When I sat down to work on my 20% project this week I was struck with the realization that my topic, Artificial Intelligence, is broad. There is a lot of avenues I can take with my research, so I felt like the best place to start would be just to define it, and look at all the different types that already exist. I began by Googling, “Basic facts about Artificial Intelligence,” and found a lot of resources created by financial websites like Business Insider and Fortune Magazine. This struck me as interesting since I have always pictured scientists working on robots, not Wall Street guys looking at predictive statistics. I will definitely come back to this new revelation once I feel like I can fully define it. The basic definition I found says AI is a computer program that uses techniques called “machine learning” which allows a computer to practice, and get better at tasks that historically have only been able to be done by humans (review.content-science.com). An example of this is IBM’s Watson beating two of “Jeopardy’s leading winners. Check out this video to see it in action: I then began reading about AI making strides towards plainer language. Okay… pause. I wasn’t sure what the site meant by what I imagine is a robot language--a quick jump to another article showed me that since a lot of the things we use, health insurance, finances, etc. have their own language, companies are moving toward a “plainer language;” a more universal language that will help its users understand it better, and in turn spend less time confused, and more time spending money. (Sidenote- This made me think of “Newspeak” from 1984).
This can be seen in something called “chatbots.” These were designed to streamline the process of communicating to a business when you have an issue. Essentially robots are taking over the help hotlines for companies, and making it a streamlined process. Facebook made waves in 2014 when they bought WhatsApp for this purpose. Instead of calling a helpline, punching in a ton of key codes, and waiting on hold, consumers can now instant message companies for assistance with all their information being digitally processed instead of verbally verified. I just recently interacted with a chatbot named “James” through Weebly, who helped me problem solve the login issues my classes were having a few weeks ago. I walk away this week having way more questions than answers. I think I am going to investigate more of what types of AI are currently in use, or under development. My Sources: https://review.content-science.com/2017/01/artificial-intelligence-fact-sheet/ https://review.content-science.com/2016/06/increase-content-usefulness-with-plain-language/ https://venturebeat.com/2016/05/01/the-200-billion-dollar-chatbot-disruption/
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I remembered my fascination with Artificial Intelligence (AI) last year in my 11th grade English class. We were reading Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and students had brought in current events that related to the technology theorized in the novel. One student brought in an article about self-driving cars, and how they were missing the predictive technology necessary to drive safely, and were impaling themselves into the backs of semi-trucks.
So here’s the thing, I need to learn the positives of this technology. I like to believe that people who are developing this technology see something beneficial in it. So what is it? I also think it is important to follow the money trail on any sort of new development. Who is paying for this development, and why are they funding it?
Topic: Cars
I was drawn to this topic because yesterday morning my car wouldn’t start, and all I knew to do was call my dad. I felt helpless because I have almost zero knowledge about cars, and what to do for basic maintenance which makes me rely on other people. I hope to learn how to troubleshoot issues with my car, and perform basic things like checking tire pressure, changing my oil, and installing a new car battery. There really is so much to cars that I think I will have a lot to research. In addition to car maintenance, I would also like to learn a little more about buying cars. What do I look for? What is a good deal? How do I know what I need? I will hopefully be able to create a how-to guide for buying and repairing cars, and gear it to other novices like me! Topic: Electoral College I was drawn to the Electoral College as my topic because of the 2016 Presidential race. Statistics have shown that the majority of America voted in opposition of our current President. Which is why I find it extremely odd when a one candidate can become President, despite losing the Nation's popular vote by nearly 3 million votes (2.9 million). This made me think about how my vote is counted and how all our votes are casted and counted. A democratic government is built by the people, for the people. Why are people's votes not taken individually, rather than through the process of the electoral college? I want to learn why the Electoral College platform was created, why we still use it, and develop alternative platforms of casting and counting votes if research leads me that way. I hope to learn more about our government by researching its beginnings, and what kind of changes it has experienced since 1776. I hope to learn more of how to influence our local and State representatives. Topic: Artificial Intelligence I was drawn to artificial intelligence after reading George Orwell's 1984 last year. Essentially, I am curious about robots having emotions. I know that some marketing companies use emotional logarithms in order to push their products to people's internet clicking habits, but is AI only being developed to make rich people richer? The idea of sentient robots terrifies me--I've seen all the Terminators. Since my innate bias is that they are going to be bad, I want to learn more about the upside to AI. How can this technology be developed to help people? I hope to learn more about who is working on this type of technology, and how likely a robotic uprising is in our future. |
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November 2017
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