Artificial Intelligence: Too much talk about the future?

Mon, 07/06/2009 - 03:03 - NLN

Over the last two decades, some amazing things have happened in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Governments have been pouring money into AI and robotics, yielding meaningful progress. Some powerful AI systems have gone commercial; others are on the brink. But these accomplishments are sometimes being overshadowed by commentary on robot emotions, robot rights, the potential for marriage between humans and robots, and such.

It’s all quite a bit of fun, and neither commentators nor readers need any understanding of science and technology to participate. So what if the fictional robot Bender on the animated sci-fi comedy Futurama provides a more realistic presentation of issues in robotics than modern journalism and bloggistry? What possible motive could I have for interfering with a good time?