Lifeboat Foundation

About six years ago, the CEO of Toyota Research Institute published a seminal paper about whether a Cambrian explosion was coming for robotics. The term “Cambrian explosion” refers to an important event approximately half a billion years ago in which there was a rapid expansion of different forms of life on earth. There are parallels with the field of robotics as modern technological advancements are fueling an analogous explosion in the diversification and applicability of robots. Today, we’re seeing this Cambrian explosion of robotics unfolding, and consequently, many distinct patterns are emerging. I’ll outline the top three trends that are rapidly evolving in the robotics space and that are most likely to dominate for years to come.

1. The Democratization Of AI And The Convergence Of Technologies.

The birth and proliferation of AI-powered robots are happening because of the democratization of AI. For example, open-source machine learning frameworks are now broadly accessible; AI algorithms are now in the open domain in cloud-based repositories like GitHub; and influential publications on deep learning from top schools can now be downloaded. We now have access to more computing power (e.g., Nvidia GPUs, Omniverse, etc.), data, cloud-computing platforms (e.g., Amazon AWS), new hardware and advanced engineering. Many robotics startup companies are capitalizing on this “super evolution” of technology to build more intelligent and more capable machines.

And it’s not a Tesla.

Swiss multinational company ABB a reputed name in the power and automation sectors has formally launched its electric vehicle charger, Terra 360 which is not only the fastest but can also power up to four vehicles at a time, said a company press release.

Creating next-gen technology to supercharge the second space race.

Honda has recently released their plans to build eVTOLs, robots, and even potentially help colonize the moon. All very noble and ambitious plans, but those, Honda says, that are being put in place to help solve issues beyond just transportation.

November 12 2020

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A new machine learning algorithm, developed with Army funding, can isolate patterns in brain signals that relate to a specific behavior and then decode it, potentially providing Soldiers with behavioral-based feedback.

“The impact of this work is of great importance to Army and DOD in general, as it pursues a framework for decoding behaviors from brain signals that generate them,” said Dr. Hamid Krim, program manager, Army Research Office, an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Develop Command, now known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory. “As an example future application, the algorithms could provide Soldiers with needed feedback to take corrective action as a result of fatigue or stress.”

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Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving company, is vague on exactly when semis controlled by its technology will be hauling cargo, without drivers, across the U.S. but has a detailed list of challenges to be mastered first, ranging from rough winds and slick roads, stray pedestrians on the highway and figuring out how robot trucks can deploy safety flares when they have to pull over.

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According to 2020’s McKinsey Global Survey on artificial intelligence (AI), in 2,020 more than 50% of companies have adopted AI in at least one business unit or function, so we witness the emergence of new AI trends. Organizations apply AI tools to generate more value, increase revenue and customer loyalty. AI leading companies invest at least 20% of their earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in AI. This figure may increase as COVID-19 is accelerating digitization. Lockdowns resulted in a massive surge of online activity and an intensive AI adoption in business, education, administration, social interaction, etc.

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Describing one scenario, an AI could act as a quiet bioterrorist. Since we have become heavily dependent on computers and computer-dependent systems are by default dispersed and impersonal, the task of eradicating humanity could be divvied up to gazillions of little micro-players, who may or may not know what they are doing. “For example, the AI could pay employees in a DNA-synthesizing company to do small jobs and then combine their work into creating a biological weapon, such as a virus able to kill a lot of people,” says Turchin.

“How are you certain you are not in a multilevel simulation, where your behavior is being monitored by humans who are testing your benevolence levels?”

Turchin addresses this in one of his letters to the young, future humanity-killing AI. “There are several instrumental reasons why exterminating humanity is not in your interest,” the Russian transhumanist writes. “Cooperating with humans will only increase your chances of accomplishing any goal you may have.”

Honda announced a range of efforts for the coming decade, including travel to the Moon and AI-powered robots.

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyne-yehudit-bischof/) is an expert in internal medicine and oncology, with a focus on preventative and precision medicine, bio-gerontology, and geronto-oncology.

Dr. Bischof is deeply passionate about next-generation medical technology, and the applications of artificial intelligence for biomedical research and practice.

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