190,883 research outputs found
Human Computation and Convergence
Humans are the most effective integrators and producers of information,
directly and through the use of information-processing inventions. As these
inventions become increasingly sophisticated, the substantive role of humans in
processing information will tend toward capabilities that derive from our most
complex cognitive processes, e.g., abstraction, creativity, and applied world
knowledge. Through the advancement of human computation - methods that leverage
the respective strengths of humans and machines in distributed
information-processing systems - formerly discrete processes will combine
synergistically into increasingly integrated and complex information processing
systems. These new, collective systems will exhibit an unprecedented degree of
predictive accuracy in modeling physical and techno-social processes, and may
ultimately coalesce into a single unified predictive organism, with the
capacity to address societies most wicked problems and achieve planetary
homeostasis.Comment: Pre-publication draft of chapter. 24 pages, 3 figures; added
references to page 1 and 3, and corrected typ
Transhumanism Between Human Enhancement and Technological Innovation
Transhumanism introduces from its very beginning a paradigm shift about concepts like human nature, progress and human future. An overview of its ideology reveals a strong belief in the idea of human enhancement through technologically means. The theory of technological singularity, which is more or less a radicalisation of the transhumanist discourse, foresees a radical evolutionary change through artificial intelligence. The boundaries between intelligent machines and human beings will be blurred. The consequence is the upcoming of a post-biological and posthuman future when intelligent technology becomes autonomous and constantly self-improving. Considering these predictions, I will investigate here the way in which the idea of human enhancement modifies our understanding of technological innovation. I will argue that such change goes in at least two directions. On the one hand, innovation is seen as something that will inevitably lead towards intelligent machines and human enhancement. On the other hand, there is a direction such as “Singularity University,” where innovation is called to pragmatically solving human challenges. Yet there is a unifying spirit which holds together the two directions and I think it is the same transhumanist idea
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Artificial Intelligence, International Competition, and the Balance of Power (May 2018)
World leaders, CEOs, and academics have suggested that a revolution in artificial intelligence is upon us. Are they right, and what will advances in artificial intelligence mean for international competition and the balance of power? This article evaluates how developments in artificial intelligence (AI) — advanced, narrow applications in particular — are poised to influence military power and international politics. It describes how AI more closely resembles “enabling” technologies such as the combustion engine or electricity than a specific weapon. AI’s still-emerging developments make it harder to assess than many technological changes, especially since many of the organizational decisions about the adoption and uses of new technology that generally shape the impact of that technology are in their infancy. The article then explores the possibility that key drivers of AI development in the private sector could cause the rapid diffusion of military applications of AI, limiting first-mover advantages for innovators. Alternatively, given uncertainty about the technological trajectory of AI, it is also possible that military uses of AI will be harder to develop based on private-sector AI technologies than many expect, generating more potential first-mover advantages for existing powers such as China and the United States, as well as larger consequences for relative power if a country fails to adapt. Finally, the article discusses the extent to which U.S. military rhetoric about the importance of AI matches the reality of U.S. investments.LBJ School of Public Affair
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Occupational Cultures as a Challenge to Technological Innovation
This paper explains conflict over technological process innovation in cultural terms, drawing primarily on a case study of electric power distribution and strategies to automate its operation
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Commentary on “Toward an Anthropology of Computer-Mediated, Algorithmic Forms of Sociality” (Eitan Wilf, author). With Nick Seaver.
Can Computers Create Art?
This essay discusses whether computers, using Artificial Intelligence (AI),
could create art. First, the history of technologies that automated aspects of
art is surveyed, including photography and animation. In each case, there were
initial fears and denial of the technology, followed by a blossoming of new
creative and professional opportunities for artists. The current hype and
reality of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for art making is then discussed,
together with predictions about how AI tools will be used. It is then
speculated about whether it could ever happen that AI systems could be credited
with authorship of artwork. It is theorized that art is something created by
social agents, and so computers cannot be credited with authorship of art in
our current understanding. A few ways that this could change are also
hypothesized.Comment: to appear in Arts, special issue on Machine as Artist (21st Century
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