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Category: robotics/AI

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Though some computer engineers claim to know what human consciousness is, many neuroscientists say that we’re nowhere close to understanding what it is — or its source.

In this video, bestselling author Douglas Rushkoff gives the “transhumanist myth” — the belief that A.I. will replace humans — a reality check. Is it hubristic to upload people’s minds to silicon chips, or re-create their consciousness with algorithms, when we still know so little about what it means to be human?

You can read more about Rushkoff’s perspective on this issue in his new book, Team Human.

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It’s not every day that an 18-year-old college student catches the eye of the computing world, but when Ewin Tang took aim at recommendation algorithms similar to those commonly used by the likes of Amazon and Netflix, the University of Texas at Austin mathematics and computer science undergraduate blew up an established belief: that classical computers cannot perform these types of calculations at the speed of quantum computers.

In a July 2018 paper, which Tang wrote for a senior honors thesis under the supervision of computer science professor Scott Aaronson, a leading researcher in quantum computing algorithms, she discovered an algorithm that showed classical computers can indeed tackle predictive recommendations at a speed previously thought possible only with quantum computers. “I actually set out to demonstrate that quantum machine learning algorithms are faster,” she explains. “But, along the way, I realized this was not the case.”

Figure. Ewin Tang set out to show that quantum machine learning algorithms are faster than classical algorithms, “but … I realized this was not the case.”

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LI1l9E_MeA

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In the last video in this series, we started on a quest to clear up the misconceptions between artificial intelligence and machine learning, beginning with discussing supervised learning, an essential foundational building block in understanding the modern field of machine learning.

The focus of this video then will continue right were the last one left off, so sit back, relax and join me once again in an exploration into the field of machine learning — more specifically, unsupervised learning!

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The parcel carrier said Tuesday it had applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for certification of drone flights through the company’s recently formed subsidiary called UPS Flight Forward Inc.

The certification if approved, would allow drone flights beyond an operator’s visual line of sight, at night and without limit to the number of drones or operators in command, the company said. Such flights are highly restricted in the U.S.

The FAA is working out the regulatory framework to govern commercial uses of unmanned aircraft, which has been generally restricted to flights below 400 feet and within sight of an operator on the ground.

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This new tech is the product of Neuralink, a company that Elon founded in 2016 with a goal of creating an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) and yes, it is as crazy as it sounds.

He stated that the initial goal with this is to enable people with quadriplegia (paralysis) to control a smartphone or computer with just their thoughts. But anyone that knows the entrepreneur knows that he intends to go bigger than that.

His vision also consists of giving humans the ability to “merge” with AI and therefore give them superhuman intelligence. This is what may then seem like an objective that is too hype to be an actual plan for new technology development.

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Microsoft and Google companies want to be central to the development of the thinking machine.

The decision by Microsoft to invest $1 billion in OpenAI, a company jointly founded by Elon Musk, brings closer the time when machines threaten to replace humans in any tasks that humans do today.

OpenAI, which was founded just four years ago, has pioneered a range of technologies which have pushed the frontiers of massive data processing in defiance of the physical and computer capabilities that governed such developments for generations.

Now, with the investment from Microsoft, the pace of technological change is likely to accelerate rapidly. Today, Artificial Intelligence is at a level of what is known as ‘weak AI’ and relies on humans to create the algorithms which allow for the crunching of massive amounts of data to produce new and often predictive results. Artificial General Intelligence, or Strong AI, will herald a new era when robots will essentially be able to think for themselves.

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Here’s my newest #transhumanism article from Metro; a very personal story:

At aged five, she announced she was in love with the robot and wanted to marry it.

My wife and I set up a mock wedding and filmed it. It was all good fun until my wife asked how I’d feel if my daughter wanted to do this as an adult with a robot she loved.

Kids do lots of crazy things with their imaginative minds that have little bearing on the future. Playing make-believe has been a cornerstone of childhood for millions of kids for generations.

But no generation can claim their kids were adept at using YouTube before they reached 12 months of age, as both my kids were.

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