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Researchers are Using Fairy Tales to Prevent a ‘Psychotic’ Robot Uprising

The bottom line is robots are machines; and like any other machine, a robot system can be (with the right expertise) reprogram. And, a connected robot to the net, etc. poses a risk as long as hackers poses a risk in the current Cyber environment. Again, I encourage government, tech companies, and businesses work collectively together in addressing the immediate challenge around Cyber Security.

And, there will need to be some way to also track robots & deactivate them remotely especially when the public are allowed to buy them (including criminals).


“We believe story comprehension in robots can eliminate psychotic-appearing behavior and reinforce choices that won’t harm humans and still achieve the intended goal”.

There’s no manual for being a good human, but greeting strangers as you walk by in the morning, saying thank you and opening doors for people are probably among the top things we know we should do, even if we sometimes forget.

The Quixote technique is best for robots that have a limited objective but need to interact with humans to achieve it, and it is a primitive first step toward general moral reasoning in AI, Riedl says.

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Google Files Patents For Unique Glasses, a Robot and a Driverless Car

A search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s database shows some recently filed patents by Google. The search engine titan is obviously firing all cylinders in its research of robots/drones, driverless vehicles, and what looks to be either a Google Glass reboot or some sort of stylish frames for Virtual Reality headsets, perhaps.

[Related: Apple and Google Will Lead $600 Million Near-Future Car Market]

Several patents for eye wear that Google simply refers to as “glasses” in the patent abstracts, show more stylish frames than the Google Glass prototype released in 2013.

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From surveillance to smuggling: Drones in the War on Drugs

Here is a thought — we’re already seeing criminals using drones for smuggling and hackers are enjoying holding data for ransom; what is going to happen when we add self driving cars, robots, etc. to this ever growing Cyber risks? Will we see a day that we have to register our drones and other robots with a national register and do a background check on owners because these things can be used as weapons?


“In Latin America drones are being used as part of the War on Drugs as both regional governments and the US are using surveillance drones to monitor drug trafficking and find smuggling routes. However, as drones are increasingly being used by drug cartels themselves to transport drugs between countries, could Latin America find itself at the forefront of emerging drone countermeasures?”

Source: From surveillance to smuggling: Drones in the War on Drugs | Remote Control Project Blog.

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On Chatbots

Chatbots are the “Swans of Bots”.


Chatbots, historically maligned as “weak AI,” are finally transforming from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. According to recent predictions, chatbots (#ConvComm) will be big. Like, Google-killing big, heralding the end of apps and search as we know it — or so proclaimed Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.

Much ink has been spilled. Startups are spawning and capital is flowing, even in these uncertain times. But what is a chatbot, and what can they actually do? Here are five myths debunked:

Myth No. 1: Chatbots and bots are the same thing!

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Cyber-criminals have evolved tactics, says ThreatMetrix report

Why it is important to think like a criminal when developing AI as well as Cyber Defense. Recently, I shared some insights on how AI could be used by Criminals (not just hackers) and making it extremely hard for the existing legal system to catch criminals. Robots (just like drones recently have been used) could be used in many ways by cartels, robbers & burglars, killers, and even worse. This is why we have to have solid cyber defense plus stop gaps in place for the legal system to diffuse dangers that could be implemented.


ThreatMetrix’s new report has come up with several new insights from the last quarter including the evolution of bot tactics to avoid the traditional defences of lenders and banks.

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Could READING and learning stop AI robots from killing humans?

No is the answer to this question — example; lets say we have a drug cartel that has a front person by 10 robots at $10K each; then the cartel has on their payroll some hot shot robotic engineers who can reprogram their bots and teaches them to kill or push drugs, etc. Now, you see why the answer is “No”.


Called Quixote, the system teaches ‘value alignment’ to robots by training them to read stories, learn acceptable sequences of events and understand successful ways to behave in human societies.

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Online security? Just let me Google that, say puzzled bosses

Although this article highlights the lack of awareness by some CEOs and board members on all things around Cyber Security; I do see a larger gap and risk. I do believe if a fully funded and dedicated joint task force effort among Silicon Valley, US Government, and Wall Street are not in place tackling this jointly to help the country and economy to diffuse this situation within the next 14 to 18 months that AI could fail in its delivery due to public’s concerns around trust and security.

Therefore, tech spent millions if not billions on new AI technology that businesses and consumers see no value in due to risks.


Some board executives still need help from a search engine to explain cyber security issues, warns report.

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