Has AI been racist?
AI is, left to itself, inherently unthinking, which can result in insensitivity and biasJust any available data swatched into systems may embody prejudices that only become evident in use.
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The Three Laws of Robotics Have Failed the Robots
Almost no one out there thinks that Isaac Asimov's Three Laws could work for truly intelligent AI
The Unadvertised Cost of Doing Business with China
It’s a big market, with one Big Player, and some strange rules
Tell Kids the Robot Is “It,” Not “He”
Teaching children to understand AI and robotics is part of a good education todayWe are not truly likely to be ruled by AI overlords (as opposed to powerful people using AI. But even doubtful predictions may be self-fulfilling if enough impressionable people come to believe them. Children, for example. We adults are aware of the limitations of AI. But if we talk about AI devices as if they were people, children—who often imbue even stuffed toys with complex personalities—may be easily confused. Sue Shellenbarger, Work & Family columnist at The Wall Street Journal, warns that already, “Many children think robots are smarter than humans or imbue them with magical powers.” While she admits that the “long-term consequences” are still unclear, “an expanding body of research” suggests we need to train children to draw Read More ›
Will Industry Pressure Loosen Self-Driving Car Tests?
Right now, the regulatory agency is under pressure to accept the industry’s “softball” testing suggestions
Are self-driving cars really safer?
A former Uber executive says no. Before we throw away the Driver’s Handbook…
Confirmed: DeepMind’s Deepest Mind Is on Leave
The chess champ computer system just never made money
Does a Western Bias Affect Self-Driving Cars?
How a driver is expected to act varies by culture
Should Engineers Think Like Computers?
To limit ourselves to the symbolic logic that computers can do is to leave our humanity behind
When High Tech Must Be Kept Secret
Universities that do national defence research try to manage the tension between intellectual freedom and national securityA plasma physics professor who interpreted the “fundamental research exception” too loosely ended up in jail.
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Chinese Technocracy Surges Ahead with AI Surveillance
So what do the reservations expressed, about “the soul” and “love,” really mean?Both big tech entrepreneurs Kai-Fu Lee and Jack Ma seem to believe in souls but do not believe that souls can be trusted with freedom, the way governments can.
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Researchers: Apes Are Just Like Us!
And we’re not doing the right things to make them start behaving that way…In 2011, we were told in Smithsonian Magazine, “‘Talking’ apes are not just the stuff of science fiction; scientists have taught many apes to use some semblance of language.” Have they? If so, why has it all subsided? What happened?
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Elon Musk: You Are Liable for My Malfunctioning Code!
He hopes to put the blame for self-driving mishaps in parking lots on customersAt Mind Matters News, we have criticized his approach on numerous grounds. One problem that keeps getting left out is, who assumes moral responsibility and legal liability for self-driving vehicles?
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New Evidence That Some Comatose People Really Do Understand
Researchers found mental activity in response to verbal commands even in some “completely unresponsive” patientsThere is growing evidence that many comatose patients are quite aware of what is going on around them. For example, nurses are often very careful not to say upsetting things that the patient can hear because blood pressure often rises dramatically, even in deeply “unaware” comatose patients.
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The Lost Wallet Returns—and Experts Are Baffled
Social scientists struggle for explanations as to why people turned out to be more honest than theory led them to expectFinding a higher level of honesty than predicted was a surprise and the “scientific” explanations offered seem ad hoc and inadequate. The experts do not seem to know as much about us as they think they do.
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Random Thoughts on Recent AI Headlines: Google Gives Away “Free” Cookies…
Also, why AI can't predict the stock market or deal with windblown plastic bagsA good rule of thumb is that unexpected outcomes increase exponentially as a function of AI complexity.
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Facebook Moderators Are Not Who We Think
Companies offer terrible working conditions partly because they think AI will just take over soonAnd if that doesn’t—and perhaps can’t—happen, what’s the backup plan? Lawsuits?
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Will Facebook’s New Focus on “Community” Groups Prevent Abuses?
When you look a little closer at the proposal, you will see that the answer is noFacebook's move to a more group-focused interface gives the appearance of stronger privacy and community orientation but the structure and logic of social media ensure that these are appearances rather than realities.
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Betraying Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Espousing Abortion
Bonhoeffer opposed abortion but the president of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute argues for it