Lifeboat Foundation

Disruption of the job market and the economy from automation and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the primary ideas animating Andrew Yang’s surprising campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Alone among the candidates, Yang is directly engaging with one of the central forces that will shape our futures.

A recent report from the consulting firm Deloitte found that, among more than a thousand surveyed American executives, 63 percent agreed with the statement that “to cut costs, my company wants to automate as many jobs as possible using AI,” and 36 percent already believe that job losses from AI-enabled automation should be viewed as an ethical issue. In other words, while media pundits dismiss worries about automation, executives at America’s largest companies are actively planning for it.

It may seem odd to worry about AI and automation at a time when the headline unemployment rate is below 4 percent. But it is important to remember that this metric only captures people who are actively seeking work. Consider that, in 1965, only 3 percent of American men between the ages of 25 and 54 — old enough to have completed education but too young to retire — were neither working nor actively looking for employment. Today, that number is about 11 percent.

Continue reading “AI and automation will disrupt our world — but only Andrew Yang is warning about it” »

Let’s develop a public research consortium to take on useful projects that have no commercial prospects.

OpenAI’s text generator, machine learning-powered—so powerful that it was thought too dangerous to release to the public, has, guess what, been released.

OpenAI published a blog post announcing its decision to release the algorithm in full as it has “seen no strong evidence of misuse so far.”

Well, that was a turnaround.

There’s something unsettling about a private firm making powerful autonomous machines – but what’s scarier is who’s building them, and why.

The philosophy that we should merge with machines to expand our intelligence and extend life is gaining traction. Design, scientific and technological frontiers are being pushed to redefine nature through AI, AR, biotech, genetics, and VR.

Each one weighs about 20 pounds (or nine kilograms), is powered by 12 electrical motors, and can reach speeds of around six miles per hour (or 2.5 meters per second). As you can see in the video, they’re all being steered manually using what look like RC controllers.

Speaking to IEEE Spectrum earlier this year, Sangbae Kim, director of MIT’s biomimetics lab, said the bots are being used to research various problems that require a bit of ruggedness and flexibility. Their modular design lets scientists swap in new parts if they break, and their tough build can survive crashes and bangs.

Continue reading “It’s that time of year again — fall is here and packs of robot dogs are frolicking in the leaves” »

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Mayo Clinic study finds that applying artificial intelligence (AI) to a widely available, inexpensive test – the electrocardiogram (EKG) – results in a simple, affordable early indicator of asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction, which is a precursor to heart failure. The research team found that the AI/EKG test accuracy compares favorably with other common screening tests, such as mammography for breast cancer. The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

Asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction is characterized by the presence of a weak heart pump with a risk of overt heart failure. It affects 7 million Americans, and is associated with reduced quality of life and longevity. But asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction is treatable when identified.

A company claims to make the world’s first humanoid android and offers ‘digital immortality.

Ironically #AI has been proven to develop racial and gender bias. Gee, I wonder why?

For the second year in a row, more than a dozen AI researchers from African countries have been denied visas to a major AI conference in Canada.

Canada’s decision to refuse visas to African AI researchers seems ham-fisted, given that the country’s tech industry has been the beneficiary, in recent years, of America’s move toward isolationism. In 2017, Trudeau launched a visa program designed to attract high-tech workers—including those who found themselves unable to get into the US—by streamlining Canada’s visa-approval process. The recent decision to block access to NeurIPS for a diverse pool of talent appears to be a step in the opposite direction.

Continue reading “African AI Experts Get Excluded From a Conference—Again” »