Sunday, February 9, 2014
Are Robots Hurting Job Growth?
(Disclaimer: The video wouldn't load on CBS's site, so I did a search at YouTube and I think I found the same video).
One of the main points in the video is that robots have been around for a long time (which is what I was thinking during the video). They have taken jobs, but that same technology has created more jobs. There are people that say this is not happening this time. Jobs are not being created at the same pace as they are being lost to technology.
The end of the video made me smile... Instead of training a human to do your job, you will be training a robot to do your job.
Watson, The Supercomputer
What, no Trebek???
I think the most impressive thing about Watson is the voice recognition. It can compute the data that it "hears" and then come up with the correct answer from it's database. The questions that it didn't answer must not have been in the database because I would think that the computer would be able to "buzz" in much faster than a human.
I am amazed at what computer programmers come up with to make these things possible. Pretty cool stuff...
Singularity...
Wow, I think my head is about to explode...
I think singularity is when computers become smarter than all humans. Ray Kuraweil says that eventually, we will no longer need bodies. We will download our brains into a computer and be able to live forever (if we make sufficient backups). He also said that by the early 2030s, most of our organs will be replaced with tiny robots.
Artificial intelligence and nanobots are said to be the technologies that will usher in the singularity. This just makes my head spin. It is hard to comprehend that a computer will be able to function like a human and to also have nanobots that can replicate anything. Things might get out of control (The Terminator). There are couple of TV shows that remind me of this. Intelligence on CBS is about a guy who has a computer chip planted in his brain. He is super smart, because he can access any database he needs. He can also render locations from photos and place himself there to check out the location. The other show is Almost Human of FOX. It has an android that looks and acts just like a human that is paired with a police officer. He has trouble expressing human emotions though, which is what I see could happen with artificial intelligence. Unless maybe they can replicate that with a learning program. Again, head about to explode...
Some say that the singularity will happen very soon, others say within a few decades. As technology advances, this might happen. I don't think we will completely get away from our bodies like Kuraweil thinks, but I can see robotic body parts (I think this is all ready happening). But as a human society, I think we want and need the comfort of other human beings.
I think singularity is when computers become smarter than all humans. Ray Kuraweil says that eventually, we will no longer need bodies. We will download our brains into a computer and be able to live forever (if we make sufficient backups). He also said that by the early 2030s, most of our organs will be replaced with tiny robots.
Artificial intelligence and nanobots are said to be the technologies that will usher in the singularity. This just makes my head spin. It is hard to comprehend that a computer will be able to function like a human and to also have nanobots that can replicate anything. Things might get out of control (The Terminator). There are couple of TV shows that remind me of this. Intelligence on CBS is about a guy who has a computer chip planted in his brain. He is super smart, because he can access any database he needs. He can also render locations from photos and place himself there to check out the location. The other show is Almost Human of FOX. It has an android that looks and acts just like a human that is paired with a police officer. He has trouble expressing human emotions though, which is what I see could happen with artificial intelligence. Unless maybe they can replicate that with a learning program. Again, head about to explode...
Some say that the singularity will happen very soon, others say within a few decades. As technology advances, this might happen. I don't think we will completely get away from our bodies like Kuraweil thinks, but I can see robotic body parts (I think this is all ready happening). But as a human society, I think we want and need the comfort of other human beings.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
It's a Flat World After All...
Man, that was a long article...
It is kind of scary when you think about it. Before, mainly manufacturing jobs were being outsourced. Now that the rest of the world has caught up to us in technology, those jobs are added to that outsourcing as well. I think it is going to be hard to keep up with the rest of the world. Like the article said, the younger generations in the US feel they are entitled, and don't want to work. And those who want to get educated might not be able to with the high cost of school these days. Plus, once you get trained, a lot of companies are going to look over seas anyways, because that is where their manufacturing is. Why pay someone here when you can pay someone (and most likely, for less money) where the goods are made?
It is kind of scary when you think about it. Before, mainly manufacturing jobs were being outsourced. Now that the rest of the world has caught up to us in technology, those jobs are added to that outsourcing as well. I think it is going to be hard to keep up with the rest of the world. Like the article said, the younger generations in the US feel they are entitled, and don't want to work. And those who want to get educated might not be able to with the high cost of school these days. Plus, once you get trained, a lot of companies are going to look over seas anyways, because that is where their manufacturing is. Why pay someone here when you can pay someone (and most likely, for less money) where the goods are made?
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