Tuesday, June 26, 2018

AI helping us be more ethical.



With the advent of self-driving cars, we see AI starting to make ethical decisions. How you may ask? 

These automobiles will have to decide what to do when human lives are at stake. For example, let's say a couple is in a hurry. Instead of obeying the traffic signal to not cross the street, they attempt to cross it not seeing the oncoming vehicle. Moreover, this is a self-driving car that is about to hit them. The AI calculates that it does not have enough time to come to a safe stop. In a millisecond the AI reviews the scenario. Should the ethic algorithms decide to hit the single pedestrian on the side walk instead? Hit the couple crossing the street? Or risk the life of the passengers in the car as well as those in the neighboring office building by careening into it?

Let's take this concept a step further. What if the AI knows who all the humans are that are in danger via face recognition? Also, what if the algorithms instantly calculate that one of the people in peril crossing the street has a high proclivity to criminal behavior?

Once intelligent machines start making, at least hypothetically better and more informed ethical decisions based on data, will we then slowly start to hand over our own ethical decisions to them? Why not have an AI (artificial intelligence) that has access to massive amounts of information and can process it at a thousand fold rate more then we can at least assist us in those dilemmas?

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Less is More?

Blaise Pascal famously wrote, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." 


It takes effort to be brief. Speaking of that, I listen to various podcast throughout the day. One that I listen to is only one minute in length. What is interesting is that I find myself really concentrating as I listen to it. I will listen to it attentively, because it only takes a minute time, and I can afford that effort during my busy day. Moreover, I will soon have another minute to listen to it again. Secondly, I want to make sure I get that singular thought that is communicated from that one minute podcast. What I end up doing with the other podcasts that are 15 minutes to 1 hour in length is listening to them one time and even speeding up the listening process only to not hear them again. 

Why is it I pay more attention and listen more carefully to the shorter podcast? 

First, it simply takes less time. Next, because there is only a singular idea or concept contained, I want to make sure that I obtained what is so briefly being shared. 

In short, I likely spend more time listening to and then considering the shorter podcast than I do with the longer!