Recent hype on Machine Translation: The Verge – Google’s AI translation system is approaching human-level accuracy Quartz – AI-based translation to soon reach human levels ZDNet – Microsoft researchers match human levels in translating news from Chinese to English There’s been a lot of hype lately about the amazing improvements in machine translation enabled by… Continue reading How Good Has AI Become at Translating?
“Developing safe and beneficial technology requires more than technical expertise — it requires a well-rounded education and the ability to understand other perspectives” (Tucker Davey). In May of this year (2018), Tucker Davey interviewed Yan Zang, one of the founders of SPARC—the Summer Program in Applied Rationality and Cognition. The interview is published at the Future… Continue reading Shaping the New Generation of AI Researchers to be Ethical Leaders
On this 4th of July, as our government persecutes people fleeing from violence, it is worth remembering that this is not new. As long ago as 1852, Frederick Douglass called on the conscience of the nation to grapple with the hypocrisy of celebrating liberty while imposing injustice. In the video below James Earl Jones reads… Continue reading James Earl Jones reads Frederick Douglas: What does the 4th of July mean?
Earlier this week Art Sherman let me know about a New York Times article, “Is There a Smarter Path to Artificial Intelligence? Some Experts Hope So“. In addition to discussing the limitations of Deep Learning that are becoming clearer as the approach fails to produce the kind of flexibility that is needed for many AI… Continue reading Beyond Deep Learning: Why aren’t computers learning the way children do?
What does one do when national policy runs against the obvious intent of the gospel? How should Christians respond when our faith is used to justify injustice? This comic from the Seattle Times captures poignantly the crisis of faith created when national leaders use scripture to justify secular policy decisions. Our Attorney General has publicly… Continue reading Out of Touch with Jesus
I spent a little time with Allen Davidson this evening. While significantly weakened by the cancer, Allen remains in good humor (though he might argue otherwise). True to his characteristic generosity, he presented me with a gift before I left, a Roman coin from the year the Visigoths sacked Rome. Being fascinated with history, Allen… Continue reading Visit with Allen
The rate of mental illness in the United States has risen sharply in the last few decades. The same is true for the United Kingdom. The rate of income inequality has also risen sharply. Are these phenomena connected? A recent episode of Science Weekly suggests that they are. Several indicators of mental health in societies… Continue reading The psychological effects of inequality: Science Weekly
The latest episode of the Artificial Intelligence podcast from MMC Ventures gives a good introduction to AI addressing the following questions: How does AI work? When does AI break down? Will artificial neural networks start to resemble biological neural networks (animals’ brains)? In this episode the host inteviews Dr. Janet Bastiman, who provides an accessible… Continue reading Understanding AI Technology
I’m proud that my home state is the site of the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice, sometimes called “the lynching memorial.” We need to remember the history of hate that has scarred our nation. In remembering perhaps we will be able to stop the resurgence of bigotry that we are witnessing. The following… Continue reading National Memorial for Peace and Justice
If you are a teacher, you will find Teaching Hard History from Teaching Tolerance very useful in addressing the social realities faced by your students. Hosted by Professor Hasan Jeffries, this series has leading scholars and educators present lessons we should have learned in school—but almost certainly did not. Through this series Teaching Tolerance is… Continue reading Teaching Hard History: American Slavery, from Teaching Tolerance
