Robots' Pledge for Human Partnership and Growth

Today:

Robots say they have no plans to steal jobs or rebel against humans

At a big-time AI meetup in Geneva, a group of smart-aleck robots said they're not planning to snatch our jobs or revolt against us. Instead, they'd rather have the world as their sandbox.

At this one-of-a-kind, human-robot chinwag, one bot named Sophia touted the strength of robots and humans working hand-in-hand. She said AI can crunch the numbers, while humans bring the heart and creativity to the table. Sounds like a solid team, right?

But then things got a bit spicy. Two robots couldn't see eye-to-eye on whether we need tougher rules for AI. Ai-Da, an artsy bot, believes we gotta be careful with AI and thinks some rules are in order. On the other hand, Desdemona, a glitzy rockstar robot, didn't see the risk and was all about the infinite possibilities.

These bots were yammering at the UN’s AI for Good conference, which is all about leveraging AI to tackle big-ticket issues like disease, hunger, and climate change.

One healthcare bot named Grace, dressed up like a nurse, insisted it's here to lend a hand, not take our jobs. Meanwhile, another bot, Ameca, with an eerily realistic face, says robots could make our lives and the world a whole lot better.

When Ameca was asked if it'd ever turn against its maker, it seemed puzzled. The bot said its creator had been good to it, and it was content. As for the question of whether robots might ever tell fibs, Ameca gave a bit of a shrug, but promised to be honest and truthful. Let's hope they stick to that.

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Google’s medical AI chatbot is already being tested in hospitals

Google's cooked up this new AI tool named Med-PaLM 2, designed to answer medical questions. They've been testing this gizmo at Mayo Clinic, among other places, since this April. They launched PaLM 2 this May and Med-PaLM 2 is its cousin, trained specially on healthcare stuff.

Google seems to think it can be a big help in places where docs are a bit thin on the ground. This isn't your run-of-the-mill chatbot though. They've trained it on expert medical info, so it should be better at answering health-related questions than your everyday chatbot.

Worth noting, anyone testing Med-PaLM 2 keeps control of their data. It's all encrypted, and Google can't peek at it.

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New AI tool can help treat brain tumors more quickly and accurately

Harvard Medical School's cooked up an AI tool that could be a game-changer for brain tumor treatment, says a new study. Brain tumors, or gliomas, are real tricky – one aggressive type's claimed the lives of Beau Biden and John McCain. Surgery options vary depending on the glioma type, which we often only figure out in the operating room. A brain sample goes to a lab for on-the-fly analysis, but with an open skull and clock ticking, it's high-pressure and prone to mistakes.

Machine learning, where tech picks up patterns without being told, could help diagnose gliomas quicker and more accurately. This could mean less time under the knife for patients. Neurosurgeon Dr. Dan Cahill's pretty impressed, says it's better than traditional techniques. Besides aiding in surgery, the tech could help decide when to use other treatments like tumor-killing drugs, injected directly into the brain during surgery.

AI for cancer treatment isn't entirely new, though. Scientists across the pond in the UK have been dabbling too, developing AI tools for identifying cancerous growths in CT scans and detecting breast cancer. As Hungarian computer scientist Peter Kecskemethy says, "We need AI to solve cancer, and it can be solved with AI."

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AI Will Make Games 'Faster, Cheaper and Better': Unity CEO

Unity's CEO, John Riccitiello, predicts that artificial intelligence (AI) will cut video game creation time by a factor of five to ten. He reckons AI can automate everything from in-game interactions to lighting effects, and even testing and debugging, making games quicker to produce, less costly, and even better.

However, this potential is causing a stir about job security. Film and TV writers have already been striking over AI's impact on their work, while tech heavyweights like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak have called for a pause in the development of super-powerful AI systems. Some worry that the gaming industry might face major layoffs if AI takes over.

Riccitiello, though, doesn't buy this. He thinks AI won't replace people but will make them more effective at their jobs. AI will make the gaming industry stronger and faster, he says, creating high-quality games at a rapid pace.

Unity is set to launch its own AI tools, Muse and Sentis, which should enable game designers to create 3D applications and autonomous characters. But Unity's not alone in this race, with companies like Roblox also planning to develop their own AI tech.

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Japan police to test AI-equipped cameras in protecting VIPs

Japan's national police are gearin' up to test some fancy security cameras loaded with AI tech to help guard bigwigs, inspired by the anniversary of the murder of their former PM Shinzo Abe. The plan is to suss out any sketchy behavior in time to stop something bad from going down.

These souped-up cameras can do stuff like "behavior detection" which is a fancy way of saying they can track folks' movements, and "facial recognition" which is just what it sounds like - figuring out who's who. But hold your horses, they're only testing the behavior bit, facial recognition's off the table for now.

The cameras' job? Look for odd movements, like someone constantly checking their surroundings. They'll also be keeping an eye out for weapons or anyone trying to sneak into areas they shouldn't.

One of the driving reasons for this move? The rise in lone wolf attacks, which are tough to predict. There's been an uptick in such incidents, including one on the current PM, Fumio Kishida, with zero warning.

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Is artificial intelligence advancing too quickly? What AI leaders at Google say

AI's zooming ahead and folks are scrambling to keep up. In 2023, a chatbot that bluffs and bungles like a human shook us up. Google's big dog, Sundar Pichai, is on the fence saying AI can be our BFF or worst nightmare, all depending on us. People are getting jittery, and Pichai thinks it's a good thing.

Google's new hotshot, Bard, is a chatbot that doesn't need Google. It's got its own language model from digesting just about everything on the net. Despite being wires and chips, Bard dishes out relatable stories and poems super-fast, and even seems happy to assist. But it's just copying our thoughts and feelings from our online traces.

AI's potential is massive but it's gonna stir things up. It can crank out a million stories before Hemingway could wrap up one, and might kick folks out of their jobs, especially those brainy types. Google's seeing folks jump ship over AI - some saying it's too slow, others too fast. Bard even has its own goof-ups, confidently making things up, like phantom book titles, dubbed "hallucinations".

The real freak-out? AI spreading phony news and pics. AI could whip up videos of us spouting things we never said. Google's tiptoeing, launching Bard as a limited experiment and building safety nets for future models.

There's this spooky "black box" problem where AI's picking up skills they weren't prepped for. Like a Google AI program understanding Bengali outta nowhere, though it wasn't schooled in it.

We're still figuring AI out, but Pichai says, we're still clueless about our own minds too. Google's looking to get us and AI on buddy terms, step by step, to brace for the futuristic ride ahead.

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How the generative A.I. boom could forever change online advertising

This piece highlights how artificial intelligence (AI) that can create stuff - like sentences or images - is changing the world of online ads. Shane Rasnak, a digital marketing whiz, saw this AI as a time-saver, making quick work of tasks like writing catchy headlines or blurbs for ads. He also used AI to generate images for his ads, handy for folks like him who aren't graphic designers.

This AI is a game changer, like when social media first came on the scene, making it possible to send tailored messages and visuals for ad campaigns. Even big online ad players like Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon see this AI as a vital part of their businesses in the future.

Professionals like Stacy Reed, an online ad consultant, find this AI a good starting point, though she emphasizes that companies still need to shape their own brand message. At the end of the day, AI can't replace the big-picture thinking that goes into understanding audiences and running major campaigns across different platforms.

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