Mar. 26, 2018 "What kind of AI future do we want?": Today I found this article by Guy Dixon in the Globe and Mail:
The proponents of artificial intelligence make it clear that as the technology speeds ahead, a much larger dialogue outside of the immediate community of technologists, engineers and tech theorists must take place, so that all of society can reap its apparent benefits.
But, how?
How can we assure that wide swaths of society will be heard? Who is to determine the path that artificial intelligence, or AI, and machine learning ultimately will take? When proponents ask such major questions publicly, they inevitably agree that the course of AI shouldn't be set simply by those who directly profit from it (or the machines themselves!), but that the course of AI should be set by all of society.
But, again, how? The need for an answer is now very much upon us, AI proponents say.
"What will the role of humans be, if machines can do everything better and cheaper than us?" asked Max Tegmark, a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
He was speaking at the Beyond Impact summit on artificial intelligence Friday at The Globe and Mail in Toronto, presented in conjunction with the University of Waterloo.
He was speaking at the Beyond Impact summit on artificial intelligence Friday at The Globe and Mail in Toronto, presented in conjunction with the University of Waterloo.
The assumption in such questions is that artificial intelligence is trying to progress to AGI, or artificial general intelligence, in which a machine will basically think a thought, or at least do an intellectual task on its own, as a human can.
Some believe we may never reach true AGI, Dr. Tegmark noted. Machines may never have the consciousness of a living entity or show true creativity. Yet, "the future development of AI might go faster than typical human development, and there is a very controversial possibility of an intelligence explosion, where self-improving AI might rapidly leave human intelligence far behind," he said.
And so, many researchers believe that AGI may be possible in a matter of decades, "but this really begs the question, and then what?" Dr. Tegmark said.
Being complacent is a cop out, he argued. "I think we should be more ambitious. I think we should ask ourselves, 'What kind of inspiring high-tech future would we like to have?' And then steer toward that."
Being complacent is a cop out, he argued. "I think we should be more ambitious. I think we should ask ourselves, 'What kind of inspiring high-tech future would we like to have?' And then steer toward that."
He suggested that we are in a race of both the growing power of technology and the wisdom with which we manage it. But in an age of powerful and potentially devastating technology, such as nuclear weapons and AI, the strategy must not be to implement new technology and then learn from our mistakes, he argued.
"Learning from our mistakes is a ridiculous strategy. It's much better to be proactive, rather than reactive," Dr. Tegmark said. "We should start with kindergarten ethics, that we all agree about, and start figuring out how we can put that in our machines." I
n other words, we need to input a kind of basic ethical goodness into software and machines, allowing them to build upon those ethics as they learn.
n other words, we need to input a kind of basic ethical goodness into software and machines, allowing them to build upon those ethics as they learn.
Pearl Sullivan, dean of engineering at the University of Waterloo, also noted that digital and machine intelligence is galloping faster than the human response to AI. She cited a report by MIT and Boston Consulting Group which found that among 3,000 executives, 85 per cent believed that AI would provide a competitive advantage, but only 20 per cent had extensively implemented AI into their business. Less than 39 per cent had any AI strategy at all.
"Questions are more important than answers," she said. "Successful implementation of AI will require what I call AI translators," in other words, putting machine knowledge and the information fed to them into proper context.
"In my view, Canada's long-term AI leadership will depend on how we create a deep and diverse pool of translator talent."
"In my view, Canada's long-term AI leadership will depend on how we create a deep and diverse pool of translator talent."
Steve Irvine, a former executive at Facebook and now chief executive of Toronto-based Integrate.ai, said that because software runs the world's data, and because AI is fundamentally software, the idea now is to evolve the software's function from doing a task to dealing with probabilities, or making predictions from ambiguous situations.
The technology can then help people make judgment calls based on a better understanding of the probability of certain outcomes, Mr. Irvine said.
The technology can then help people make judgment calls based on a better understanding of the probability of certain outcomes, Mr. Irvine said.
Yet, again, it all comes back to the human questions. "There is an equal amount of more humanities-based, philosophical questions that need to be answered."
He noted, for instance, that the debate over "fake news" arguably isn't so much a problem of algorithms, although they might exacerbate the problem, but a debate of human judgment over what is true and fair. It's therefore mandatory for people to participate in the conversation on how technology is being used.
He noted, for instance, that the debate over "fake news" arguably isn't so much a problem of algorithms, although they might exacerbate the problem, but a debate of human judgment over what is true and fair. It's therefore mandatory for people to participate in the conversation on how technology is being used.
"It's not a technological voice that we need. It's a voice of common sense, rationality, more human perspective," he argued.
The technology can have unintended biases, such as facial recognition software that works best on white men, because the data used to develop the technology mainly consisted of white men.
"And so my concern is that these biases and issues are going to creep into some of these systems," added Kate Larson, professor at University of Waterloo's Cheriton School of Computer Science.
"And so my concern is that these biases and issues are going to creep into some of these systems," added Kate Larson, professor at University of Waterloo's Cheriton School of Computer Science.
And so, the input and inclusion of wider society is essential. "We need people who can think hard and carefully about what should our preferences be," she said. It should not be up to the technologists solely to decide.
"Human skills will help prepare workers for automation": Today I found this article by Andy Blatchford in the Globe and Mail.
OTTAWA -- A year into its effort to help equip youth for the rapidly evolving work force, one of the country's largest banks says enhancing young Canadians' human skills will be critical in navigating the machine-led disruption that lies ahead.
In a new study, the Royal Bank of Canada is calling for a national review of postsecondary programs to ensure they place more of a focus on "human skills" - including active listening, critical thinking and social perceptiveness.
The research argues these foundational skills will help future workers remain nimble and position them to complement increasingly pervasive technologies such as robots and machines, rather than compete with them.
It warns that, without action, Canadians will not be ready for inevitable changes over the next decade or two.
Many say the transformation is already under way.
Governments have poured energy and funding into efforts to prepare workers for a significantly altered labour force, which will be driven by technological advances such as automation and artificial intelligence.
For example, the federal government has emphasized the importance of promoting the fields of STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - to help youth prepare for the future work force. In its recent budget, Ottawa also noted that one million students will learn coding and digital skills through its CanCode program.
But the RBC study found that while digital literacy is increasingly critical for all workers, it won't be as crucial for everyone to learn a specific expertise such as coding.
Foundational human skills, on the other hand, can truly improve a worker's opportunities and mobility.
"To help Canada's next generation do the disrupting instead of being disrupted, we need to start with 21st century skills - skills they can use to grasp new opportunities and surf the waves of technology and innovation that are changing the world," said the report titled Humans Wanted, to be released Monday.
"We need to stop telling them that work revolves only around degrees, qualifications and jobs."
RBC president and chief executive Dave McKay said in an interview that if policy makers and employers don't do more to start preparing now, then Canada could run into a lot of challenges - from competitiveness obstacles to social-cohesion issues.
"We believe there's a national dialogue that's lacking around this issue," said Mr. McKay, who noted the study estimated more than 25 per cent of Canadian jobs will be heavily disrupted in the next decade and half will require far different skills than they do now.
He said Canada currently spends a lot of money as a society to train people in skills and roles that won't be needed down the road or, at the very least, will be a significant mismatch.
"It won't be good enough if we keep training ourselves on the same old, same old going forward - machines can do a lot of what we're training students for," Mr. McKay said.
Canada, as with many countries, suffers from a shortage in skills in their young people, such as leadership, decision-making, communication and emotional intelligence, he said.
The report also recommends a national target to provide work-integrated learning, such as internships and apprenticeships, for 100 per cent of undergraduate students.
The federal government has committed funds to work-integrated learning.
Last year, for example, it announced a program to help create work placements for 60,000 students over the next five years.
Asked about federal efforts to prepare the next generation, Mr. McKay said it's not enough, so he wants to work with Ottawa.
"They seem to be small and I don't have the actual execution plans, so yes, there's money that they put aside, but to do exactly what?" Mr. McKay said of Ottawa's promises.
"We have a plan and a vision of what success looks like. We hope the two will come together."
The report is part of RBC's 10-year, $500-million commitment toward helping young people prepare for the future work force.
The hunt for solutions to impending skills challenges have been preoccupying governments and business leaders for several years.
Later this week, several federal cabinet ministers will host a Group of Seven meeting in Montreal to explore how best to prepare for jobs of the future with their counterparts from other member countries.
