley is losing its touch and compared universities today to the Catholic Church at its worst. He has a remarkable history in both areas. He has been a prime mover in PayPal, Facebook, Palantir, Airbnb, Lyft, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. And he had intended to found a university. But, Read More ›

Dozens of Drones Swarm in the Cloudy Sky.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 23, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Military

Tagged
Aircraft carriers, Drone swarms, Featured, Military drones, Robert J. Marks, Sarah Seguin, submarines}

EMPs Could Combat Vast Drone Swarms Better Than Weapons

_{Electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) that knock out electronics could be weaponized to disable swarms of enemy drones, a predicted new warfare development} _{News

August 23, 2021

11

Artificial Intelligence, Military}

In “EMPs from the sun can wipe computers — and streetlights,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks spoke with electrical engineer Sarah Seguin about electromagnetic pulses (August 12, 2021). Whether natural or designed, these surges can wreck unexpected havoc with electronics. In this third podcast, “EMPs and Warfare,” engineers Marks and Seguin talk about the national defense implications of, for example, using EMPs to knock out key electronics systems in submarines or drone swarms, thus dooming them (August 19, 2021): https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-Episode-148-Sarah-Seguin.mp3 This portion begins at 09:45 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: Okay. Well, let’s talk a bit about EMPs and warfare. Clearly anybody that has a capability of doing a thermonuclear Read More ›

Robotic handyman pliers handwrench. Fixing maintenance concept. Creative design toy with metal funnel hopper, cogs wheels gears silver metallic body. Green wall, blue floor background. Copy space

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
August 23, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

Tagged
AI Day, Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, Robots, Tesla}

Nobody is Taking Tesla AI Seriously Anymore

_{Tesla's "AI Day" presented reasonable discussion until the "robot" showed up} _{Jonathan Bartlett

August 23, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance}

Recently, Tesla held its “AI Day.” Tesla often creates an event which highlights some aspect of their business that they want to promote to investors, customers, or to potential employees. Tesla has had “battery day” and “autonomy day” to promote Tesla efforts on those fronts. It is an attempt to keep excitement and exposure to a maximum during seasons when there are no big product reveals. While Elon Musk is typically guilty of leading people on with extravagant (and unwarranted) claims about Tesla technology, these events have recently shown a more reserved side to Tesla’s front man. In “battery day,” he was expected to launch a million-mile battery, but instead talked mostly about getting access to the minerals needed for Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 21, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Environment

Tagged
AI (as life form), Black Cloud (book), Chris Kempes, David Krakauer, Forests, Fred Hoyle, Life (definitions of life), Origin of life}

Paper: Culture, Computing Should Be Considered “Life Forms”

_{The idea of broadening the definition of life isn’t wholly new. Astronomer Fred Hoyle wrote a sci-fi novel about intelligent gaseous clouds} _{News

August 21, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Environment}

Some researchers are urging us to broaden our definition of life, which may have an impact on the search for life on exoplanets. In a new paper, published in the Journal of Molecular Evolution, Santa Fe Institute researchers Chris Kempes and David Krakauer argue that in order to recognize life’s full range of forms, we must develop a new theoretical frame. Santa Fe Institute, ” New theory of life’s multiple origins” at ScienceDaily Although there are many definitions of life, they all assume a strict separation between life and non-life — and that is what the researchers challenge: Culture, computation, and forests are all forms of life in this frame. As Kempes explains, “human culture lives on the material of Read More ›

woman with gray hair in green jumper talking to the digital virtual assistant at home, asking a question or requesting to switch music. Smart AI speaker concept and voice command control

^{Type
post

Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
August 20, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Anne Scherer, Featured, Trauma survivors (and AI assistants), Virtual assistants}

Automated “Caring”: The Limits of Talking to a Machine

_{Are there situations where a person would simply prefer to talk to a machine? Some researchers think so} _{Andrew McDiarmid

August 20, 2021

5

Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health}

“Just get me to a human!” Those were my words just a few weeks ago, the last time I can recall speaking directly to a machine. It was the Xfinity phone system assistant. I get that there’s a need for large national corporations to effectively manage interactions with their customers, especially with the labor shortages and spikes in internet usage brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. But leaving me to fend for myself with a machine – especially a stubborn, unhelpful one! – isn’t my idea of superior customer service. Eventually, the Comcast assistant got the drift and passed me on to a human being, who quickly and kindly helped me out by doing exactly what the machine said could Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 19, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

Tagged
electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), Electronics (damage from EPMs), Featured, Lightning (and electronics), Robert J. Marks, Sarah Seguin}

Are Your Electronics Protected Against Sudden Surges?

_{Electrical engineer Sarah Seguin discusses with Robert J. Marks an under-recognized risk for sensitive electronic devices} _{News

August 19, 2021

13

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance}

In a recent podcast, “Sarah Seguin on EMPs and How to Protect Your Data” (August 5, 2021), Sarah Seguin, talks with Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks. Protecting data became a much bigger issue for typical employees during the COVID-19 lockdowns when many were working from home on a computer usually used to surf entertainment vids or shopping sites. Hackers have found the displaced workers a tempting target. In any event, hacks of governments, health care facilities, and big firms are on the increase. Seguin offers some thoughts about a quite different but very relevant data protection issue: Protecting data from degradation from electromagnetic pulses (EMPs): https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-146-Sarah-Seguin.mp3 This portion begins at 02:12 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Read More ›

For electronic devices, photonic computer

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 18, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Economics, Global Technology

Tagged
Light vs. electricity, Photonics, Ryan Hamerly}

Photonics: Because Light Travels Faster Than Electricity

_{Fibre optics (light) is used to transmit data via the internet but on the stationary computer, it’s the slower electrons that rule. Some researchers hope to change that} _{News

August 18, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Economics, Global Technology}

As Ryan Hamerly explains at IEEE Spectrum, optical fibers can carry more than electrical wires. But they face a limitation: But there is a big difference between communicating data and computing with it. And this is where analog optical approaches hit a roadblock. Conventional computers are based on transistors, which are highly nonlinear circuit elements—meaning that their outputs aren’t just proportional to their inputs, at least when used for computing. Nonlinearity is what lets transistors switch on and off, allowing them to be fashioned into logic gates. This switching is easy to accomplish with electronics, for which nonlinearities are a dime a dozen. But photons follow Maxwell’s equations, which are annoyingly linear, meaning that the output of an optical device Read More ›

Cold fresh lemonade with slices of ripe lemons.

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
August 16, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

Tagged
Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, facial recognition technology, Gary Smith, Lemonade}

Insurance Company Gives Sour AI Promises

_{Data collection and discriminatory algorithms are turning Lemonade sour} _{Gary Smith

August 16, 2021

7

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance}

An insurance company with the quirky name Lemonade was founded in 2015 and went public in 2020. In addition to raising hundreds of millions of dollars from eager investors, Lemonade quickly attracted more than a million customers with the premise that artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can estimate risks accurately and that buying insurance and filing claims can be fun: Lemonade is built on a digital substrata — we use bots and machine learning to make insurance instant, seamless, and delightful. Adding to the delight are the friendly names of their bots, like AI Maya, AI Jim, and AI Cooper. The company doesn’t explain how its AI works, but there is this head-scratching boast: A typical homeowners policy form has 20-40 Read More ›

the giant robot launching rocket punch destroy the city,illustration painting

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 6, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Adrian Bobb, Cara Gee, Digitization (of humans), E-X-T (film), Science fiction, Zoe Doyle}

Real vs. Digital Humans Locked in All-Out War — Sci-fi Saturday

_{The reals are attacking the digitals and the digitals invade Toronto in the 24th century in an attempt to power them down} _{News

August 6, 2021

17

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind}

“E-X-T” by director Adrian Bobb (Uploaded at DUST August 2, 2021, 7:38 min) “200 years after humanity has abandoned the real world for a digital one, the system’s most talented security agent is forced out of retirement to recruit and lead a team of talented warriors to eliminate a threat from a world no one has seen for centuries. The real world.” Further: “In the snow-covered ruins of 24th century Toronto, AEGIS, a humanoid war machine, leads a team of five similar yet unique machines into the EXT, the new real-world to retake an enemy-occupied server installation vital to the survival of their digital homeland. During an attempt to ambush a large pack of enemy-controlled war-drones, AEGIS recalls an interrogation Read More ›

An internet email symbol and a group of people are separated by a red prohibitory symbol No. restrictions on access to the global Internet. Censorship. Information control, society isolation policy

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 6, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Algorithms (monitoring content), Cameron English, COVID-19, Facebook, Instagram, Kevin Folta, Manny Marrotta (Hitler episode), Matt Taibbi, Misinformation concept}

Is “Misinformation” Another Way to Say “Unwelcome Information”?

_{Cameron English notes that, on social media, major media outlets can botch the science with impunity but the slightest offenses, real or imagined, get others silenced} _{News

August 6, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Social Media}

At American Council on Science and Health (“promoting science and debunking junk since 1978”), Cameron English reflects on the handwringing among social media companies about how to crack down on “misinformation” on COVID-19. Given the number of authoritative statements made and suddenly reversed, tt seems that any such crackdown would largely be driven by politics. For example: Facebook recently announced that it would “no longer take down posts claiming that Covid-19 was man-made or manufactured,” and the company’s new policy nicely underscores this point about credibility. What was the social media platform’s justification for allowing users to discuss the lab-spillover hypothesis? It didn’t hire a team of virologists and foreign policy experts to assess the viability of competing explanations for Read More ›

Beautiful Young Woman Looking Through Binoculars At The Sea On A Bright Sunny Day

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
August 5, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Science

Tagged
Conversations with the Future (book), Futurism, Marvin Minsky, Nikola Danaylov, Noam Chomsky, Ray Kurzweil, Singularity Weblog, The Singularity Is Near (book)}

Peering Into the Future with Nikola Danaylov

_{In a new online series, futurist Danaylov shares both wisdom and folly about future expectations for science and technology} _{Caitlin Cory

August 5, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Science}

Is our future determined? And if so, what is it determined by? These are the questions Nikola Danaylov is discussing at Singularity Weblog, an online format the futurist author and podcaster uses for addressing topics of science, technology, humanity, and the future. In his latest series, Danaylov – who playfully addresses himself as “Socrates” – posits that humanity’s future is, indeed, determined – determined by the stories we tell ourselves. Before we jump into his fascinating analyses, let’s take a look at Danaylov himself to understand the worldview from which he writes. Danaylov is a futurist author and speaker based in Toronto, Canada. As a futurist, Danaylov is optimistic about the future of technology and the possibility of an age Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
August 2, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Epic Sepsis Model (ESM), Epic Systems, sepsis}

An Epic Failure: Overstated AI Claims in Medicine

_{Independent investigations are finding that AI algorithms used in hospitals are not all they claim to be} _{Gary Smith

August 2, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health}

Epic Systems, America’s largest electronic health records company, maintains medical information for 180 million U.S. patients (56% of the population). Using the slogan, “with the patient at the heart,” it has a portfolio of 20 proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms designed to identify different illnesses and predict the length of hospital stays. As with many proprietary algorithms in medicine and elsewhere, users have no way of knowing whether Epic’s programs are reliable or just another marketing ploy. The details inside the black boxes are secret and independent tests are scarce. One of the most important Epic algorithms is for predicting sepsis, the leading cause of death in hospitals. Sepsis occurs when the human body overreacts to an infection and sends chemicals into the Read More ›