Clipmarks | taksmaster's 'artificial intelligence' clips

Should the human race be worried by the rise of robots?

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:42:53 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

A group of scientists raised concerns in a debate at the Science Museum this week about the growing use of autonomous, decision-making robots. These could have malign effects in hospitals, the care of the elderly and, most obviously, in military use, they warned.

Haven't we long had machines that appear to be alive?

Isn't all this just sci-fi fantasy?

What kind of robots exist today?

So it's all just experimental?

Not entirely.

What else is about to be invented?

What's all this about 'robot rights'?

A study commissioned by the Government recently suggested that one day robots might have to be given similar rights to humans

But do these changes raise moral issues?

So are these machines a threat?

Yes...

* The US military have commissioned a robot helicopter with a recoil-less rifle capable of tracking and killing a particular individual

No...

* It's not the robots we need to worry about; it's the people who programme them

Tags: artificial intelligence, future, robots, science, technology

10 years to the Singularity?

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:06:37 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster
clipper's remarks: The creation of a superhumanly intelligent AI system could be possible within 10 years, with an "AI Manhattan Project," says Ben Goertzel.

Clip Source: www.kurzweilai.net

As a result of the specifics of my AI research, I have come to a position somewhat more radical than that of most Singularity pundits. Kurzweil estimates 2045 for the Singularity, and 2029 for human-level AI via a brain emulation methodology. I think this is basically a plausible scenario (Though I do think that, if a human-level AI takes 16 years to create a Singularity, this slow pace will be due to intentional forbearance and caution rather than technological obstacles. I believe that a human-level AI, once it exists, will be able to improve its intelligence at a rapid rate, making Singularity imminent within months or a few years at most). But I also think a much more optimistic scenario is plausible.

I believe that the creation of a superhumanly intelligent AI system is possible within 10 years, and maybe even within a lesser period of time (3-5 years).

Tags: science, technology, ai, artificial intelligence, singularity, goertzel, kurzweil, future

Growing an Artificial Brain

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:08:09 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

This unprecedented piece of hardware consists of about 10,000 computer chips that act like real nerve cells. To simulate a natural brain, part of the cerebral cortex of young rats was painstakingly replicated in the computer, cell by cell, together with the branched tree-like structure of the synapses.

A project this ambitious would have been ridiculed a few years ago. "Today we have the computers we need," says biologist Henry Markram, 44, the project's director. "And we know enough to begin."

A network of artificial nerves is growing in a Swiss supercomputer -- meant to simulate a natural brain, cell-for-cell. The researchers at work on "Blue Brain" promise new insights into the sources of human consciousness.

The machine is beautiful as it wakes up -- nerve cells flicker on the screen in soft pastel tones, electrical charges flash through a maze of synapses. The brain, just after being switched on, seems a little sleepy, but gentle bursts of current bring it fully to life.

Tags: science, technology, neuroscience, brain, computers, artificial intelligence

Bill of Rights for Abused Robots

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 07:05:44 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

Clip Source: news.independent.co.uk

A robot rights movement is taking shape and preparing the world's first ethical guidelines for human/robot relationships.

The "Robot Ethics Charter", which will be unveiled later this year, will insist that humans should not exploit robots and should use them responsibly. It is expected to be a version of the classic three laws of robotics developed by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov. These are that robots must not harm people, and that they must obey orders and protect their own existence unless either conflicts with the first law.

"As robots will have their own internal states such as motivation and emotion, we should not abuse them," argues Professor Jong-Hwan Kim, one of South Korea's top robotics experts. "We will have to treat them in the same way that we take care of pets." A spokesman for the Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said: "The move anticipates that day when robots, particularly intelligent service robots, will become part of daily life."

Tags: future, robots, rights, ethics, artificial intelligence

Robot Rights

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 02:57:21 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

If the idea of robot ethics sounds like something out of science fiction, think again, writes Dylan Evans.

Scientists are already beginning to think seriously about the new ethical problems posed by current developments in robotics.

This week, experts in South Korea said they were drawing up an ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa

Isaac Asimov was already thinking about these problems back in the 1940s

A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm

A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

If robots can feel pain, should they be granted certain rights? If robots develop emotions, as some experts think they will, should they be allowed to marry humans? Should they be allowed to own property?

Tags: future, robots, robotics, ethics, philosophy, science, technology, ai, artificial intelligence

Building Gods

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 09:18:43 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster
clipper's remarks: A film about the future of AI, transhumanism, and the singularity.

Clip Source: video.google.com

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Tags: artificial intelligence, future, science, technology, singularity, transhumanism, philosophy

Human 2.0 - Creating Gods

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:12:29 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster
clipper's remarks: Documentary about the upcoming technological singularity.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

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Tags: science, technology, future, neuroscience, transhumanism, artificial intelligence, singularity, quantum mechanics

Marvin Minsky Interview

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 04:07:19 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

Clip Source: www.discover.com

(Courtesy of Donna Coveney/MIT)

Marvin Minsky straddles the worlds of science and sci-fi. The MIT professor and artificial intelligence guru has influenced everyone from Isaac Asimov to the digital chess champ Deep Blue to computer movie star HAL of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He may be known around campus as "Old Man Minsky," but the scientist is just as active in AI research today as he was when he helped pioneer the field as a young man in the 1950s.

Although educated in mathematics, Minsky has always thought in terms of mind and machine. For his dissertation at Princeton University in the 1950s, he analyzed a "learning machine," meant to simulate the brain's neural networks, that he had constructed as an undergrad. In his early career he was also an influential inventor, creating the first confocal scanning microscope, a version of which is now standard in labs worldwide. In 1959 Minsky cofounded the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, where he designed and built robotic hands that could "feel" and "see" and manipulate objects, a watershed in the field.

Throughout, Minsky has written philosophically on the subject of AI, culminating in the 1985 book Society of Mind, which summarizes his theory of how the mind works. He postulates that the complex phenomenon of thinking can be broken down into simple, specialized processes that work together like individuals in a society. His latest book, The Emotion Machine, continues ideas begun in Society of Mind, reflecting twenty-some additional years of thought. It is a blueprint for a thinking machine that Minsky would like to build—an artificial intelligence that can reflect on itself—taking us a step forward into a future that may seem as if out of an Asimov story.

Tags: science, technology, artificial intelligence, future

Brilliant Minds Forecast the Next 50 Years

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 12:16:28 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Instant Expert: Brilliant Minds Forecast the Next 50 Years

What will be the biggest breakthrough of the next 50 years? As part of our 50^th anniversary celebrations we asked over 70 of the world's most brilliant scientists for their ideas.

In coming decades will we: discover that we are not alone in the universe? Unravel the physiological basis for consciousness? Routinely have false memories implanted in our minds? Begin to evolve in new directions? And will physicists finally hit upon a universal theory of everything? In fact, if the revelations of the last 50 years are anything to go on - the internet and the human genome for example - we probably have not even thought up the exciting advances that lay ahead of us.

Delve into those visions of the future by author in the story list of this special report, or navigate forecasts by topic here:

Life: Ageing, alien life, consciousness, ecology, embryology, environment, evolution, genetics, health, humans, language, neuroscience, oceans, psychology, sex and social science.

Space and technology: Artificial intelligence, communications, computing, cosmology, space and technology.

Physical sciences: Chemistry, energy, materials, maths and physics.

more...

Tags: science, future, space, technology, biology, singularity, evolution, genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, artificial intelligence

In Depth: Ray Kurzweil

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 20:19:29 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

Clip Source: www.booktv.org

Book TV Programs
A Weekly Look at Selected Book TV Programs

On Sunday, November 5 at 12:00 pm and Monday, November 6 at 12:00 am

In Depth: Ray Kurzweil
Watch

Description: Author, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil will be our guest for In Depth on November 5th (LIVE Noon-3pm ET). Mr. Kurzweil is the author of several books on the subject of artificial intelligence, including "The Age of Intelligent Machines," "The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence," and his latest, "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology." His companies have made major breakthroughs in print, sound and speech recognition technologies. As a result of his work, he was awarded the 1999 National Medal of Technology by President Clinton. You can join in this three-hour discussion with Mr. Kurzweil about his life and work by calling in during the program or by e-mailing your questions to booktv@c-span.org.

Author Bio: Ray Kurzweil is also the author of "The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life" and "Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever." For more on Mr. Kurzweil and his work, visit: www.kurzweiltech.com.

Buy the Book

Tags: ai, technology, future, ray kurzweil, artificial intelligence