PR2 Robot Augments Quadriplegic’s Everyday Life, Tom Coburn’s Words Remain Delicious

Jul 202011
 
PR2 Robot Augments Quadriplegic’s Everyday Life, Tom Coburn’s Words Remain Delicious

So Henry Evans had a stroke at 40, and can now move only his head and a finger.  The mad robot scientists at Willow Garage (in part funded by a National Science Foundation grant) have developed an interface with their PR2 robot that allows Evans to remotely do all kinds of everyday stuff he’s been unable to do on his own. So props to all involved – have a look at the video below – this is a short glimpse of the future of telepresence and yet another example of technology extending the reach of disabled people.  As with the [read full post]

 July 20, 2011  Posted by at 10:55 PM AI, Artificial Intelligence, Cybernetics, Future Already Very Pending, Here First or Best Here, Human Augmentation, Medical Technology, Multimedia, Neurology, Prosthetics, Robot, Technology, We're Already Cyborgs Already

Despite an Exponentially Growing Knowledge Base, Learning to be Human is Painfully Slow

Jul 122011
 
Despite an Exponentially Growing Knowledge Base, Learning to be Human is Painfully Slow

We are getting better, much better… But it’s slow, and hard.  This NYT article focuses primarily on “top-down” AI projects – projects seeking to actually find a way to manually express the complexity of natural movement, behavior, and understanding in the physical world.  That seems terribly challenging.  For researchers seeking a more…  organic, or spontaneously emergent kind of AI or NBI (non-biological intelligence), see the work of Dr. Andrew Ng.  And please don’t be put off by his junior high-level site design – this really is a case of not judging the book… [VIA NEW YORK TIMES]

 July 12, 2011  Posted by at 1:18 PM AI, Artificial Intelligence, Brain, Military Robotics, NBI, Neurology, Robot, Technology, WarBots

Human Behavior in Robots and the Lamest Robotics Field Name Ever (related to love)

Jul 042011
 
Human Behavior in Robots and the Lamest Robotics Field Name Ever (related to love)

I’ll first send you over to humor site Cracked.com, and “6 Shocking Ways Robots are Already Becoming Human.”  This piece deals mostly with our current efforts toward teaching machines about human emotions (very much the cutting edge of intelligence).  Cracked.com digs hard at human society with wit and profanity – ANTHROBOTIC recommends! Next up, from MIT Tech Review we have a super-interesting concept:  Love and Robotics/AI.  I will not, however, repeat the title of this piece because a (probably extremely bright) researcher is trying to give this field an embarrassing fanboy otaku name.  Props to him for the seriously interesting [read full post]

 July 4, 2011  Posted by at 12:28 PM AI, Artificial Intelligence, Future Already Very Pending, Here First or Best Here, Neurology, Robot, Robot Emotions, Robot Love, Technology, Technology & Politics

Technology Created Organized Religion. Next Project: Cults For & Against the Singularity

Jun 292011
 
Technology Created Organized Religion. Next Project: Cults For & Against the Singularity

So…  What’s a Singularity, Yo? Futurism, Techno-Sociology, Technological Anthropology, Sociotechnological Studies, Anthrobotic Sociology – or just, you know, generic human science or whatever, has borrowed from cosmology & astrophysics the concept of a “singularity,” and capitalized it.  Very basically, it’s where the rules break down – gravity, time, and space go bananas.  Regarding human technology, it centers around us producing an intelligence that supersedes our own, which in turn does its own thing, and as a result all we can predict about the future is that it will become utterly unpredictable – all truisms will fail, we’ll be flying blind. The idea [read full post]

 June 29, 2011  Posted by at 12:25 AM AI, Artificial Intelligence, Brain, Cybernetics, Future Already Very Pending, Here First or Best Here, Human Augmentation, Neurology, Robot, Singularity, Technology, Technology & Politics, Technology Law, The Beginning is Near, We're Already Cyborgs Already

Creating Autonomous Machines vs. Creating Autonomous Humans: What’s the Difference?

Jun 202011
 
Creating Autonomous Machines vs. Creating Autonomous Humans: What's the Difference?

“Should we regulate the creation of autonomous robots? If yes, then why not also regulate the creation of autonomous humans?” While I struggle to understand Dr. Lin’s title, “What if Your Robot is the Devil,” he brings up some excellent questions of moral and ethical philosophy – albeit expressed somewhat as parable.  In other words, who are we to regulate the production of intelligence machines – we don’t even regulate our own production! And the issue is even deeper than is mentioned here – there’s also the issue of artificial consciousness and free-will and how those things are defined.  If any given [read full post]

 June 20, 2011  Posted by at 9:50 AM AI, Artificial Intelligence, Japan 日本 Tekk, Neurology, Robot, Technology, The Beginning is Near

Artificial General Intelligence, Transhumanism, and Open Source – an Interview with Ben Goertzel

Jun 152011
 
Artificial General Intelligence, Transhumanism, and Open Source - an Interview with Ben Goertzel

Dr. Ben Goertzel is a both a young pioneer and modern legend in AI, robotics, and transhumanism (site).  He is the kind of down-to-earth-yet-occasionally-overly-optimistic cultstar scientist who is in fact making every effort to actually design humanity’s future. A strongly recommended read, but to be fair, this piece is definitely geared more toward those with more than a passing interest in cultural & technology, AI, and robotics.  That being said, however, if you’re really interested in the words of a man who is seriously considering what it means to be human after we begin designing ourselves, then you MUST READ!! [read full post]

 June 15, 2011  Posted by at 9:02 AM AI, Artificial Intelligence, Brain, Cybernetics, Future Already Very Pending, Human Augmentation, Neurology, Prosthetics, Robot, Technology, Technology Law
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