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Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

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Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#151

Post by [deleted] »

mistermumble wrote: post #97
cjbprime wrote: post #5

> OBAMA: The way I’ve been thinking about the regulatory structure as AI emerges is that, early in a technology, a thousand flowers should bloom. I gotta say, I thought he'd be more familiar with that metaphor. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Flowers_Campaign

Actually the "thousand flowers" metaphor is part of Silicon Valley culture going back 30 years. At least I have heard this any number of times in relation to technology innovation, entrepreneurship, "lean startups", etc. I bet a lot of the people who use the term have no idea of its origins in Mao's China. See for example, this article from Inc magazine in 1984, which begins as follows: "Not too long ago, fortune 500…

[deleted]

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#152

Post by flopto »

V-2 wrote: post #148
flopto wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the U.S., a black software engineer is more likely to be able to design technology that helps keep people safe from police regardless of geekery and socioeconomic status.

Do you have anything to back it up, or is it a supposition?

Just a supposition, but from an American (I'm white). I don't think it's a stretch to say that people who have experienced e.g. anti-black racism will be better able to make technology that addresses it.

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#153

Post by drcross »

kweinber wrote: post #147
downandout wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious...which President are you saying thought it was "all just black magic"? Let's also remember that Obama is the man that unapologetically expanded covert/illegal surveillance programs to an unprecedented scale, directly costing American technology companies billions of dollars in sales. I'd say his actions reflect neither intelligence nor understanding of the tech industry.

George W Bush proudly didn't use email and called the Internet the "Internets". Pretty big difference.

He left office 8 years ago, things have changed in that time. I also refer to the internet as the internets sometimes too. Why would the most powerful person in the world need to use email anyway?

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#154

Post by flopto »

Red_Tarsius wrote: post #149
cheriot wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Skin color does not make Obama an expert in race relations. Nor does your observation mean he's NOT an expert in race relations. You're making the same mistake as the people you criticize in applying generalities to specific cases.

We are biased to believe that minority groups are more fit to solve racial issues. But skin color is a not a sufficient condition for race relations expertise. Obama is not strictly right/wrong due to his identity. There is no other meaning to my previous post.

I would argue that it is not just bias. Indeed, not all people of color in the U.S. are experts on racism, but the vast majority of people with a good understanding of racism are people of color.

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#155

Post by ascagnel_ »

brokenmasonjars wrote: post #124
imtringued wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every job needs a PhD and the purpose of university isn't to prepare you to get a high paying job.

It's not about high paying jobs. It's about just occupying people's time, giving them something to do. Perhaps high pay; or at least a pay of some form can come from patents/copyrights developed with such knowledge however.

Until basic needs are handled, you can't just say "it's about occupying people's time". People need to eat, clothe themselves, and shelter themselves, and all three require a steady source of income.

If you want to push widespread welfare or UBI for those in academia, that's an entirely different option. But that'd require a serious revision in the current tax codes or some very wealthy benefactors to bootstrap.

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#156

Post by lsadam0 »

downandout wrote: post #105
pashariger wrote: post #62

I don't know about you, but I'm very thankful that we have a president that can understand and intelligently talk about these issues (rather than thinking it's all just black magic).

I'm curious...which President are you saying thought it was "all just black magic"? Let's also remember that Obama is the man that unapologetically expanded covert/illegal surveillance programs to an unprecedented scale, directly costing American technology companies billions of dollars in sales. I'd say his actions reflect neither intelligence nor understanding of the tech industry.

One of the two major candidates for president responds to tech focused questions with some ramblings about 'the cyber part of security' being impossible and how good his ten year old son is with a computer. That's quite the contrast against someone like Obama.

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#157

Post by aljones »

flopto wrote: post #154
Red_Tarsius wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are biased to believe that minority groups are more fit to solve racial issues. But skin color is a not a sufficient condition for race relations expertise. Obama is not strictly right/wrong due to his identity. There is no other meaning to my previous post.

I would argue that it is not just bias. Indeed, not all people of color in the U.S. are experts on racism, but the vast majority of people with a good understanding of racism are people of color.

Yeah, people are generally able to solve a problem only when they understand the problem. Direct experience is a valuable form of learning. Of course it isn't sufficient, but we shouldn't pretend it doesn't matter either. Obviously almost any statement concerning race is a generalization.

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#158

Post by mr_overalls »

_andromeda_ wrote: post #141
ethbro wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See below and the wiki article for context, but I wouldn't be so quick to downplay the critical role funding takes. Or, in Gore's own words, "That's how it has worked in America. Government has supplied the initial flicker -- and individuals and companies have provided the creativity and innovation that kindled that spark into a blaze of progress and productivity that's the envy of the world."

>"That's how it has worked in America. Government has supplied the initial flicker" That's not how it worked when America had the most growth. In the late 19th century, when there was less government intervention, America saw the most rapid rate of economic growth. I don't want to get into a debate about who led to the emergence of the great depression but I strongly believe that it was due to government involvement…

> They only get in the way of productive people in a bid to placate non-producers thereby granting themselves power and undue privilege once in office.

Oh boy. Anti-government extremists like yourself love to grandstand about the merits of unfettered capitalism without understanding that government creates the conditions for market capitalism to exist.

There would be no property rights without the police, legal contracts without the courts, no medium of exchange without the Treasury. Governments provide minimal standards of worker safety, public health, and public education - all of which are necessary for a productive workforce.

Additionally, government is one of the only entities that can correct negative externalities (i.e., side effects of business, the classic example being air pollution).

Your position is ignorant of both economics and history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_(economics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#159

Post by ap22213 »

AJRF wrote: post #143
pashariger wrote: post #62

I don't know about you, but I'm very thankful that we have a president that can understand and intelligently talk about these issues (rather than thinking it's all just black magic).

It was a lot of waffle, with the odd buzzword interspersed. I don't mind Obama, but I do mind when people attribute understanding to him when he talks at an extremely thin level about topics.

Many forget that 8 years ago Obama was highly criticized for being a 'technocrat' and populating his cabinet with 'technologist' outsiders.

Leaders don't always have to understand the tactical details that are required for executing their strategy. Obama led as a technologist from day one.

Re: Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

#160

Post by l33tbro »

msvan wrote: post #16

What does Hacker News think about AI? Is it real this time, or are we in for another winter? I'm seeing a lot of grand claims, and it certainly seems like there are plenty of applications, but I'm still not totally convinced that it will turn the entire economy upside down. Given the enormous amount of press, tweets, blog posts, conferences, degree programs, seminars and interviews popping up it seems like there has…

As an Ai "hipster" (been into it before it was cool), it's certainly interesting seeing the mainstream culture now catching up to the implications it has. I'm glad this is happening, and I hope the discussion broadens and we hear from all people. I'm one of the whacky ones who believes it's a really important rung in our evolution as a species, so I think being collectively aware of where we're going can only be a good thing.
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