As the human mind evolves, so do its creations. Artificial intelligence may have originated as an attempt at replicating our own intelligence, but its possibilities today have far outreached what any one of us had imagined. Computers can now communicate and calculate data much faster than the average human being, yet they have difficulty fulfilling basic functions such as pattern-recognition. However, research in artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, and many of us feel threatened by unemployment due to the possibility that AI robots will be taking up all of the jobs in future. Will we be the masters of these future generations of robots, or will they have a mind of their own? Perhaps we will learn to share the world together, or perhaps artificial intelligence will be man’s ultimate progeny. The story has just begun…
• History of AI (Artificial Intelligence)
When the first computers were developed in the 1950’s, there was a lot of hype about how machines could think like humans. However, at that time this assumption was far from the truth taking into consideration what these machines were really capable of. A few years later, an IBM computer defeated world champion Gary Kasparov at chess, and suddenly people around the world were almost frightened by the thought that robots had become the next supreme race on Earth. The truth is that we have been so caught up in our own fantasies that we often jump to conclusions instead of fully understanding the milestones that were achieved by the AI industry throughout its history and their true meanings.
• Brain or Computer – Which is More Powerful?
While people often think of the brain and computer technology as competing against one another, in reality these 2 carriers of intelligence differ greatly. Researchers are beginning to realize that while ultimately artificial intelligence will reach the point of mimicking the human brain, perhaps it is wiser not to use the brain as a role model in every case of AI development. Researchers are realizing the various areas in which artificial intelligence falls behind while the human mind excels with ease, and vice versa.
• Why Robots Lack Human Intelligence
You may be wondering where all those robots are that are shown in science fiction movies as human-like cyborgs (humanoids). Surely with all our modern nanochips and prosthetic robotics we have become capable of making robots that look, act and think like us? While all of us have been bedazzled by the great advances that have been made in artificial intelligence, researchers in the field have become more baffled about the immense power and versatility of the human mind. Perhaps the challenge in making robots with human intelligence is not just due to some lack in research and development in the AI field or incompetence of the researchers, but rather the immense complexities of the human mind that remain unmatched.
• Is Mindreading Possible?
What if I told you that mindreading could become possible by monitoring and interpreting the electric impulses of the brain? What if I told you that it is already happening? You may be surprised to know that mindreading is no longer treated as just a psychic or supernatural phenomenon. In fact, mindreading has become a thriving field of science that is taking huge steps of advancement.
• Will Robots Replace Humans?
In the old days, mathematicians were used to make complicated calculations. In the old days, bank tellers would help you process transactions at the bank and cashiers would assist you in paying for your groceries at the grocery store. Today, many of these jobs can be and are being done by robots. They may not look like the robots that we had imagined, but the truth is that robots are now all around us and have taken over many of the jobs that humans were hired to do in the past. Will we eventually end up with robots doing all the work, and then what will the humans do?
• Future Medical Robots
Welcome to the age of Robodoc, a medical robot that can monitor everything from urine samples in your toilet to the temperature of your clothes. It will also check your vital signs, blood glucose level and various other bodily activities using microscopic DNA monitoring chips swimming and crawling throughout our body. As the price of medical insurance and health care continues to rise, medical robots such as Robodoc, ASIMO and WebMD seem to be the inevitable way of the future.
• Could Technology End Humanity?
Are we building technological devices that will lead to our own doom? Technology threatens humanity in many ways. For example, military technology such as nuclear bombs could be misused to wipe out a large portion of the human population on Earth within minutes. In other cases, technology may become so advanced that the human race will become obsolete. Or perhaps this same technology will help the human race survive for many years to come, which it would have been otherwise incapable of doing so.
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