Week 3: Robotics + Art

    As an Electrical Engineer, I have a strong background in robotics. My multiple classes and projects in circuit design and machine work, as well as my background in Computer Science, makes me believe that a world with AI in robots is coming very soon.

The robot from Ex Machina learning about herself

   Professor Vensa talked about Alan Turing and his influential work in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. However, Turing had another important contribution in the development of the Turing Test. The Turing test is essentially a test for machines and robots. A robot with a perfect AI will be indistinguishable from a human in its responses. A movie that explores robotics and AI is the 2014 movie Ex Machina. In this movie, an engineer works in the private laboratory of a renown scientist who is trying to create the perfect AI. The engineer attempts to apply the Turing test on the robot and due to the robot's human-like attributes, he ends of falling in love with it. At the end of the movie, it is shown that the robot manipulated the engineer and uses him to kill the scientist, trap the engineer in the facility and escape into the free world where she is indistinguishable from everyone else.
One of Elon Musk's many comments on AI

A Japanese robotic nurse 
   Movies like this as well as the Terminator and Matrix series, have been used to scare the general public. They warn of the dangers of AI and the potential harm they can bring to human kind in general. Every time there are any advancements in AI, Luddites call it the coming apocalypse. It doesn't help that industry-leading entrepreneur Elon Musk has called AI a huge threat to humanity.

  Actually, AI is currently used all around us. Google uses AI to determine which searches would be best for the user. Likewise, many social media sites use AI to determine what Ads to give us. Giving AI to robots would also prove to be more beneficial than detrimental. Currently, in Japan, rudimentary robots with AI are used as nurses and companions for elderly people.

  I believe that AI can be used to improve society immensely. By allowing robots and machines to learn and improve themselves, both society and living conditions will drastically improve.


Sources:

Vensa, Victoria. Robotics pt2, YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=260&v=oAZ8bo9T_Pk.

 “The Alan Turing Internet Scrapbook.” Alan Turing Scrapbook - Turing Test, www.turing.org.uk/scrapbook/test.html.

 "Ex Machina": These Are the Droids You're Looking For. Madison Movie, 24 Apr. 2015, madisonmovie.org/2015/04/24/ex-machina-these-are-the-droids-youre-looking-for/.

 “Ex Machina.” Universal Studios, 2015.

 Swartz, Jon. Protesters Stage Anti-Robot Rally at SXSW. USA Today, 15 Mar. 2015, www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/14/sxsw-robot-ai-protest-artificial-intelligence/24777871/.

 MailOnline, Sarah Griffiths for. 'Building Intelligent Machines Is like Summoning the Demon': Elon Musk Warns AI Is Mankind's Biggest Threat. Daily Mail Online, 27 Oct. 2014, www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2809279/Building-intelligent-machines-like-summoning-demon-Elon-Musk-warns-AI-mankind-s-biggest-threat.html.

 “Computers and Robots: Decision-Makers in an Automated World.” Computers and Robots DecisionMakers in an Automated World, Stanford , cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs201/projects/2010-11/ComputersMakingDecisions/robotic-nurses/index.html.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EC Event: Undergraduate Senior Exhibition

Image
Me in front of the exhibit On June 7, 2018, I attended the Undergraduate Senior Exhibition for DMA graduating seniors. There were dozens of fascinating projects that were revolved around technology. There were two main types of projects, interactive, game-like ones as well as ones that were created immersive environments. For the game-like ones, there were projects that utilized cameras that could read facial features and artistic computer games. However, what appealed to me the most was the immersive environment displays. Many of the displays used a rudimentary form of Augmented Reality. They would set up an environment that they want to emulate (like a grassy field or a peaceful temple) and use various technological tools such as a projector or television screen to show the audience their story. In addition, there were displays that used virtual reality to place the user in extraordinary circumstances with other physical features that made the experience even more realistic.
Read more

Week 1: Two Cultures

Image
      C. P. Snow's "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution" resonated with me. As an  Electrical Engineer, I have most of my classes on the South side of campus in buildings such as Boelter Hall and Engineering IV. To the left are pictures of Engineering IV and its interior. The exterior walls are painted a dull grey-white and rarely is cleaned. It has the look of a boring corporate office with its flat colors and plain windows. And finally, right outside, you can see the beautiful view of traffic going to and from the school and hear the sound of car horns chriping and people barking at each other. Meanwhile, the inside of the building is equally depressing. The walls of the walls, ceiling and floor are a piercing white which makes it seem like the inside of a hospital or mental asylum. The lights always seem to be on high which causes everyone to wince as they exit a room or lab. The inside of Engineering IV The outside of Engineering IV Obviously, m
Read more

Week 8: Nanotech + Art

Image
UCLA spelled out using CO molecules (Gimzewki) Nanotechnology is a fascinating topic for scientists and non-scientists alike. Popularized in movies like Terminator, nanotechnology is shown to be a tool that should be feared. However, this is not true. In the lectures by Dr. Gimzewski, he shows that nanotechnology can be used to create art that is unseen by the eye. A particular work that impressed me was that of Lisa, one of Dr. Gimzewski's students ( Gimzewki) . While it looks simplistic, the process to move the atoms was complicated. This prompted me to look into nanoart even further. One of the earliest electron microscopy images The origins of nanoart began with basic electron microscopy from George Emil Palade (Orfescu). From there came the IBM's scanning tunneling microscope which allowed scientists to see individual atoms. Next, in 1989, Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer manipulated individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo which is widely considered
Read more