UN food aid deliveries by AI robots could begin next year
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters AI-powered robotic vehicles could deliver food parcels to conflict and disaster zones by as early as next year in a move aimed to spare the lives of humanitarian workers, a World Food Programme official told Reuters. An all-terrain “Sherp” vehicle, operated by World Food Programme, is driven through floodwaters, to deliver aid to […]
Robots say they won’t steal jobs, rebel against humans
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Robots presented at an AI forum said on Friday they expected to increase in number and help solve global problems, and would not steal humans’ jobs or rebel against us. But, in the world’s first human-robot press conference, they gave mixed responses on whether they should submit to stricter regulation. One of nine […]
UN recruits robots in strive to meet global development goals
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Dozens of robots, including several humanoid ones, will take centre stage at a conference organised by the UN technology agency in Switzerland this week to showcase their potential to help it reach a series of increasingly improbable global goals. Set in 2015, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim to improve human life […]
STRANGESIGHTS: SWISS GUARDS WEAR PLASTIC; NO CRIME DURING COLD SNAP; AND, UNUSUAL WAITERS…
DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
Red Cross sounds alarm over use of ‘killer robots’ in future wars
Thomson Reuters Foundation Countries must agree strict rules on “killer robots” – autonomous weapons which can assassinate without human involvement, a top Red Cross official has said, amid growing ethical concerns over their use in future wars. Semi-autonomous weapons systems from drones to tanks have for decades been used to eliminate targets in modern day […]
ESSAY: WORRIED ABOUT AI TAKING OVER THE WORLD? YOU MAY BE MAKING SOME RATHER UNSCIENTIFIC ASSUMPTIONS
In an article first published on The Conversation, ELENI VASILAKI, professor of computational neuroscience at the University of Sheffield in the UK, addresses some key concerns about the future of artificial intelligence…
Rise of robots fuels slavery threat for Asian factory workers – analysts
Thomson Reuters Foundation The rise of robots in manufacturing in Southeast Asia is likely to fuel modern slavery as workers who end up unemployed due to automation face abuses competing for a shrinking pool of low-paid jobs in a “race to the bottom”, analysts said on Thursday. Drastic job losses due to the growth of […]
TRENDSPOTTER: THE RISE OF THE KILLER ROBOTS?
DAVID ADAMS looks at the battle over lethal autonomous weapons…
ROBOTS: AS ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE GROWS, SO DO PERCEIVED THREATS TO HUMAN UNIQUENESS
ROSALIE CHEN, of Religion News Service, reports that the Elon Musk-Mark Zuckerberg tussle over artificial intelligence reflects broader questions about the centrality of God-given humanity…
SIGHT-SEEING: ROBOTS ARE GREAT – BUT THEY CAN’T EMPATHISE!
MAL FLETCHER, writing from London, says that while “smart” machines can help humanity in a range of ways, they do have limitations…