Tag: Artificial intelligence

The difference between life and machine

Addy Pross has an interesting post up at HuffPost looking at what actually makes life...life. Most of us recognize that there is a fundamental difference between mechanical objects designed and created by man, no matter how sophisticated, and the naturally derived complexity of living things. In fact, my granddaughter, when she was just 2, already … Continue reading The difference between life and machine →

Artificial intelligence is what we can do that computers can’t…yet

I think I've mentioned before that I listen to a number of different podcasts.  One of them is Writing Excuses, a podcast about writing science fiction.  One of the recent episodes featured Nancy Fulda to discuss writing about AI realistically.  In the discussion, she made an observation that I thought was insightful.  What we call … Continue reading Artificial intelligence is what we can do that computers can’t…yet →

Hertling says singularity closer than appears, and a brief comment

Ramez Naam, author of Nexus and Crux (two books I enjoyed and recommend), has recently put together a few guest posts for Charlie Stross (another author I love). The posts are The Singularity Is Further Than It Appears and Why AIs Won't Ascend in the Blink of an Eye. They're both excellent posts, and I'd recommend reading … Continue reading Hertling says singularity closer than appears, and a brief comment →

The Singularity Is Further Than It Appears – Charlie’s Diary

Are we headed for a Singularity? Is it imminent? I write relatively near-future science fiction that features neural implants, brain-to-brain communication, and uploaded brains. I also teach at a place called Singularity University. So people naturally assume that I believe in the notion of a Singularity and that one is on the horizon, perhaps in … Continue reading The Singularity Is Further Than It Appears – Charlie’s Diary →

Moral values aren’t absolute, but aren’t arbitrary either

I'm working on another post with details about foundational moral instincts, but after some discussion on the 'Morality arises from instincts' post, I realized that I failed to make a couple of things clear.  So, I'm inserting this additional post to do that. First, let me clarify that, in these posts, I'm being descriptive, not … Continue reading Moral values aren’t absolute, but aren’t arbitrary either →

As artificial intelligence grows, so do ethical concerns – SFGate

Now that Google is delving even deeper into artificial intelligence, the minds behind "Don't be evil" might face real questions of right and wrong. This week the Mountain View search titan snatched up DeepMind, which develops artificial intelligence software. The price tag and the specifics of the deal remain unclear, but Google will set up an … Continue reading As artificial intelligence grows, so do ethical concerns – SFGate →

Artificial Intelligence – What You Really Need to Know – Forbes

For those who started their careers in AI and left in disillusionment (Andrew Ng confessed to this, yet jumped back in) or data scientists today, the consensus is often that artificial intelligence is just a new fancy marketing term for good old predictive analytics.  They point to the reality of Apple’s Siri to listen and … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence – What You Really Need to Know – Forbes →

Consciousness and the Social Brain: A review

What is consciousness?  What is the inner experience that we all feel we have?  Is it an illusion or an ontological reality? Michael Graziano thinks it is a reality, and he thinks he has found a scientific theory for it, which he describes in his book: 'Consciousness and the Social Brain'. The quest for a … Continue reading Consciousness and the Social Brain: A review →