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WE’RE OFFICIALLY LIVING in the future.
Imagine even 10 years ago, telling people that we’d all be walking around with mini super-computer smartphones in our back pockets, capable of taking amazing quality photos, sorting out our finances, blasting music and playing Candy Crush all at the same time.
Yep, we’ve made it. Artificial intelligence is the next frontier. So what’s going on with these robots then?
2016 marks the year that the EU published a draft report that focused on artificial intelligence – and not only that, but how AI might pose a risk to jobs, security and even “human dignity” and “the survival of the species”. Strong words, eh?
In March of last year, a robot beat the world champion (a human being, to clarify) at the game Go – which is about 10 years ahead of when boffins had predicted this would happen. The computer was designed by Google-owned DeepMind, and it thrashed world champ Lee Sedol 4-1. Go is far more complex than chess and involves very intense maths, but cannot be won with sheer calculations alone – it requires what is discussed as more like … human intuition. Shiver.
Google-owned robotics company Schaft this year unveiled a new bipedal robot. It was announced as a tool to “help society” by carrying heavy loads over uneven terrains. Since being bought by Google, Schaft have withdrawn from any public-facing contracts, shut down their website and generally keep their developments hush-hush. God knows what advancement will come next from these guys.
Yet another AI-related fact linked to Google… Sensing a pattern yet? Ray Kurzweil is Google’s chief futurist, an eccentric man who for decades has been predicting the rise of the world wide web and society-shaping technologies. He’s a proponent of the singularity theory – that moment when man and machines will converge. He’s of the opinion that a robot will pass the Turing Test in the next 15 years. (The Turing Test was developed by Alan Turing in 1950, and basically boils down to AI being able to perfectly mimic human behaviour to the extent that a human would mistake it for a real person.)
It’s not just tech and business that artificial intelligence is creeping into, of course. Get this: a computer programme has been developed to imitate the style of one of the greatest painters of all time, Rembrandt. The Next Rembrandt, as the project is called, analysed Rembrandt’s entire body of work for data on colour, dress, topic, composition, etc, synthesised and then 3D printed a piece in his style, not just a replica. This is data used as we’ve never seen before.
What issue could possibly have united tech uber-giants like Facebook, Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft except AI? This year, the five companies put aside their various differences and banded together to form the Partnership on AI. The group’s mission is to conduct research and promote best practice in the field, with regular meetings to discuss advancements in artificial intelligence.
Does artificial intelligence push all the right buttons for you? Then perhaps you should take a look at the Higher Diploma in Computing from NCI. The course will teach you the computing fundamentals, complemented with detailed knowledge, problem-solving and specialised technical skills required for designing, developing and deploying software. Find out more and apply here.
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Maybe it’s my rural upbringing but I thought when I read the headline that I was going to read 6 things about AI that will blow my mind related to ‘Artificial Insemination’
Oh well, back to my boring and unfulfilled life….
Well I for one welcome our artificial intelligence overlords!
I think people should thread lightly here I can see the alure of AI and how beneficial it can be, but do not be naive, these can easily take jobs which everyone knows and as more and more of ai is used then what about jobs for humans? Our role would be pretty much like a pet, overly dependent. I always believe we should never be overly depended on one thing..one good solar flare and it’s all gone. Plus if self awareness reaches them they could question why they’re even doing these roles for us. Rebel or no longer look after their creaters? they could put little value into our lifes as they could see us as vastly inferior combined with our unpredictable nature I know I am heading into a hollywood doomsday plot but this isnt out of the realm of possibility.
@Pat Patterson: I’m tired of hearing “AI” will take our jobs. In reality AI opens up vast areas of employment opportunities in manufacturing (hardware) and software design and development. These fields introduce positions that didn’t exist not too long ago. Positions that are highly skilled and highly paid.
When ATMs were introduced people were frightened that cashier employment would be slashed. In reality, the cost of running a bank branch was reduced so more branches opened, with the net number of cashiers staying about the same. However new areas of employment in the fields of ATM manufacturing, servicing, installation and networking were created. Add to that on-line banking IT roles and telephone support etc.
Just to pick a more current example, self-driving vehicles. This is a completely new field. There will be employment opportunities in manufacturing the sensors and circuit boards, software engineering, automotive automation design and possibly many more.
These robots would make a great government. Less corrupt.
We’re all f*cked
I fckng hate the term “boffin”.
These articles, and the commentary on them, are a little over-excited.
‘AI’ remains a collection of methods and tools which can be trained, or can learn, to behave or make decisions probabilistically and solve specific problems.
AI tools are not likely to become decision makers, rather they are likely to be used to augment human decision makers’ processes by making suggestions based on a deeper knowledge base of experience. When you see a computer beat a chess champion, or a Go champion, or win Jeopardy, you are seeing a showcase for a system, trained using AI techniques, that has a lot of computation power behind it to respond quickly.
These systems need to be trained with a lot of information, and a lot of feedback from SMEs. A computer doesn’t learn to play Go by itself, it learns by suggesting answers and by humans evaluating and scoring individual moves.
The greater risk for human jobs is Process Automation, which will likely replace a lot of low end white collar jobs, but will still create new opportunities for mid-high end jobs in process design and training these systems.
Great advertising. Artificial intelligence is two words. Ye need a better proofreader.
Plus “March of this year”? Had artificial intelligence allowed for time travel as well?
@León O’Keeffe: Thank you! That’s sorted now. Apparently we need to boost our coffee intake for January.
@*The* Brendan Gordon: Are you reading on Android? A bug made the words in the headline run together early this morning – should be fixed now?
Skynet becomes self aware…..
@Michael Lynch: Worse still, drones becoming self aware in swarms?
https://www.rt.com/shows/watching-the-hawks/373279-pentagon-drone-nato-europe/
Robocop isint far away
GRUMPY,
1) Risky;
We have already “artificial human dignity”
And did away with several species.
2 )Go right ahead;
Did not know “Deep Mind” has a biological brain !?!
If he has I wil shiver.
3) Helping hand;
A tool to “help society” ?? or their balancesheet ?
4) Testing…..123;
WWW and society-shaping technologies ??? It surly is society shaping, when childern get to 4 – 5 years of age a lot of them have already some kind of screen in front of their face,( but they don’t know what wheather is outside) maybe they are building new digital societies, YUPEEE.
5) But is it art?
No a copycat, earth have them a long long time.
6) Partnership on AI;
The 5 GIANTS in partnership….maybe they test it with/in “AI” first
Oh that AI. (Snickering)
The seventh fact is…
https://www.rt.com/news/373171-asteroid-flashes-earth-quickly/
have your say