Dear friends,
This Tuesday we are discussing: Boundaries for AI
Although AI is not a new topic it is certainly an everyday issue these
days. The topic was proposed by Jorge and in my short essay I try to
identify some of the issues.
Boundaries for AI
https://www.philomadrid.com/2023/04/boundaries-for-ai.html
NEWS
--Oscar's book is now available from Oscar himself:
"Toranzo, 88 ilustraciones y coplillas" by Oscar at €35
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/09/toranzo-88-ilustraciones-y-coplillas-by.html
If you need more details please let me know and I'll put you in touch
with Oscar.
--It is with great sadness that I have learnt Julian Martelli passed
away early in October this year, 2022. Julian was very active during our
meetings in Molly Malone and participation was always respected by all.
Christine kindly wants to share with us a photo of Julian with her and
friends. You can find the FaceBook link below.
I also include a link for our visit to Toledo in 2008 when Julian came
with us on the day trip.
Julian
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/11/julian.html
--Jorge has kindly sent us the link to his book which is available for
Free Distribution at:
Evolution of Thought and its Influence on Society and Technology
https://www.adneli.com/store
Please let me know whether you need the Skype link, thanks. A WhatsApp
would be better for me; please include your name!
Best and take care
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
PhiloMadrid Skype meeting: Tuesday 2nd May 2023 at 20:00pm: Boundaries
for AI
PhiloMadrid - Pub Philosophy Meetings in Madrid
29 April 2023
Boundaries for AI
Boundaries for AI
Topic by Jorge
Essay by Lawrence
What the Mind-Body debate was to philosophy in the 17th century, Artificial Intelligence debate will most certainly be for the 21st Century and beyond. Besides, a discussion on the boundaries of AI is no different than what people were discussing with the introduction of the steam engine, the motor car or nuclear energy.
I will, therefore, only highlight some basic issues in this debate, but first you might want to have a look at the short videos by Ilya Sutskever at Stanford eCorner and a report by Reuters that is relevant for our discussion: Explainer: What is the European Union AI Act?
The ethical issue is a good place to start. There are many ethical issues, but two key issues will suffice for now. What are the ethical responsibilities for those who employ AI systems? And by responsibilities I do not mean legal responsibilities, that comes later, but ethical ones.
Today it will be very easy to claim that any moral responsibility of an AI system rests on the owners of the system. But looking ahead, if an AI system is allowed to be autonomous, then what are the agency aspects of the AI system? Indeed, can an AI system be a moral agent? I ask this question to go beyond the debate of what is right or wrong. Anyway who decides whether something or someone is a free agent?
It is not enough to debate what is good or bad/evil, but today we need to know what is the right thing do is a given circumstance. This is a difficult question even for human beings to decide, and an AI system depends on human ideas and knowledge at the very least. Do we really want an AI system to take over these questions?
The second ethical issue is whether an AI system can independently adjust for discrimination, bias, racism and cultural exclusion. We already know that early attempts at AI were fraught with racial bias, and even today, some global websites still insist on giving us the language for their site interface based on our ISP. Even if we accept that websites are still responsible for the legalities of the country they operate from, it should be quite straightforward to separate location from language.
Another scope for the boundaries of AI is the commercial/non-commercial debate mentioned in one of the Ilya Sutskever videos. The debate is whether AI should be the domain of commercial interests or open source. Admittedly, Sutskever accepts that at this stage of AI evolution there are no big issues with making AI systems open source. But further on in the future maybe open source AI might be uncontrollable.
Except that today commercial companies are not better at behaving ethically or morally than any open system. After all, the Linux operating system has not destroyed the planet yet. But some commercial owners of operating systems have certainly been used to exploit the wallets and gullibility of consumers.
The Reuter’s report introduces the legal initiative the EU is proposing to control what AI systems may or may not do. This legal debate is very close to the ethical and moral debate.
One of the problems identified in the report is “deepfake" content generated by AI. Today there are applications that generate portraits of people and other subjects that look very realistic. And one of the legal issues is whether these applications can be “trained” by accessing photos and images without the permission of copyright holders. The EU Act should be covering medicine, law, buildings and many other concerns.
Maybe a key point about the AI debate is how fast can the machinery of the state and legal systems keep up with AI and introduce AI systems for the benefit of citizens.
Ethical AI Regulation
Ilya Sutskever at Stanford eCorner
Open-Source vs. Closed-Source AI
Ilya Sutskever at Stanford eCorner
https://youtu.be/ZfYrJlfLs1Q
Explainer: What is the European Union AI Act?
https://www.reuters.com/technology/what-is-european-union-ai-act-2023-03-22/
Best Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
PhiloMadrid Skype meeting: Tuesday 2nd May 2023 at 20:00pm: Boundaries for AI
22 April 2023
PhiloMadrid meeting Skype 8:00pm TUESDAY 25th March: The Human Touch
Dear Friends,
This coming Tuesday we are discussing: The Human Touch
This was an idea I introduced during our discussion on AI and
Relationships. How relevant is this concept in the 21st Century?
The Human Touch (essay)
https://www.philomadrid.com/2023/04/the-human-touch.html
NEWS
--Oscar's book is now available from Oscar himself:
"Toranzo, 88 ilustraciones y coplillas" by Oscar at €35
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/09/toranzo-88-ilustraciones-y-coplillas-by.html
If you need more details please let me know and I'll put you in touch
with Oscar.
--It is with great sadness that I have learnt Julian Martelli passed
away early in October this year, 2022. Julian was very active during our
meetings in Molly Malone and participation was always respected by all.
Christine kindly wants to share with us a photo of Julian with her and
friends. You can find the FaceBook link below.
I also include a link for our visit to Toledo in 2008 when Julian came
with us on the day trip.
Julian
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/11/julian.html
--Jorge has kindly sent us the link to his book which is available for
Free Distribution at:
Evolution of Thought and its Influence on Society and Technology
https://www.adneli.com/store
Please let me know if you need the Skype link, thanks.
Best and take care
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
PhiloMadrid meeting Skype 8:00pm TUESDAY 25th March: The Human Touch
This coming Tuesday we are discussing: The Human Touch
This was an idea I introduced during our discussion on AI and
Relationships. How relevant is this concept in the 21st Century?
The Human Touch (essay)
https://www.philomadrid.com/2023/04/the-human-touch.html
NEWS
--Oscar's book is now available from Oscar himself:
"Toranzo, 88 ilustraciones y coplillas" by Oscar at €35
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/09/toranzo-88-ilustraciones-y-coplillas-by.html
If you need more details please let me know and I'll put you in touch
with Oscar.
--It is with great sadness that I have learnt Julian Martelli passed
away early in October this year, 2022. Julian was very active during our
meetings in Molly Malone and participation was always respected by all.
Christine kindly wants to share with us a photo of Julian with her and
friends. You can find the FaceBook link below.
I also include a link for our visit to Toledo in 2008 when Julian came
with us on the day trip.
Julian
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/11/julian.html
--Jorge has kindly sent us the link to his book which is available for
Free Distribution at:
Evolution of Thought and its Influence on Society and Technology
https://www.adneli.com/store
Please let me know if you need the Skype link, thanks.
Best and take care
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
PhiloMadrid meeting Skype 8:00pm TUESDAY 25th March: The Human Touch
The Human Touch
The Human Touch
By Lawrence
Despite the search engines and what they dredge up from the internet, “human touch” does not mean being touched by a human.
If we want to refer to being physically touched by someone else we would say “someone touched me” or maybe, “I don’t like people touching me” or “I don’t like being touched by a doctor”. There, is therefore, a difference, from physical contact (touched by a human) and an idiomatic expression such as “human touch”. Indeed the most famous physical contact in literature is in the Gopel Luke 8:43-45-46, The Message, where Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” when a sick woman touched his robe.
The human touch idiom means, first and foremost, something like qualities that are unique to human beings which machines do not have. Machines might be made to mimic a “human touch” quality, such as empathy, warmth or understanding, but machines can hardly be programmed with an “if x then y” routine. Spontaneity and appropriateness to the situation determine what qualifies as a human touch and when to apply a human touch. (see eg: human touch at https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/human+touch )
I introduced the idea in the context of our discussion on AI and relationships. Can an AI routine learn how to apply a human touch?
Another close idiom in digital technology is probably “user friendly”. The idea behind a human touch is to describe whether a machine interacts with people with the characteristics of a machine or with features humans can relate to. We all remember the early computers and mobile phones how they were set up as machines and were certainly not “user friendly”.
Machines that do not have that “human touch” or are not “user friendly”, behave, and come across to us, as if they were made by an engineering textbook. Up to an extent, this is understandable since early technology lacks that “evolutionary experience” to give us a human experience more like a human event rather than a “causal series of events” from a textbook.
We have all seen those cartoons of a caveman hitting his desired female with a club to attract her attention and then a modern man who bludgeons a desired female with two dozen red roses and a bottle of the most expensive Champagne. But this “evolutionary experience” also applies to machines; machines need to be efficient and robust in their environment because we want them to be user friendly.
Unfortunately, even today when people expect seamless applications and machines in both function and hardware (who reads manuals these days anyway?) there is a lot to be desired. One of the major shortcomings of machines that are in need of a human touch is the complexity of language employed to communicate with humans.
Not only are many messages not optimised for natural languages that people can understand, but are also long and full of technical terminology. And the worst case of absence of a human touch is the language used in error messages; Windows is one of the worst culprits here.
Another key difference about machines is that by definition they are linear systems following a cause-effect algorithm. Humans in general are more multitasking (in thinking at least) and are able to understand the overall picture without knowing all the details. Even more, we can exclude things in our thinking that we do not understand and can even recall and use information from experience independent of our present experience. Indeed, today we are more likely to interact with a machine using trial and error rather than read the manual first.
And even when we do read the manual we are more likely to read it in a trouble shooting frame of mind rather than to learn how to use the machine. I would go further and say that one of the differences between people in general from professional people (in their professional environment) is that professional people do learn about the complexities of a system and how to use that system. We prefer to shoot first and ask questions later; some even need to be shown what they have to do and say. They give the impression that they have no voluntary will to find out an answer to a problem.
One of the consequences of this gap between a human touch characteristic and a machine touch feature is that people do not venture into making the most of the features of a machine. Some, of course, do venture and explore the dark corridors of engineering and do successfully enjoy their machines and many of the in-built features.
So how important is this concept of a human touch? A complementary idiom to human touch is good bedside manners especially in a medical context. In the paper by Barry D. Silverman MD (Physician behavior and bedside manners: the influence of William Osler and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine – DOI: 10.1080/08998280.2012.11928784) Silverman writes, “The accomplished doctor has a bedside manner that is humane and compassionate, empathetic and supportive.”
Of course, human touch is more a characteristic of acting like a friendly human being, whereas a good bedside manner in medical context must by definition include compassion and being supportive. I would argue that in human touch empathy is a sufficient condition although having extra characteristics would help. In his paper Silverman dates back the concept of bedside manner to 4th century Greeks.
Once again, we find the idea of professional people acting towards others beyond their duty and function very appealing. Although we do not hear this expression “good bedside manners” very often we do occasionally come across it in everyday life. Unfortunately, we tend to use it in the negative to mean someone behaving unfriendly or even rudely. For example, the office manager is good but their bedside manners leave a lot to be desired.
Our idea of a human touch is when we go beyond the functional and duty. Human touch is that something extra only people who are empathic, caring and with feelings towards others who know how to bridge the gap between function and caring. So can an AI system go the extra mile when interacting with human beings?
Best Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
15 April 2023
PhiloMadrid Skype meeting: Tuesday 18th April 2023 at 20:00pm: AI & Relationships + News
Dear Friends,
We had a nice evening today Saturday at the Retiro especially meeting old friends and news friends alike.
News:
Before I introduce Tuesday's topic, first some feedback from our social meeting today. Most probably we'll be moving the philosophy meeting from Tuesday to Wednesday. More details to follow, but most certainly in the second half of May. Feedback is welcome.
This evening everyone was in favour of having the video on during the Skype meeting, but again we'll start with this option when we move to Wednesday meetings.
And finally, we will certainly continue with these social meetings on a more regular basis. Details when I manage to get a meeting organised.
Topic:
So this Tuesday we are discussing Artificial Intelligence and Relationships. The topic was proposed by Diego and this is how he proposed the topic:
……Also, I thought of a good topic for Tuesday. It's based on a recent article on people whose heart was broken after their AI avatars were modified by the companies behind them and their behavior steered away from a romantic relationship to a cold AI.
Can also relate it to the movie "Her" on the same topic.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/
I think there's much discussion that could be had about our ability and ethics on relationships (friend, advice, love) with an AI, possible downfalls, the possibility of them replacing, complementing or augmenting human relationships and the role/responsibility of those that build them.
Spitballing on the topic I came up with a number of questions to consider/discuss about human/AI relationships…
Can a relationship (at any level) with an AI….
•Be considered "real"?
•Replace a human relationship?
•Be positive?
•Be sufficient?
•Satisfy human needs for companionship?
•Be superior to a human relationship?
•Fool us into believing it's human?
•Be used for treatment for loneliness in senior or otherwise isolated individuals?
Diego
In the meantime let me know if you need the Skype link to the meeting.
Best
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
PhiloMadrid Skype meeting: Tuesday 18th April 2023 at 20:00pm: AI & Relationships + News
09 April 2023
PhiloMadrid social meeting: Saturday 15 April 2023 at 17:00pm Retiro terraza
Dear Friends,
These are the details for our first social meeting we are having for the
season in Madrid, Retiro.
Date: Saturday 15 April 2023
Place: Retiro at the terraza on the right from the main gate (Puerta
Real). Googlr Maps approx: https://goo.gl/maps/oZZjkx3PQWrPmDQK7
Time: 17:00pm or 5:00pm at the terraza, but I'll be there a bit early to
make sure we get a table.
I'm the guy with the white beard and matching small dog.
Best
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
PhiloMadrid social meeting: Saturday 15 April 2023 at 17:00pm Retiro terraza
These are the details for our first social meeting we are having for the
season in Madrid, Retiro.
Date: Saturday 15 April 2023
Place: Retiro at the terraza on the right from the main gate (Puerta
Real). Googlr Maps approx: https://goo.gl/maps/oZZjkx3PQWrPmDQK7
Time: 17:00pm or 5:00pm at the terraza, but I'll be there a bit early to
make sure we get a table.
I'm the guy with the white beard and matching small dog.
Best
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
PhiloMadrid social meeting: Saturday 15 April 2023 at 17:00pm Retiro terraza
08 April 2023
PhiloMadrid meeting Skype 8:00pm TUESDAY 11th March: Applied evolution and complexity
Dear Friends,
Hope you had a good spring holiday!
This Tuesday we are discussing: Applied evolution leads to increased
complexity.
The topic was proposed by Diego and the background idea is for exmple
the complexity of modern machines, least of which the telephone and
computers. But the topic is wide and diverse and the scope is diverse.
I'll post details about our visit on the 15th April to the Retiro,
tomorrow, Sunday.
NEWS
--Oscar's book is now available from Oscar himself:
"Toranzo, 88 ilustraciones y coplillas" by Oscar at €35
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/09/toranzo-88-ilustraciones-y-coplillas-by.html
If you need more details please let me know and I'll put you in touch
with Oscar.
--It is with great sadness that I have learnt Julian Martelli passed
away early in October this year, 2022. Julian was very active during our
meetings in Molly Malone and participation was always respected by all.
Christine kindly wants to share with us a photo of Julian with her and
friends. You can find the FaceBook link below.
I also include a link for our visit to Toledo in 2008 when Julian came
with us on the day trip.
Julian
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/11/julian.html
--Jorge has kindly sent us the link to his book which is available for
Free Distribution at:
Evolution of Thought and its Influence on Society and Technology
https://www.adneli.com/store
Please let me know whether you need the Skype link, thanks.
Best and take care
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
PhiloMadrid meeting Skype 8:00pm TUESDAY 11th March: Applied evolution
and complexity
Hope you had a good spring holiday!
This Tuesday we are discussing: Applied evolution leads to increased
complexity.
The topic was proposed by Diego and the background idea is for exmple
the complexity of modern machines, least of which the telephone and
computers. But the topic is wide and diverse and the scope is diverse.
I'll post details about our visit on the 15th April to the Retiro,
tomorrow, Sunday.
NEWS
--Oscar's book is now available from Oscar himself:
"Toranzo, 88 ilustraciones y coplillas" by Oscar at €35
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/09/toranzo-88-ilustraciones-y-coplillas-by.html
If you need more details please let me know and I'll put you in touch
with Oscar.
--It is with great sadness that I have learnt Julian Martelli passed
away early in October this year, 2022. Julian was very active during our
meetings in Molly Malone and participation was always respected by all.
Christine kindly wants to share with us a photo of Julian with her and
friends. You can find the FaceBook link below.
I also include a link for our visit to Toledo in 2008 when Julian came
with us on the day trip.
Julian
https://www.philomadrid.com/2022/11/julian.html
--Jorge has kindly sent us the link to his book which is available for
Free Distribution at:
Evolution of Thought and its Influence on Society and Technology
https://www.adneli.com/store
Please let me know whether you need the Skype link, thanks.
Best and take care
Lawrence
telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com
PhiloMadrid meeting Skype 8:00pm TUESDAY 11th March: Applied evolution
and complexity
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)