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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.

1 - What Emotions Do We Want Robots to Show?

Humanity has the Turing test to evaluate whether humans can distinguish conversing with a machine versus a human, and a machine seems to have been partially triumphant in a June 2014 Turing Competition at the Royal Society. We have the Ada Lovelace test, which is meant to evaluate a computer's creativity i.e. the person who designed a program must not be able to immediately discern how a machine produces its creative works. In August, a panel of scientists at a Robotronica 2015 conference discussed the sorts of emotions that we may want machines to express. This led the article's Author David Lovell to wonder, is time for another test?  How about the Frampton Test, after rock legend Peter Frampton, in which a machine has to give a convincing and emotionally-appropriate test that also stimulates emotional responses in most humans?

Even people who aren't fans of sci-fi or avid A.I. enthusiasts know that in 1997, IBM's "Deep Blue" chess computer defeated the then world chess champion at the time, Garry Kasparov, but relatively few of us are aware of the fascinating developments in other narrow domains of skill where artificial intelligence is gaining ground at incredible speed.

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.

1 - Scientists Can't Stop AI But They Can Make It 'Good'

Artificial intelligence is in the media spotlight, with the band of tech movers' Hawking, Gates and Musk certainly acting as a catalyst but certainly not the only development worth noting. A new report from Tractica, a market intelligence group, recently released a report that predicts more than $40 billion investment by business industries in the next 10 years. AI is everywhere, and the deep learning algorithms and other life-changing arenas are only improving. Many computer scientists behind the scenes are reminding the public that any technology, AI included, can be used for bad and good purposes. AI is not going away, and scientists have an an opportunity to investigate the full rang of risks that AI presents - and brainstorm real solutions for how to avert real dangers.

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.

1 - Humans, Not Robots, Are The Real Reason Artificial Intelligence Is So Scary

Imagine that, sometime in the future, a criminal entity was to steal one of Google's self-driving cars, strap an automatic weapon to the roof, and reprogram the car to drive around and target people. This shocking image of the potential dangers of autonomous weapons - in the hands of ill-seeking humans - is what makes the idea of artificial intelligence downright terrifying. While we're not close to developing human-like artificial intelligence that has the ability to "take over the world", world governments, including the US, China, and Russia, are all developing autonomous drones and other AI weapons, presenting an immediate danger to the general population.  While the Future of Life petition to ban AI weapons was issued in the face of this threat, there have not yet been any lasting policy decisions made by the UN.

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.

1 - IBM Acquires Merge Healthcare to Grow Watson

IBM announced Thursday that it had made its third acquisition of a healthcare company, since establishing its Watson health business in April. The purchase is the next layer on top of an already established partnership with pharmacy giant CVS, with which it will work to spearhead data-driven diagnostics and advisory services that help customers with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Watson will be able to take in a more holistic picture of a customers' health, rather than blindly narrow in on any abnormalities. Watson owes its advances in the health world to IBM researchers, who have been training it in image recognition.