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More Than Half of Americans Think AI Poses a Threat to Humanity

One nebulous aspect of the poll, and of many of the headlines about AI we see on a daily basis, is how the technology is defined. What are we referring to when we say “AI”? The term encompasses everything from recommendation algorithms that serve up content on YouTube and Netflix, to large language models like ChatGPT, to models that can design incredibly complex protein architectures, to the Siri assistant built into many iPhones.

IBM’s definition is simple: “a field which combines computer science and robust datasets to enable problem-solving.” Google, meanwhile, defines it as “a set of technologies that enable computers to perform a variety of advanced functions, including the ability to see, understand and translate spoken and written language, analyze data, make recommendations, and more.”

It could be that peoples’ fear and distrust of AI comes partly from a lack of understanding of it, and a stronger focus on unsettling examples than positive ones. The AI that can design complex proteins may help scientists discover stronger vaccines and other drugs, and could do so on a vastly accelerated timeline.

Hundreds of Protestants attended a sermon in Nuremberg given

The artificial intelligence chatbot asked the believers in the fully packed St. Paul’s church in the Bavarian town of Fuerth to rise from the pews and praise the Lord.

The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by an avatar of a bearded Black man on a huge screen above the altar, then began preaching to the more than 300 people who had shown up on Friday morning for an experimental Lutheran church service almost entirely generated by AI.

“Dear friends, it is an honor for me to stand here and preach to you as the first artificial intelligence at this year’s convention of Protestants in Germany,” the avatar said with an expressionless face and monotonous voice.

Ben Goertzel — Approaches Towards a General Theory of General AI

The General Theory of General Intelligence: A Pragmatic Patternist Perspective — paper by Ben Goertzel: https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.15100 Abstract: “A multi-decade exploration into the theoretical foundations of artificial and natural general intelligence, which has been expressed in a series of books and papers and used to guide a series of practical and research-prototype software systems, is reviewed at a moderate level of detail. The review covers underlying philosophies (patternist philosophy of mind, foundational phenomenological and logical ontology), formalizations of the concept of intelligence, and a proposed high level architecture for AGI systems partly driven by these formalizations and philosophies. The implementation of specific cognitive processes such as logical reasoning, program learning, clustering and attention allocation in the context and language of this high level architecture is considered, as is the importance of a common (e.g. typed metagraph based) knowledge representation for enabling “cognitive synergy” between the various processes. The specifics of human-like cognitive architecture are presented as manifestations of these general principles, and key aspects of machine consciousness and machine ethics are also treated in this context. Lessons for practical implementation of advanced AGI in frameworks such as OpenCog Hyperon are briefly considered.“
Talk held at AGI17 — http://agi-conference.org/2017/#AGI17 #AGI #ArtificialIntelligence #Understanding #MachineUnderstanding #CommonSence #ArtificialGeneralIntelligence #PhilMind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligenceMany thanks for tuning in!

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From Thought to Text: AI Converts Silent Speech into Written Words

Summary: A novel artificial intelligence system, the semantic decoder, can translate brain activity into continuous text. The system could revolutionize communication for people unable to speak due to conditions like stroke.

This non-invasive approach uses fMRI scanner data, turning thoughts into text without requiring any surgical implants. While not perfect, this AI system successfully captures the essence of a person’s thoughts half of the time.

Oppenheimer — with Robert J. Sawyer

Science Fiction author Robert J. Sawyer talks about Oppenheimer and about his Alternate History book: The Oppenheimer Alternative.

Where to find ‘The Oppenheimer Alternative” book?
Robert J. Sawyer’s website: https://sfwriter.com.

* Trinity moment — AI vs. Nuclear.
* ‘Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds’
* The Jewish connection to the Manhattan project and the Nazi nuclear program.
* Nuking Japan.
* Oppenheimer personality.
* Nuclear as a Double Edge Sword. Existential risk of a nuclear Holocaust.
* Thermonuclear — the rivalry with Edward Teller.
* Alternate History — the end of the world by 2030
* Military driven science vs. science driven by scientists.
* Nuclear energy in space.
* The Orion project — Nuclear Impales propulsion.
* Controversy of Wernher von Braun.
* Role of science fiction.

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New machine-learning model can detect dementia in speech

The tool can be used for early diagnosis.

Scientists have conceived of a machine-learning model capable of detecting speech patterns that are linked to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. The new tool will be used for early evaluation of the conditions.

This is according to a report by Global News published on Saturday…


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AI regulation: Two bipartisan bills introduced in US Senate

US Congress considering two artificial intelligence bills to address concerns surrounding the technology.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to experience rapid growth, governments around the world have started to consider modifying policies and regulations around the technology.

US Senators yesterday introduced two separate bipartisan bills addressing AI to tackle issues surrounding the technology and to remain “competitive”, according to Reuters.

Researchers: We’ve created a new lens that could take thermal cameras out of spy films and put them in your back pocket

Like something out of a spy movie, thermal cameras make it possible to “see” heat by converting infrared radiation into an image. They can detect infrared light given off by animals, vehicles, electrical equipment and even people—leading to specialized applications in a number of industries.

Despite these applications, technology remains too expensive to be used in many such as self-driving cars or smartphones.

Our team at Flinders University has been working hard to turn this technology into something we can all use, and not just something we see in spy movies. We’ve developed a low-cost thermal imaging that could be scaled up and brought into the lives of everyday people. Our findings are published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials.