Category Archives: Philosophy

Monday 2nd December 2019

More Predictions Coming True?

OK, I know this is blowing my own trumpet a bit but, frankly, this is getting desperate so maybe it’s time to take the gloves off and look at some of the emerging tech. ethics predictions I’ve made over the years and how they’re turning out …

Personal privacy:

2014: “A ‘Shazam for People’ recognition system will become available, able to identify anyone in the street and provide massive amounts of personal background information about them in real time” https://vicgrout.net/2014/08/20/shazam-for-people/ https://www.austinpublishinggroup.com/robotics-automation/fulltext/download.php?file=ajra-v1-id1001.pdf https://vicgrout.net/2015/08/23/the-prof-on-a-train-game/
2018 it’s starting: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5239767/The-Shazam-faces-99-67-accurate.html (sorry to cite the Daily Fascist) but also https://www.blippar.com/blog/2017/07/19/introducing-halos-bringing-facial-recognition-mainstream and https://vicgrout.net/2018/10/01/and-so-it-begins/

AI/Robot Sex:

2014 onwards: “AI will bring in a new generation of sex robots and it will be possible to simulate sex with any individual, even against their wishes: celebrities, ex-partners, people whose data you’ve captured in the street, your neighbour’s 12-year old daughter, etc. https://vicgrout.net/2014/11/10/the-ins-and-outs-of-robot-sex/ https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/robot-sex-ethics-and-morality-2090-9888-1000e104.php?aid=67397 https://www.shortlist.com/news/sex-robots-artificial-intelligence
2018 it’s happening: https://cloudclimax.co.uk/product/emma-the-sex-robot-tpe-with-full-artificial-intelligence/ https://vicgrout.net/2018/06/06/well-dont-say-you-werent-warned/
2019 it’s REALLY happening: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5yzpk/they-cant-stop-us-people-are-having-sex-with-3d-avatars-of-their-exes-and-celebrities?utm_source=vicetwitterus

1 Comment | tags: Fake news, Future, Future technology, Futurism, Futurology, Predicting the future, Privacy, Robot sex, Technocapitalism | posted in Industry, Philosophy, Politics, Science

Friday 15th November 2019

Technology Changing the World? It’s time for the regular reminder …

By Vic Grout

There’s a UK general election on Thursday 12th December. Perhaps a once-in-a-generation chance to steer the country away from fascism? The stakes are high and the issues numerous (yes, really, more than just Brexit) but here, we’ll try to keep to the technology. However, ‘keeping to the technology’ is as much to do with understanding what it can’t and won’t do, just as much as what it can and will …

Some of this isn’t new in this blog but it seems to be a timely reminder. Let’s start with a simple (rhetorical) straw poll:

Can we all agree that the next few years are going to bring some interesting technological developments? Yes?
Can we generally agree that those ‘developments’ can be loosely described as ‘advances’? Hmm? Not quite so certain? Depends on your point of view? Maybe? Possibly? Most of the time? Probably?
Are we generally confident that emerging/future technology will benefit people? Ah!

Which people?

This is at the heart of it. Yes, technology changes lives. Yes, it has the potential to make lives better. But will it? and for whom?

Leave a comment | tags: Automation, Automation and unemployment, Computing future, Future technology, Futurism, Futurology, Industrial revolution, Technological revolution, Vote Labour | posted in Hardware, Industry, Philosophy, Politics, Science, Software

Tuesday 1st October 2019

New edition of ‘Conscious’

By Vic Grout

Yes, indeed, there’s a new edition of the novel!

Updated slightly to reflect changing world events (although, sadly, all the initial predictions are pretty much coming true now). And with a swish new cover! Just search for ‘Vic Grout Conscious’ on Amazon in your region (and choose the one with the cool blue cover) or use the direct links below.

Kindle edition in the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VTTQWNC
Paperback edition in the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conscious-Prof-Vic-Grout/dp/1081939133
Kindle edition in the US: https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Vic-Grout-ebook/dp/B07VTTQWNC
Paperback edition in the US: https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Prof-Vic-Grout/dp/1081939133

Enjoy!

Leave a comment | tags: Artificial intelligence, Automation, Automation and unemployment, Conscious, Consciousness, Internet of Everything, Internet of Things, Real Internet of Things, Science fiction | posted in Academia, Algorithms, Computer Science, Computing, Education, Engineering, Hardware, Industry, Mathematics, Philosophy, Politics, Programming, Science, Software

Monday 2nd September 2019

Turing Test for Dogs

By Vic Grout

A good, punchy, witty reminder from Existential Comics that most people who drone on about the ‘Turing Test’, particularly news reports that some new software has ‘passed the Turing Test’, have never even read, let alone understood, Turing’s original 1950 paper.

Just to recap on a few essentials:

The ‘Turing Test’, even by today’s common interpretation, relies on a human decision-maker, whose sophisitication in recognising AI presumably increases with the development of AI itself. It isn’t precise enough to be a ‘test’. It never was a ‘test’.
Turing himself, never proposed any ‘test’, merely an illustrative game to compare impressions of intelligence.
The figures Turing gave were a prediction of what might be possible, not a benchmark for passing any ‘test’.
There is no ‘Turing Test’.

Read the paper!

Leave a comment | tags: AI, Alan Turing, Turing Test | posted in Algorithms, Computer Science, Computing, General, Hardware, Philosophy, Software