Readings

The readings for this week focus on artificial intelligence:

• Too Smart for Our Own Good?

• Rise of the Machines (mirror: outline)

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

• Is AlphaGo Really Such a Big Deal?

• The truth about the Turing Test

And its application in automation:

• How Artificial Intelligence and Robots Will Radically Transform the Economy

• MIT Report Examines How to Make Technology Work for Society

• There's an Automation Crisis Underway Right Now, It's Just Mostly Invisible

• Andrew Yang Is Full of It (Optional follow-up: Andrew Yang Is Not Full of Shit)

• FACT CHECK: Do Robots Or Trade Threaten American Workers More?

Optional: Intelligence

These articles discuss what artificial intelligence is:

• What is artificial intelligence?

• Debunking the biggest myths about artificial intelligence

• The Great A.I. Awakening

These articles discuss AlphaGo, Watson, Deep Blue, and AlphaZero:

• When Computers Started Beating Chess Champions

• How Google's AlphaGo Beat a Go World Champion

• Why AlphaGo Is Not AI

These articles discuss the Turing Test and the Chinese Room thought experiment:

• Computing Machinery and Intelligence

• Searle: Minds, brains, and programs

• The Turing Test Is Not What You Think It Is

These articles further examine whether or not machines can think:

• Can We Quantify Machine Consciousness?

• Don't Be A Chauvinist About Thinking

• Machines That Think? NUTS

These articles discuss the fears around artificial intelligence

• Beneficial Artificial Intelligence (context)

• Some scientists fear superintelligent machiens could pose a threat to humanity

• Let’s Stop Freaking Out About Artificial Intelligence

These articles discuss OpenAI:

• Introducing OpenAI

• What Will It Take to Build a Virtuous AI?

• Inside OpenAI, Elon Musk's Wild Plan to Set Artificial Intelligence Free

Automation

These articles discuss the economic impact of automation:

• Automation and Jobs

• How Safe Is Your Job? A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast

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

These articles discuss how artificial intelligence is displacing human workers:

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

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

• Fast-food CEO says 'it just makes sense' to consider replacing cashiers with machines as minimum wages rise

This is a series of podcasts from Planet Money regarding automation:

• Episode 621: When Luddites Attack

• Episode 622: Humans vs. Robots

• Episode 623: The Machine Comes To Town

• Episode 624: I, Waiter

These articles consider whether the Luddites were right regarding automation:

• Technology isn't working

• Were the Luddites right about technology and jobs?

• The epic mistake about manufacturing that’s cost Americans millions of jobs

These articles touch on the political implications of automation:

• Tariffs Unlikely to Bring Back Many U.S. Blue-Collar Jobs, Study Finds

• The Long-Term Jobs Killer Is Not China. It’s Automation.

• Trump treasury secretary: R2-D2 won't take your job for 50 years

These articles discuss the idea of a universal basic income:

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

• Silicon Valley's Unchecked Arrogance

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

These articles discuss other ways to address the problems caused by automation:

• Andrew Ng Wants a New “New Deal” to Combat Job Automation

• Automation, education, and the looming skills deficit

• AI will create new jobs but skills must shift, say tech giants

Quiz

Once you have completed the readings, fill out the following quiz:

Note, you can view the initial quiz score after you submit your responses. If you get any answers wrong, you can go back and adjust your answers as necessary. After the deadline has passed, any wrong answers will be given partial credit.