AI Podcast Interviews Articles and Reports

Episode Summary: When should we care about robots? How quickly should and will that change? These are just some of the thought points addressed by Professor David Gunkel, whose work on the moral valuations of AI is some of the first of its kind. In this interview, we consider the extent to which our “moral weighing” of other entities is arbitrary, and ask what a biased process might imply when we create other aware entities.

Episode Summary:  We talk a lot about the future of technology on Emerj - the long-road potentials and ethical considerations that intersect the various paths of artificial intelligence. But keeping the conversation real and present necessitates looking through binoculars rather than a telescope from time to time. In this episode, Eyal Amir, a tech entrepreneur and associate professor of Computer Science at University of Illinois, gives his zoomed-in perspective of the types of technological progress that he believes will be relevant in the next 5 to 10 years.

Episode Summary:  Do you need a body to think? This is a worthwhile (and also a perplexing) question, and an ongoing debate amongst roboticists. Cognitive Roboticist Dr. Mark Bickhard is part of a field of belief that cognition and intelligence - and maybe consciousness itself - requires embodiment and direct interaction with the world. In this interview, he discusses the concept of normative function and self maintenance in entities, and why this matters when it comes to thinking.

Episode Summary:  In this episode, Stephan draws on his robotics background to articulate what it takes to give a robot a "personality", explaining the differences between responses and propensities along the way. Androids are already making news in the entertainment and retail industries, but we delve into why the health sector is one of the next big industries, and how culture might influence social acceptance across country lines.

Episode Summary: Dr. Ayers provides a comprehensive overview of his development of autonomous underwater robots, intended to help discover and destroy dangerous underwater land mines. He provides his perspective on two major obstacles facing robotics, including the concept of autonomy, providing valuable insight in light of the current events surrounding the development of autonomous AI.

Episode Summary: Studying the mind has influenced, and will continue to influence, the development of artificial intelligence. In a largely digital world, Bruce turns a clarifying light on the topic of digital versus analog computing, and articulates on how the latter may be making a slow comeback in the wake of discoveries in neural information processing.

Episode Summary: The brain that we have is suited to our past, not our present - and is the (sometimes unfortunate) result of evolution stumbling forward for hundreds of thousands of years. In this episode, we aim to make sense of and deal with it. Dr. Gary Marcus shares his insight as to what the brain is good and bad at, and why - in addition to what this might imply for the future of human enhancement.

Joanne Pransky received her BA from Tufts University in the mid 1980’s, and began championing public awareness and exposure to robotics and AI technology, playfully calling herself the “first robot psychiatrist.” Since then, she’s been featured on CNN, The Discovery Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel, and even the Tonight Show with Jay Leno - aiming to expose the world to technology and it’s ethical implications.