Lifeboat Foundation

If we don’t know how AIs make decisions, how can we trust what they decide?

• By Shohini Kundu on July 3, 2019

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging field of computer programming that is already changing the way we interact online and in real life, but the term ‘intelligence’ has been poorly defined. Rather than focusing on smarts, researchers should be looking at the implications and viability of artificial consciousness as that’s the real driver behind intelligent decisions.

Consciousness rather than intelligence should be the true measure of AI. At the moment, despite all our efforts, there’s none.

Significant advances have been made in the field of AI over the past decade, in particular with machine learning, but artificial intelligence itself remains elusive. Instead, what we have is artificial serfs—computers with the ability to trawl through billions of interactions and arrive at conclusions, exposing trends and providing recommendations, but they’re blind to any real intelligence. What’s needed is artificial awareness.

Elon Musk has called AI the “biggest existential threat” facing humanity and likened it to “summoning a demon,”^[1] while Stephen Hawking thought it would be the “worst event” in the history of civilization and could “end with humans being replaced.”^[2] Although this sounds alarmist, like something from a science fiction movie, both concerns are founded on a well-established scientific premise found in biology—the principle of competitive exclusion.^[3]

Continue reading “Is artificial consciousness the solution to AI?” »

There are certainly ways to use AI to reduce the collateral damage and harms of war, but fully autonomous weapons would also usher in a host of new moral, technical, and strategic dilemmas, which is why scientists and activists have pushed the United Nations and world governments to consider a preemptive ban. Their hope is that we can keep killer robots in the realm of science fiction.

We have the technology to make robots that kill without oversight. But should we?

Nichol Bradford, MBA, is the CEO & Founder of the Willow Group and the Executive Director and co-founder of the Transformative Technology Lab, Conference, and TT200 List. Prior to becoming a leader in Transformative Technology, Bradford was a senior executive in video games with responsibility for strategy, operations and marketing for major brands that include: Activision Blizzard, Disney, and Vivendi Games — including operating World of Warcraft China. Nichol is a graduate of Singularity University GSP15, has an MBA from Wharton School of Business in Strategy. She is author of a novel, The Sisterhood.

Here she describes developments in the emerging industry of transformative technology. She points out that, in the next 25 years, enormous numbers of jobs will be displaced by automation. This challenge, and others, make it essential that people large numbers of people actualize more of their innate potential. Technology can assist in this process — particularly when it is scalable and can be afforded by the millions. She emphasizes a variety of technological advances while emphasizing the importance of ethics, privacy, and data sovereignty.

Continue reading “Technology and Human Potential with Nichol Bradford” »

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Longevity Book Club hosted by LEAF Director Javier Noris, where you can join other longevity enthusiasts in reading the most interesting works that relate to our mission of ending age-related diseases.

You will also get the opportunity to listen to discussion panels and take part in Q&A sessions that are focused on books that touch on these important scientific, philosophical, moral and futuristic longevity topics. This is the ideal place to meet like-minded longevity enthusiasts who are working on building their knowledge on longevity and all of the implications that come with ending age-related diseases.

The scientific community is now struggling to grapple with the ethics of human germline editing as another woman pregnant with a gene-edited baby is soon due to give birth.

Peter voss is a serial entrepreneur, engineer, inventor and a pioneer in artificial intelligence.

Peter started out in electronics engineering but quickly moved into software. After developing a comprehensive ERP software package, Peter took his first software company from a zero to 400-person IPO in seven years.

Continue reading “Peter Voss Pioneer in Artificial Intelligence” »

The Vatican is hosting a 2-day conference on the impact of robotics and AI on humanity.

A 2-day conference focusing on the impact of robotics and artificial intelligence on humanity, that began in the Vatican on Thursday, is being organized by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

By Robin Gomes

Continue reading “Vatican conference on robotics and artificial intelligence” »

In the months since, China’s scientists and regulators have been going through a period of soul-searching. We, our colleagues and our government agencies, such as the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Health Commission, have reflected on what the incident says about the culture and regulation of research in China. We’ve also thought about what long-term strategies need to be put in place to strengthen the nation’s governance of science and ethics.

The shocking announcement of genetically modified babies creates an opportunity to overhaul the nation’s science, argue Ruipeng Lei and colleagues.