Podcast #22: Ryan Calo on Technology and the Law

Legal theorist Ryan Calo explores how the law is (or isn’t) evolving in response to technological quandaries like robotics and digital surveillance.

By Mo Lotman | November 13, 2018 | Culture, Government, Human Rights, Media, Podcasts, Policing, Privacy, Society | Advisory Boards, AI, Autonomy, Carpenter v. US, City of LA v. Patel, Crime, Emergence, Intent, Mens Rea, Negligence, NSA, Privacy, Recklessness, Responsibility, Robotics, Robotics Commission, Section 702, Senate, Stanford, Strict Liability, surveillance, University of Washington, US v. Jones, White House, Yale

When Developers Can’t Explain Their AI, Laws No Longer Apply

The hows and whys of the decisions of machine-learning algorithms are increasingly opaque, even to their programmers. That makes laws and norms increasingly difficult to apply.

By Lynne Peskoe-Yang | May 23, 2018 | Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Health, Law, Prediction, Society | Accountability, AI, Algorithms, Asimov's Laws, Big Data, Black Boxes, Code, Corruption, Crime, Deep Learning, Efficiency, Fake News, Google, Harm, Health Care, Injustice, Isaac Asimov, Judgment, Law, Neural Networks, Palantir, Power, Predictive Policing, Programming, Racial Bias, Robots, Rules, Social Groups, Syntax, The Brain, Trust, Unintended Consequences

New AI Paper Warns of Malicious Intent

A new report on AI examines what might happen when bad actors deliberately misuse the technology. Despite its importance, politicians may not be paying attention.

By Art Keller | April 4, 2018 | Artificial Intelligence, Government, Law, Prediction, Security | AI, Artificial Intelligence, Assassination, Autonomous Systems, Cambridge, Center for the Study of Existential Risk, Cyberwarfare, Danger, EFF, Ethics, Future of Humanity Institute, Hacking, IEEE, Impersonation, Insider Threat, Intelligence, Malware, Nicolas Economou, Oxford, Phishing, Politics, Research, Sabotage, Scott Amyx, Totalitarianism

Podcast #17: Cal Newport on Deep Work

For a computer scientist, Georgetown professor and author Cal Newport is hard to reach via email. But it’s part of his philosophy that focused concentration–so elusive in our overstimulated world–is the key to a better and more rewarding work and personal life.

By Art Keller | March 14, 2018 | Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Cognition, Employment, Ethics, Podcasts, Society | Accessibility, AI, American Girls, Attention, Automation, Boredom, Business, Clarity, Communication, Computer Science, Concentration, Deep Work, Depression, Economy, Effort, Email, Exercise, Extrovert, Flow, Georgetown, Impulse, Impulse Control, Introvert, Jerry Seinfeld, Jobs, Laptops, Learning, Meaning, Multitasking, Open Office Plans, Opportunity Cost, Outsourcing, Overstimulation, Practice, Productivity, Quick Checks, Quiet, Robots, Shallow Work, smart phones, Training

Podcast #16: Tomaso Poggio on the State of AI

After a long so-called winter, artificial intelligence has recently made amazing gains. Tomaso Poggio, Director of MIT’s Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, explains why this success is still a long way from the dystopian fears of robot overlords, but that the threat to jobs is real.

By Mo Lotman | February 14, 2018 | Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Cognition, Employment, Ethics, Podcasts, Society | Academia, AI, AI Winter, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Autonomous Vehicles, Back Propagation, Center for Brains Minds & Machines, China, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT, Deep Learning, Doctors, Economy, Facial Recognition, Google, Job Loss, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Meaning, Microsoft, MIT, Mobileye, National Science Foundation, Natural Language Processing, Neural Networks, Purpose, self-driving cars, surveillance, Truck Drivers

Spotify Automates; Humans Get Played

When Spotify’s music algorithms lead one writer to a band he can’t stand that he loves, he wonders about who’s programming who.

By Reis Thebault | February 7, 2018 | Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Culture, Philosophy, Relationships | AI, Algorithms, Automation, CDs, Creativity, Discovery, Engagement, Geography, Houndmouth, Human Interaction, Identity, Midwest, Mix Tapes, Monoculture, music, Music Appreciation, Playlists, Sharing, Spotify, streaming

Is Democracy Threatened by Chatbots?

Chatbots are becoming more sophisticated both in their ability to process language and gauge emotion. As social media increasingly influences our news and beliefs, this could be a big problem.

By Emily Ludolf | January 31, 2018 | Artificial Intelligence, Government, Journalism, Knowledge, Politics, Psychology, Security, Society | AI, Bias, Chatbots, Customer Service, Cyberbullying, Democracy, Elections, Fake News, Filter Bubble, Influence, Machine Learning, Microsoft, Natural Language Processing, News, NLP, Opinion, Oxford, Profiling, Propaganda, Psychiatry, Psychology, Russia, Social Media, Targeting, Tay, Therapy, Trolling, Twitter

Superman and the Singularity

A recent discussion of the AI film Ex Machina brings up ideas about the desire for the perfectability of humans and our irresistable urge to play god.