Asimov and all that. The Guardian writes:
"Computer scientist Bill Joy ..has urged the general public to start thinking about the dangers posed by the rapidly advancing science of robotics, and Greenpeace issued a special report last year urging people to debate this matter as vigorously as they have debated the issues raised by genetic engineering. "
However:
"Chris Melhuish, a leading British roboticist admits: "The biggest threat our robots currently pose to humans is that you can trip over them." "
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Monkey Boy is Lost
I remember reading years ago in the papers about a small child in Malaysia who took to climbing trees, and wouldn't come down except for the necessities of food and water. His parents were worried the way parents are, and the papers called him the Monkey Boy. There was a follow-up article some weeks later.
Yet no one else I've talked to has any recollection of either of these stories, and attempts to Google only bring up all sorts of un-related links.
Was there ever really a Monkey Boy, or did I make him up?
Yet no one else I've talked to has any recollection of either of these stories, and attempts to Google only bring up all sorts of un-related links.
Was there ever really a Monkey Boy, or did I make him up?
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
From the Guardian
Hans Moravec is a research professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh:
"Robot controllers double in complexity (processing power) every year or two. They are now barely at the lower range of vertebrate complexity, but should catch up with us within a half-century. By 2050 I predict that there will be robots with humanlike mental power, with the ability to abstract and generalise.
"These intelligent machines will grow from us, learn our skills, share our goals and values, and can be viewed as children of our minds. Not only will these robots look after us in the home, but they will also carry out complex tasks that currently require human input, such as diagnosing illness and recommending a therapy or cure. They will be our heirs and will offer us the best chance we'll ever get for immortality by uploading ourselves into advanced robots."
Chance of super-intelligent robots in the next 70 years: High
Danger score: 8
"Robot controllers double in complexity (processing power) every year or two. They are now barely at the lower range of vertebrate complexity, but should catch up with us within a half-century. By 2050 I predict that there will be robots with humanlike mental power, with the ability to abstract and generalise.
"These intelligent machines will grow from us, learn our skills, share our goals and values, and can be viewed as children of our minds. Not only will these robots look after us in the home, but they will also carry out complex tasks that currently require human input, such as diagnosing illness and recommending a therapy or cure. They will be our heirs and will offer us the best chance we'll ever get for immortality by uploading ourselves into advanced robots."
Chance of super-intelligent robots in the next 70 years: High
Danger score: 8
Monday, April 04, 2005
Robots Walk the Earth
If you've got a problem that can't be solved through the intervention of a giant robot, it probably can't be solved at all.
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