4. Futures - Apr 29

Still from Metropolis by Fritz Lang (1927) 

Let an ultraintelligent machine be defined as a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. Since the design of machines is one of these intellectual activities, an ultraintelligent machine could design even better machines; there would then unquestionably be an 'intelligence explosion,' and the intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make, provided that the machine is docile enough to tell us how to keep it under control

I.J. Good, "Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine", Advances in Computers, vol. 6, 1965

It's tempting to dismiss the notion of highly intelligent machines as mere science fiction. But this would be a mistake, and potentially our worst mistake ever.

Stephen Hawking, Huffington Post

There needs to be a lot more work on AI safety 

Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during a recent Q&A on Reddit.

We may be on the verge of creating a new life form, one that could mark not only an evolutionary breakthrough, but a potential threat to our survival as a species

Jeff Goodell. Inside the Artificial Intelligence Revolution: A Special Report, Pt. 1. Rolling Stone, Feb 29 2016.

I don’t work on preventing AI from turning evil for the same reason that I don’t work on combating overpopulation on the planet Mars

Andew Ng, a leading machine learning researcher at Baidu and Stanford University, quoted in Alexis C. Madrigal. The case against killer robots, from a guy actually working on artificial intelligence. Fusion, Feb 27, 2015.

The best way to predict the future is to change it. 

George Church, leading scientist in genomics and genetic engineering in National Geographic,

There is plenty of room at the bottom 

Richard Feynman, in a lecture about miniaturization and the nano scale given at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959. Transcript published at Caltech Engineering and Science, Volume 23:5, February 1960, pp 22-36

For more see the Futures section in Further Reading & Viewing

WARMING UP LECTURE

Nmnt 2016 workshop 3 from Peter Van Der Putten

IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT

• Based on the given materials 

  • • Research the topic by letting each group member research one of the links and then discuss all with the group from a number of angles

• • Zoom in on a particular question or statement (what if....). 

  • Come up with a work (installation, performance, otherwise) that is related to the question or statement 

  • Note the materials are just a starting point for inspiration purposes, you can take it any direction 

• Split up the group to prepare a two part presentation 

• • First present the work; through some mock up of the experience from a visitor point of view or some other means 

  • Then as background present and discuss the question from a broader perspective. Connect to related work (science, art or other) where possible 

  • Extend the materials sub page 

• Ensure your project and idea are focused but also impactful. Provide a memorable experience that makes people think; don't force some message on the visitor.

Groups:

• Destroyers

  • Genetic Engineers

• Luddites

• The Patient