Tackling the hard questions of AI
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“If you wish to get real insight into the fascinating issues surrounding robots and morality, then this is the book to read” JOHN LENNOX
Robots, Transhumanism and Life Beyond Earth
The latest episode of Premier’s Big Conversation with guests Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees and bioethicist Dr John Wyatt.
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Human and Robot Autonomy – Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of this series on Human and Robot Autonomy. Part 1 began by identifying the ‘will’ as the source of freedom and autonomy in the human and described its role in relation to other dimensions of the self. It then went on to underlining the point that ‘free will’ is never totally…
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Human and Robot Autonomy – Part 1
This blog is the first in a series that will do a deep dive into what is generally meant by the term ‘autonomy’ as it is applied both to humans and to robots. I will give an overview of the debate around free will and determinism and offer some thoughts about how an immaterial spirit…
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Machines Becoming Moral – Part 2
Ethical Alignment In my book ‘Rise of the Moral Machine: Exploring Virtue Through a Robot’s Eyes‘, I include a short fictional story about a couple (Mr and Mrs Morales) who are in the process of purchasing their first autonomous vehicle. Having chosen the model, the colour and the trim of the car, the last set…
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Chaos in the Brain – Part 2
Mind is Motion Whilst you are alive, your brain is continuously active. Every second of every day, your neurons are firing and signals are being passed along perhaps the most complex communication network in the universe. Your brain is continuously processing, even in the absence of any obvious stimulus (e.g. when you are asleep or in a coma). This…
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Chaos in the Brain – Part 1
Back in the 1990’s, chaos was all the rage. I’m not talking about riots or fashion or music, I’m talking about mathematics. Several popular science books were published on the subject, including ‘Chaos: Making a New Science’ by James Gleick and ‘Does God Play Dice?: The New Mathematics of Chaos’ by Ian Stewart. Chaos theory…
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Machines Becoming Moral – Part 1
Roboethics – Learning from Human Moral Development In the last ten years, the challenge of equipping machines with some form of moral competence has developed into a whole new field of scientific enquiry called Roboethics. Leaving aside for the moment what is motivating this explosion of interest in this subject, a key question for many…
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The Technological Singularity Myth
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race” Prof Stephen Hawking [AI is] “our biggest existential threat” Elon Musk Statements like these have been made by a number of prominent personalities and thought leaders in recent years, which has no doubt increased the level of anxiety that the general…
Prof Nigel Crook
AI Researcher, Author, Blogger