Skin in the game
I tend to listen more to opinions when people have placed money on their espoused outcome---having "skin in the game", as Nicholas Taleb calls it in his latest book. However, this robotics developer seems to have gone one better. He literally has skin in the game. Good scientists aren't supposed to experiment on themselves, but I will feel better if the first people to use autonomous cars are … [Read more...]
Robot brothels
I'm not sure if robot brothels actually exist, but it seems that we are OK with people visiting them. Two surveys run by the University of Helsinki found that the majority of respondents found it was morally acceptable---as long as you are single. One of the major barriers to the wider use of robots (such as autonomous vehicles) is the willingness of society to mingle with them. Seems like that … [Read more...]
Amara’s Law
The current hype around artificial intelligence and machine learning brings to mind Amara's Law. We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run. … [Read more...]
Can autonomous vehicles solve CAPTCHAs?
Wait... We're apparently on the cusp of being chauffeured around in autonomous vehicles, but websites check that I'm not a computer by having me identify road signs in images?! This can't end well for someone. … [Read more...]