If Blake Lemoine chose a spectacular way to blow up his own career, he has also certainly given the world something to think about.
The 41-year-old US Google engineer was last month put on administrative leave by the search engine giant after he went public with his claims that LaMDA, the artificial intelligence system under development by the company, has become sentient.
In other words, Lemoine maintained, this piece of software not only has the ability to think for itself, but also has feelings and emotions just like us humans. Lemoine argued that LaMDA, short for Language Model for Dialogue Applications, should be afforded basic human rights.
Google quickly rejected the claim, which was also widely lambasted by AI experts across academia. LaMDA is essentially a very intelligent chatbot, which absorbs information gleaned from troves of internet data fed into it to produce sensible answers to questions.
Denne historien er fra July 23 - 29, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra July 23 - 29, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
