H+ Weekly - Issue #261
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This week - Microsoft replaces journalists with robots; OpenAI publishes GPT-3; the most terrifying thought experiment; and more!
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Microsoft 'to replace journalists with robots'
Microsoft will be replacing dozens of contract journalists working on MSN website with an AI. The new automated system will take the job of curating stories and selection of headlines and pictures.
OpenAI debuts gigantic GPT-3 language model with 175 billion parameters
OpenAI released GPT-3 - an updated version of their state-of-the-art text generator GPT-2. It has 175 billion parameters (GPT-2 had 1.5 billion). The paper is available on Arxiv but the full model hasn't been released yet.
Arguments Against Friendly AI and Inevitable Machine Benevolence
Will artificial general intelligence be friendly? Dan Faggella does not think so and gives three arguments against the idea of benevolent machines. "My supposition is that, if strong AIs proliferate, the ones that “win” will share many of the same traits as animals that “win.” i.e. Spinoza’s conatus, or the core drive to survive and protect it’s own interest – by violence if need be", he writes.
► The Intersection of Art and AI | Ai-Da Robot (12:31)
Ai-Da is the world's first humanoid AI robot artist. Named after Ada Lovelace, Ai-Da uses a camera in her eye to draw with her robotic arm. In this Ted Talk, Ai-Da discusses what is creativity and can a robot be creative.
► Roko's Basilisk: The Most Terrifying Thought Experiment (11:44)
Beware, this thought experiment can put in danger. Proceed at your own risk. Or ignore this warning if you laugh at existential dread.
ROBOTICS
The next story from the Dead Robots series is out! It tells the story of JIBO - a social robot assistant that was designed to be likeable and adorable but failed to compete with Alexa and Google Assistant.
Malaysian university moots robot graduation ceremonies to cut virus risk
How can you attend a graduation ceremony during a lockdown? Using robots, of course! A Malaysian university is considering using robots dressed in gowns and mortarboards to act as stand-ins at graduation ceremonies to prevent coronavirus infections. Students were not amused at the idea and called for the university to delay the ceremonies originally scheduled for October and November.
GoodBoy is a 3D printed Arduino Quadruped Robot
If you are in a need for a weekend project why not build a robot-dog? Like this one - all 3D printed, powered by Arduino and built with inexpensive components.
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Conrad Gray (@conradthegray)
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