Readings

The readings for Tuesday, April 5 are:

Intelligence

  1. What is artificial intelligence?

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

  3. Computing Machinery and Intelligence

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

Automation

  1. A World without Work

  2. Technology isn't working

  3. Episode 621: When Luddites Attack

  4. Basic Income

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?

    • 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?

    • 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.