4 Day 4: Missing the forest for the trees: Is alarm about AI justified? 4 Day 4: Missing the forest for the trees: Is alarm about AI justified?
Opening Question: What do you find scariest about the development of AI? What do you find most exciting?
4.1. “Our Fear of Artificial Intelligence” by Paul Ford (MIT Technology Review, February 11, 2015)
This paper articulates a framework for classifying individuals in as fair and unbiased a manner as possible. What, fundamentally, is fairness? Does the paper succeed in making fairness explicable in formal, quantitative terms?
4.2. “The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions” by Rodney Brooks (MIT Technology Review, 2017)
This piece taxonomizes a number of errors commonly made in projecting the future of AI technologies. Where have you seen these sorts of errors in the past? Do you think the author goes too far or is too harsh at any point in this piece?
4.3. “A Blueprint For Coexistence with Artificial Intelligence” by Kai-Fu Lee (Wired, July 12, 2017)
This article offers the opposite perspective and claims that our quality of life will improve if we can find a way to work with machines. The author acknowledges that machines will displace many human workers, but maintains that there will always be a need for humans because of our capacity to love and connect emotionally with one another. How can machines work with humans rather than against them and how can we best address concerns about the impact of AI on the job market?