Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: robotics/AI – Page 2,617

This article was written by Michael Gillings, Darrell Kemp, and Martin Hilbert from the University of California, Davis, and was originally published by The Conversation.

Living things accumulate and reproduce information. That’s really the driving principle behind life, and behind evolution. But humans have invented a new method of accumulating and reproducing information. It’s digital information, and it’s growing at an astonishing speed. The number of people using the internet is growing, as are the devices connected to it through the Internet of Things.

Digital information can copy itself perfectly, increases in copy number with every download or view, can be modified (mutated), or combined to generate novel information packets. And it can be expressed through artificial intelligence. These are characteristics similar to living things. So we should probably start thinking about digital technology as being like an organism that can evolve.

Read more

I have seen this model so many times over the decades. And, I even was engaged in some of these experiments in the past. The continued problem we saw is “subjective reasoning” by humans which makes the experiments flawed.

And, as Yampolskiy suggested this is not true AI; it is using human insights and identifying patterns based on human input whch also includes subjective reasoning.

While AI focuses on creating intelligent machines that perform human tasks, a human-based algorithm, harnessing the power of the crowd to make predictions, shows remarkable accuracy.

Read more

Welcome to a new age of AI Healthcare
Although we’re in the early release/ deployment stages of the AI doctor experience and compound that with a 10 year evolution of technology and health science being intertwined together as one/ Singularity; could we see a day soon when technology and engineering graduates having their own education include medical school? Definitely could be as we move more into a singularity future and as the many of the routine patient services evolve to AI and Robotics.

Granted, companies hire today doctors and nurses, etc. to consult their engineers and techies; however, Singularity and as we evolve to it, will require engineers and techies to have their own level of a in-depth medical background/ knowledge due to it’s complexity. Now, imagine the change and transformation that will be required across our educational system as well in order for us to be prepared for this new future.

London-based digital healthcare startup, Babylon is an artificially intelligent ‘doctor’ that aims to prevent illnesses before they occur. To do this, the program tracks your daily habits, diagnosis illness based on symptoms and integrating data about heart rate, diet and medical records.

Currently, this AI doctor is available in the form of an app used by 250,000 people in the UK, who each pay £4.99 ($7.19) to get 7-day-a-week access to a pool of human doctors over video chat.

After securing $25 million in funding — the largest series A round in European digital healthcare to date — Babylon hopes to make waves in digital healthcare in the UK by providing better preventative services. For example, the digital doctor can warn you about an increased heart rate, which could be a sign of an oncoming cold.

Read more

Self healing robots — definite big step forward in the broader robotics industry.

Future humanoid robots may end up using University of Texas creation to self-heal.

As cool as the Lost in Space robot was at the time the show aired in the ’60s, nowadays we think of robots as being a little more high-tech. Or even human-like. Think “Data,” the android from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Read more

Go Hubo

The so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’ will bring ever faster cycles of innovation, posing huge challenges to companies, workers, governments and societies alike Implantable mobile phones. 3D-printed organs for transplant. Clothes and reading-glasses connected to the Internet.

Such things may be science fiction today but they will be scientific fact by 2025 as the world enters an era of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and gene editing, according to executives surveyed by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Nearly half of those questioned also expect an artificial intelligence machine to be sitting on a corporate board of directors within the next decade.

Read more

Another article highlighting the fears around Singularity. There are so many great things that will come from Singularity such as Cancer is wiped out, improved healthcare across the board and cheaper, etc. And, there are also downsides as Gates, Musk, etc. have warned folks especially around AI.

So, what are our options and obligations around Singularity? In reality, you will not be able to stop this evolution from happening. However, each person has a right to decide how much singularity is right for their own private use. As a business or a company, there are many things to consider such as Total Cost of Ownership v. ROI, tax codes or how government will view “humanoids” v. non-humanoids as it relates to CapEx and Taxes, etc. And, the company or business needs to ensure that there are appropriate safegaurds in place in order to protect their data, etc… Also, government has an obligation to the people in general in safegaurding our rights, security, and safety.

Another, question that will continue to be raised and will increase overtime is government and business obligations to the financial welfare of the people. And, this one will become more and more complex and interesting overtime. If AI was to truly displace millions of workers; how will the countries help feed, clothe, and house millions displaced people beyond what they have done in their own country’s past? Will the countries government place a special tax structure on companies and businesses to help fund the displaced workers and their families? Or, will it be a joint partnership with business and government? It does make one wonder.

Many experts believe the single greatest threat to our existence is the so-called “singularity” when computers are as smart as we are.

Read more

This article does trigger some good questions for companies & households to consider as we roll forward into robotic mania. One, is the cost to replace or the cost to update/ upgrade your new “humanoid robot/s.” How do we look at CapEx when is comes to a “humanoid robot” v. a non-humanoid machine; and what will congress & government’s/ IRS viewpoint be around a “humanoid”; will there be special new rules in how we depreciate and do tax breaks on “humanoids” v. non humanoid AI machines?

Bottom line is, with a humanoid bot we’re stepping into a realm of companionship, relationships, etc. like any one would have with a person in their household, company, etc. And, the way government, etc. will view those situations and relationships may get interesting for all of us. We still have lots and lots of questions to figure out around this area; however, we do still have some time.

Atlas robot assistant from Team IHMC has a way to go before it can perform tasks nearly as effectively as humans can.

Read more

Although some journalists, etc. love writing these stories; I do believe that we must realize that folks like Gates, Musk, etc. have access to a lot of leaders in industry and government. So my advice for what it’s worth to you the reader is: We all must step back & look at the bigger picture; especially when you have folks involved who have access to people, conversations, and things that many of us will never have access to. We do owe this to ourselves, our people, our company, to our customers as well when we look at our own corporate & business future state.

Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking will share this year’s Luddite Award – an annual tribute to the worst anti-technology idea of the year – for stirring what the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation called “fear and hysteria in 2015 by raising alarms that artificial intelligence could spell doom for humanity.”

Read more