Readings

The readings for Tuesday, November 8 are:

Intelligence

1. What is artificial intelligence?

   • Rise of the Machines

   • Debunking the biggest myths about artificial intelligence

2. How Google's AlphaGo Beat a Go World Champion

   • Is AlphaGo Really Such a Big Deal?

   • How Google Plans to Solve Artificial Intelligence

   • Computer Wins on 'Jeopardy!': Trivial, It's Not

   • When Computers Started Beating Chess Champions

3. Computing Machinery and Intelligence

   • Searle: Minds, brains, and programs

   • The truth about the Turing Test

   • Do Feelings Compute? If Not, The Turing Test Doesn't Mean Much

   • The Turing Test Is Not What You Think It Is

4. 2015 : What do you think about machines that think?

   • Don't Be A Chauvinist About Thinking

   • Machines That Think? NUTS

   • Beyond "The Uncanny Valley"

5. Some scientists fear superintelligent machiens could pose a threat to humanity

   • AI will create 'useless class' of human, predicts bestselling historian/

   • The fraudulent claims made by IBM about Watson and AI.

   • Beneficial Artificial Intelligence (context)

Automation

1. A World without Work

   • The End of Labor: How to Protect Workers From the Rise of Robots

   • Robots: Destroying jobs, our economy, and possibly the world

   • Amazon, robots and the near-future rise of the automated warehouse

2. Drones could replace $127 billion worth of human labour

   • Foxconn replaces '60,000 factory workers with robots'

   • EXCLUSIVE: US army 'will have more ROBOT SOLDIERS than humans' by 2025

   • McDonald's ex-CEO: $15/hr minimum wage will unleash the robot rebellion

3. Episode 621: When Luddites Attack

   • Episode 622: Humans vs. Robots

   • Episode 623: The Machine Comes To Town

   • Episode 624: I, Waiter

4. Technology isn't working

   • Were the Luddites right about technology and jobs?

   • The Rise of Job-Killing Automation? Not So Fast

   • Will Robots Put Everyone Out of Work? Automation Is Good for Humans

   • The Age of the Robot Worker Will Be Worse for Men

5. The Robot Revolution in Caregiving

   • IBM's Watson Cognitive AI Platform Evolves, Senses Feelings And Dances Gangnam Style At NVIDIA GTC

   • IBM Watson now powers a Hilton hotel robot concierge

6. As Our Jobs Are Automated, Some Say We'll Need A Guaranteed Basic Income

   • Basic Income

   • It's time to start talking seriously about Basic Income

   • Could a basic income solve the biggest challenge of the digital economy?

   • Silicon Valley's Unchecked Arrogance

   • Commentary: Universal Basic Income May Sound Attractive But, If It Occurred, Would Likelier Increase Poverty Than Reduce It

Questions

Please write a response to one of the following questions:

1. From the readings, what is artificial intelligence and how is it similar or different from what you consider to be human intelligence?

   • Are AlphaGo, Deep Blue, and Watson proof of the viability of artificial intelligence or are they just interesting tricks or gimmicks?

   • Is the Turing Test a valid measure of intelligence or is the Chinese Room a good counter argument?

   • Are the growing concerns over the power of artificial intelligence and its role in our lives warranted? Are you worried about the potential dangers imposed by artificial intelligence? Explain why or why not.

   • Finally, could a computing system ever be considered a mind? Are humans just biological computers? What are the ethical implications are either idea?

2. From the readings, how is automation impacting employment? What are the social, political, and economic implications of replacing human labor with automation on a massive scale?

   • Were the Luddites right about technology and jobs? Should we halt development of automation technology or at least temper it to ensure employment of human laborers, or does automation free humans for other endeavors?

   • Are you comfortable with artificial intelligence taking over work normally performed by humans? How about artificial intelligence performing typically "human" activities such as caregiving, creating artist works, or making life-or-death decisions?

   • Is a Universal Basic Income a viable means of addressing the concerns over loss of employment due to mass automation or is it unnecessary? How does society deal with a future with mass automation and lower employment (or is this not really a problem)?

   • Is automation ultimately a good thing or a bad thing for humanity? What are the ethical implications for those who develop and utilize these automation technologies?

Feedback

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the course, please provide your feedback at the end of your response.