Lifeboat Foundation

Artificial intelligence has reached peak hype. News outlets report that companies have replaced workers with IBM Watson and that algorithms are beating doctors at diagnoses. New AI startups pop up everyday, claiming to solve all your personal and business problems with machine learning.

Ordinary objects like juicers and Wi-Fi routers suddenly advertise themselves as “powered by AI.” Not only can smart standing desks remember your height settings, they can also order you lunch.

Much of the AI hubbub is generated by reporters who’ve never trained a neural network and by startups or those hoping to be acqui-hired for engineering talent despite not having solved any real business problems. No wonder there are so many misconceptions about what AI can and cannot do.

Continue reading “Understanding the limits of deep learning” »

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, evolving algorithms — we know it can get confusing. So let’s take a look at AI and what it means.

Bosch and the car manufacturer behind Mercedes, Daimler, have announced they are joining forces “to advance the development of fully automated and driverless driving”.

The two companies are to enter into a development agreement that they say will bring fully automated driving to urban roads by “the beginning of the next decade”.

To do this the two companies will develop software and algorithms that lead to an autonomous driving system.

Continue reading “Bosch and Daimler to work together on software and algorithms that lead to driverless cars” »

Who owns the work?

Man or his machine?

Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence Is Already a Better Artist Than You Are” »

Wednesday, March 1st Baltimore, MD — In March 2016 Insilico Medicine initiated a research collaboration with Life Extension to apply advanced bioinformatic methods and deep learning algorithms to screen for naturally occurring compounds that may slow down or even reverse the cellular and molecular mechanisms of aging. Today Life Extension (LE) launched a new line of nutraceuticals called GEROPROTECT^TM, and the first product in the series called Ageless Cell^TM combines some of the natural compounds that were shortlisted by Insilico Medicine’s algorithms and are generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

The first research results on human biomarkers of aging and the product will be presented at the Re-Work Deep Learning in Healthcare Summit in London 28.02−01.03, 2017, one of the popular multidisciplinary conferences focusing on the emerging area of deep learning and machine intelligence.

“We salute Life Extension on the launch of GEROPROTECT^TM: Ageless Cell, the first combination of nutraceuticals developed using our artificial intelligence algorithms. We share the common passion for extending human productive longevity and investing every quantum of our energy and resources to identify novel ways to prevent age-related decline and diseases. Partnering with Life Extension has multiple advantages. LE has spent the past 37 years educating consumers on the latest in nutritional therapies for optimal health and anti-aging and is an industry leader and a premium brand in the supplement industry. Also, LE also has a unique mail order blood test service that allows US customers to perform comprehensive blood tests to help identify potential health concerns and to track the effects of the nutraceutical products,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, CEO of Insilico Medicine, Inc.

Continue reading “Artificial intelligence enters the nutraceutical industry” »

Algorithms with learning abilities collect personal data that are then used without users’ consent and even without their knowledge; autonomous weapons are under discussion in the United Nations; robots stimulating emotions are deployed with vulnerable people; research projects are funded to develop humanoid robots; and artificial intelligence-based systems are used to evaluate people. One can consider these examples of AI and autonomous systems (AS) as great achievements or claim that they are endangering human freedom and dignity.

We need to make sure that these technologies are aligned to humans in terms of our moral values and ethical principles to fully benefit from the potential of them. AI and AS have to behave in a way that is beneficial to people beyond reaching functional goals and addressing technical problems. This will allow for an elevated level of trust for technology that is needed for a fruitful pervasive use of AI/AS in our daily lives.

In the popular TV show Sherlock, visual depictions of our hero’s deductive reasoning often look like machine algorithms. And probably not by accident, given that this version of Conan Doyle’s detective processes tremendous amounts of observed data—the sort of minutiae that the average person tends to pass over or forget—more like a computer than a human.

Sherlock’s intelligence is both strength and limitation. His way of thinking is often bounded by an inability to intuitively understand social and emotional contexts. The show’s central premise is that Sherlock Holmes needs his friend John Watson to help him synthesize empirical data into human truth.

In Sherlock we see the analog for modern AI: highly performant learning machines that can achieve metacognitive results with the assistance of fully cognitive human partners. Machine intelligence does not by its nature make human intelligence obsolete. Quite the opposite, really—machines need human guidance.

Continue reading “Why the Rise of AI Makes Human Intelligence More Valuable Than Ever” »

Happy Pi Day from Carnegie Mellon University! Professor of mathematical sciences Po-Shen Loh explains why Euler’s Equation is the most beautiful equation in math. The video was filmed as part of a pi and pie discussion with CMU alumna, baker and blogger Quelcy Kogel (A 2007). For more: https://youtu.be/2sC1-DXT9Oo

Are robots coming for your job?

Although technology has long affected the labor force, recent advances in artificial intelligence and robotics are heightening concerns about automation replacing a growing number of occupations, including highly skilled or “knowledge-based” jobs.

Just a few examples: self-driving technology may eliminate the need for taxi, Uber and truck drivers, algorithms are playing a growing role in journalism, robots are informing consumers as mall greeters, and medicine is adapting robotic surgery and artificial intelligence to detect cancer and heart conditions.