Robot revolution has arrived, but dangers loom

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Artificial intelligence is here. Did you miss it? Sometimes revolutions creep up on you. Before you know it, your head is on the guillotine. We’re thinking of the French Revolution now, but you get the gist. The robot revolution is here. Just ask Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. Topics: “Siri, what do you think of the robot revolution?” Siri: “It’s your opinion that counts”. As you can see, the robots haven’t taken over … yet. You might not know it, but when your Netflix service makes suggestions about what you might like to watch next, artificial intelligence is at work. And those personalised “mix tapes” on Spotify? Yep, that’s the work of a machine. A machine that uses lots of data and algorithms to predict your music tastes. And while artificial intelligence promises many benefits for mankind, there are risks. Like say, the end of mankind. We recently spoke to University of Newcastle Professor Duncan McDuie-Ra about his concerns that artificial intelligence could “deepen global inequality”. This led us to a CSIRO discussion paper on the ethics of artificial intelligence. It gave examples of the problems that can arise with the technology. The paper highlighted a case study in which an automated system was used to fire teachers in Houston in the US. “Artificial intelligence [AI] was used by the Houston school district to assess teacher performance and in some cases fire them. There was little transparency regarding the way it was operating. The use of this AI was challenged in court by the teacher’s union, as the system was proprietary software and its inner workings were hidden. The case was settled and the district stopped using it.” Another example was the notorious “COMPAS sentencing tool”. It is used in the US to give recommendations to judges about whether prospective parolees will re-offend. “There is extensive debate over the accuracy of the system and whether it is fair to African Americans. Investigations by a non-profit outlet have indicated that incorrect predictions unfairly categorise black Americans as a higher risk. The system is proprietary software,” the paper said. The late Stephen Hawking believed artificial intelligence could help eradicate war, poverty and disease. Mind you, he also said it “could spell the end of the human race”, if it learned to “re-design itself at an ever increasing rate”. Wonder what a robot guillotine would look like? Speaking of robotics, we interviewed the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Alex Zelinsky, for a news story. Professor Zelinsky is an expert in the field. He was involved in inventing technology that uses artificial intelligence to monitor drivers in vehicles. The aim is to stop drivers from becoming tired or distracted and to save lives. Interestingly, the technology wasn’t made for driverless vehicles. It was made to help humans become better drivers. “Ultimately, I think autonomous vehicles will be able to do a lot, but not all the things a driver needs to do. I think we need drivers in the loop,” the professor said. “It’s a bit like pilots. When the autopilot can’t fly a plane, the pilot takes over. I think the same will happen in cars. “That’s what the technology we developed was all about. Make sure the driver is alert with eyes on the road.” Professor Zelinsky co-founded a company called Seeing Machines. It commercialised the technology. “When we started the company, we looked at automated driving,” he said, adding that they worked with Volvo. “Volvo always felt you needed people in the loop. Google has pushed the technology [driverless vehicles] but, the idea of no steering wheel in the car, I just can’t see it happening. “We need to make sure the car drives as well as it can and the driver is always alert.” Staying with artificial intelligence, let’s talk about Iron Man. The superhero, also known as Tony Stark [played by Robert Downey Jr] uses “JARVIS [Just A Rather Very Intelligent System]” to manage the high-tech systems of his mansion and research lab. Simon Wait loves Iron Man so much, he painted a tribute to the superhero on his back-lane fence in Birmingham Gardens. That’s him wearing one of his five handmade Iron Man suits. Yes, five. He made the first suit about eight years ago for his 40th birthday. He’s since used his suits to help charities. Would robots do that?

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/3AijacentBN9GedHCvcASxG/a68391cf-284d-4d58-853b-cdc16e03c173.jpg/r0_154_4558_2729_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

Artificial intelligence is here. Did you miss it?

Sometimes revolutions creep up on you. Before you know it, your head is on the guillotine. We’re thinking of the French Revolution now, but you get the gist.

The robot revolution is here. Just ask Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa.

Topics: “Siri, what do you think of the robot revolution?”

Siri: “It’s your opinion that counts”.

As you can see, the robots haven’t taken over … yet.

You might not know it, but when your Netflix service makes suggestions about what you might like to watch next, artificial intelligence is at work.

And those personalised “mix tapes” on Spotify? Yep, that’s the work of a machine. A machine that uses lots of data and algorithms to predict your music tastes.

And while artificial intelligence promises many benefits for mankind, there are risks. Like say, the end of mankind.

This led us to a CSIRO discussion paper on the ethics of artificial intelligence. It gave examples of the problems that can arise with the technology.

The paper highlighted a case study in which an automated system was used to fire teachers in Houston in the US.

“Artificial intelligence [AI] was used by the Houston school district to assess teacher performance and in some cases fire them. There was little transparency regarding the way it was operating. The use of this AI was challenged in court by the teacher’s union, as the system was proprietary software and its inner workings were hidden. The case was settled and the district stopped using it.”

Another example was the notorious “COMPAS sentencing tool”.

It is used in the US to give recommendations to judges about whether prospective parolees will re-offend.

“There is extensive debate over the accuracy of the system and whether it is fair to African Americans. Investigations by a non-profit outlet have indicated that incorrect predictions unfairly categorise black Americans as a higher risk. The system is proprietary software,” the paper said.

The late Stephen Hawking believed artificial intelligence could help eradicate war, poverty and disease.

Mind you, he also said it “could spell the end of the human race”, if it learned to “re-design itself at an ever increasing rate”.

Wonder what a robot guillotine would look like?

Professor Zelinsky is an expert in the field. He was involved in inventing technology that uses artificial intelligence to monitor drivers in vehicles. The aim is to stop drivers from becoming tired or distracted and to save lives.

Interestingly, the technology wasn’t made for driverless vehicles. It was made to help humans become better drivers.

“Ultimately, I think autonomous vehicles will be able to do a lot, but not all the things a driver needs to do. I think we need drivers in the loop,” the professor said.

“It’s a bit like pilots. When the autopilot can’t fly a plane, the pilot takes over. I think the same will happen in cars.

“That’s what the technology we developed was all about. Make sure the driver is alert with eyes on the road.”

Seeing Machines technology monitors a driver’s eyes to warn against distractions.

Professor Zelinsky co-founded a company called Seeing Machines. It commercialised the technology.

“When we started the company, we looked at automated driving,” he said, adding that they worked with Volvo.

“Volvo always felt you needed people in the loop. Google has pushed the technology [driverless vehicles] but, the idea of no steering wheel in the car, I just can’t see it happening.

“We need to make sure the car drives as well as it can and the driver is always alert.”

Simon Wait, dressed as Iron Man, and his Iron Man tribute painting.

Staying with artificial intelligence, let’s talk about Iron Man. The superhero, also known as Tony Stark [played by Robert Downey Jr] uses “JARVIS [Just A Rather Very Intelligent System]” to manage the high-tech systems of his mansion and research lab.

Simon Wait loves Iron Man so much, he painted a tribute to the superhero on his back-lane fence in Birmingham Gardens.

That’s him wearing one of his five handmade Iron Man suits. Yes, five. He made the first suit about eight years ago for his 40^th birthday. He’s since used his suits to help charities. Would robots do that?