-
The Lull Before the Storm
The AI experts gathered at the recent WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Executive Forum in NY opined that “fake content” is the greatest threat posed by the technology. I’d call that “real myopia.” These folks all have jobs so perhaps that’s why they’re unable to see the devastation AI is wrecking on both blue and white-collar workers.…
-
Robonauts
To those still harboring the hope that AI won’t be deployed in their field, consider this: CIMON “the world’s first AI-powered astronaut assistant” has begun its second tour on the International Space Station with “a heightened ability to analyze human emotion.” So, the next time a human astronaut gets cranky after a long space walk,…
-
A Window of Opportunity
We’re now in the age of mini-AI. In other words, the advances with the technology are limited by the cost of scaling. According to Jerome Pesanti, VP of AI at Facebook, that cost is now approaching 10x or the limit to what even mega-tech companies can afford. So for now, we’ll see a plethora of…
-
A Narrative Violation
Call it what you will, a narrative violation or a contrarian view, but global warming is not the existential challenge of our time. The convergence of global warming and the machine annihilation of human work is. #TheTitanicity
-
A Near Universal Impact
Even AI developers aren’t safe. A new Brookings study has found that, contrary to earlier reports, high tech jobs are more likely to be eliminated by AI and automation than low wage positions. The study’s author, however, says not to worry. The smart people in those tech jobs will simply transition to new jobs created…
-
You’re Otta’ Here!
Just in case you thought machines couldn’t be creative, Carnegie Mellon researchers have developed a humanoid named Pepper who has been taught to trash talk human opponents when competing with them in games. Worse, the bad mouthing rattled the humans just as much as it does when it comes from their own species. Next up…
-
Pearl Harbor Revisited
Ray Kurzweil of MIT & Google fame has noted that AI development is accelerating exponentially. In fact, he says the exponential pace itself is accelerating exponentially. Which is why the results of a recent poll is so troubling. It found that just 8% of the respondents thought their job would be eliminated by automation in…
-
The Titanicity
I did a Ted Talk-like session at this year’s TAtechNorthAmerica conference in Austin. It addressed the two mega-crises that are bearing down on America: the Technological and Climatic Singularities. They aren’t some science fiction fantasy erupting in the far distant future, but events that will profoundly affect and potentially injure every person living today. A…
-
A Good Step, But Not Enough
Yesterday’s NYT had an article by Mssrs Gansky, Martin and Sitaraman in which they proposed a “public option” for the development of AI. It would seed R&D at startups and public sector organizations to ensure a competitive alternative to big tech companies. It’s definitely a step in the right direct, but as they acknowledge, it…
-
The Tech Company in the Hen House
OpenAI said its new text generating system was too dangerous to share. But now, it has, with a release last week. Proving yet again that tech companies can’t be relied on to protect the public from what they create. Sure, we want to capture the advantages of AI, but we have to do so without…