Tag Archives: ai

Perhaps We Shouldn’t Teach Robots After All

We all know the story: humans create robots, robots overthrow humans. It’s a trope almost as old as science fiction itself, first appearing in Karel Capek’s 1920 play R.U.R. (the first work to use the word “robot”), and then in … Continue reading

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Here to Serve

The Star Wars cantina scene demonstrates how awesome it would be to sidle up to a bar (preferably on some kind of bounty hunting mission) and order a drink from aliens. Attack of the Clones features a robot waitress, which … Continue reading

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I Think, Therefore I Do

When the Nintendo Wii first came out, I was baffled. I kept trying to play it like any other video game, using just my thumbs. You mean, I have to actually turn the joystick like it’s a wheel? Swing it … Continue reading

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Cylons Shouldn’t Sweat

In 1950, Alan Turing sought to answer the question “can machines think?” He designed a test that involved a computer having a typed conversation with a human. If a third party couldn’t consistently tell the computer from the human, the … Continue reading

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Just What Do You Think You’re Doing, Dave?

I’d rather be stuck in an elevator with Freddy Kruger than with HAL. Cool as a cucumber, mind-bogglingly capable, and unfailingly and often maddeningly reasonable, HAL appears to be the perfect spaceship computer. Among other things, HAL can speak, recognize … Continue reading

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