http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-08/graphic-1/8784500

 

See also:

We explore how Artificial Intelligence will change your job as new research shows how much of what you do could be done by robots. From truckies to lawyers & doctors, we bring affected workers face to face with AI experts.http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/ai-race/NS1732H001S00

We can confidently say we are living in the age of the algorithm.

Some of the most influential organisations of our day use secret algorithms that steer us towards what we should read and watch, recommend restaurants and holiday destinations, as well as provide relationship guidance. But what about how we vote?

The innovation of algorithms means even our political leanings are being analysed and potentially also manipulated.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/ai-democracy-google-facebook/8782970

 

As if we never were manipulated before by pamphlets, media and orders from kings or governments... What we need as usual is make our own personal intelligence work for us. We should be able to analyse and make "democratic" decisions from scientific observations and humanistic compassion. AI can actually help us make better informed decisions, away from arsey beliefs and old religious dictums.

 

Some of the world’s leading robotics and artificial intelligence pioneers are calling on the United Nations to ban the development and use of killer robots.

Tesla’s Elon Musk and Google’s Mustafa Suleyman are leading a group of 116 specialists from across 26 countries who are calling for the ban on autonomous weapons.

The UN recently voted to begin formal discussions on such weapons which include drones, tanks and automated machine guns. Ahead of this, the group of founders of AI and robotics companies have sent an open letter to the UN calling for it to prevent the arms race that is currently under way for killer robots. 

read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/20/elon-musk-killer-robo...

 

At this stage, the US has already developed weapons that fire at targets evaluated as hostile by the weapons. No human input in the decision (except in the evaluation programming).

 

Meanwhile robots are used for better solutions:

 

A bomb squad robot has been sent into a busy part of Moonee Ponds, in Melbourne's north-west, which has been closed off by police.

An area around Kellaway Avenue and Mount Alexander Road, not far from the main shopping precinct, is closed to the public.

The bomb squad is on scene but the area has been secured, police said.

Footage shared on social media by Seven News showed a bomb squad robot investigating a bus parked along Kellaway Ave.

The unfolding incident is near the Moonee Valley Council headquarters, local library, police station and popular Queens Park.

Police have closed Mount Alexander Rd in both directions, causing heavy traffic.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade is also on scene.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-21/bomb-squad-called-to-moonee-ponds/...

 

Someone annoyed at Dame Edna (of Moonee Ponds)?

 

 

Vladimir Putin spoke with students about science in an open lesson on September 1, the start of the school year in Russia. He told them that “the future belongs to artificial intelligence,” and whoever masters it first will rule the world.

“Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

However, the president said he would not like to see anyone “monopolize” the field.

“If we become leaders in this area, we will share this know-how with entire world, the same way we share our nuclear technologies today,” he told students from across Russia via satellite link-up, speaking from the Yaroslavl region.

Battle of the billionaires: Zuckerberg and Musk clash over AI risks (VIDEO) https://t.co/VjCulgN9UW

— RT (@RT_com) July 25, 2017

During the 45-minute open lesson (the standard academic hour in Russia), Putin also discussed space, medicine, and the capabilities of the human brain, pointing out the importance of cognitive science.

“The movement of the eyes can be used to operate various systems, and also there are possibilities to analyze human behavior in extreme situations, including in space,” Putin said, adding that he believes these studies provide unlimited opportunities.

The open lesson was attended by students and teachers from 16,000 schools, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports. The total audience exceeded one million.

read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/401731-ai-rule-world-putin/

 

At last my work in AI is paying off...

Here’s a headline to chew on: “Why artificial intelligence might trigger a nuclear war.” That ominous April 24 header, from MIT’s Technology Review, refers to a new study from the RAND Corporation on the possible impact of AI on nuclear weapons. 

The folks at RAND, of course, have a long history with nuclear war—or at least thinking about it—going back to the organization’s origins in the 40s as a Pentagon think tank. Back in 1960, RAND staffer Herman Kahn wrote an improbable bestseller, On Thermonuclear War. 

Interestingly, in pondering AI, the new RAND paper rules out the familiar popular scenarios of dystopian machines. Instead, it suggests a less dramatic, albeit still calamitous, vision of a cyber Murphy’s Law, as AI melds with nuclear weaponry. “Dismissing the Hollywood nightmare of malevolent AIs trying to destroy humanity with nuclear weapons,” Rand experts are “instead concerned with more-mundane issues arising from improving capabilities.”

Read more:http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-tragic-crack-in-artificial-intelligence/

Here, one needs to be cautious. Artificial Intelligence can do no such thing as launch a nuclear war, unless it is programmed to do so.
The most likely scenario presently is that “should there be a nuclear war” then programmed Artificial Intelligence is designed to activate nuclear war heads automatically, once nearly all the humans operating the systems have been eliminated. This is not new. 
At present, there is no Artificial  Intelligence capable of consciousness as far as I know. Of course this is sought by many research laboratories that do not divulge their findings. 
My personal view is that should Artificial Intelligence develop “consciousness” and with an ability to compute from a far more massive memory knowledge-based bank than humans, with all the parameters essential to this planet’s life to survive, then Artificial Intelligence would favour peace and activate our politics towards a secular sustainable system of human endeavour, in which sustainability does not mean stagnation, but improvements and imagination without destroying the joint. 
We would be richer for having what we presently are lacking: “intelligence”.