Amazon Alexa:
“Sorry to hear that. Talking to a friend, listening to music or taking a walk
might help. I hope you feel better soon.”
Alexa's artificial intelligence-infused
heart may be in the right place, but there's only so far it or any AI can go to
comfort someone who is alone.
All the same, Alexa’s response raises
questions about just what kind of role an AI can play to “cure” loneliness,
especially among the elderly. Loneliness has been identified as a leading cause
of depression among people who are over 65.
The promise of AI
We’ve heard for years about the potential of
companion robots to keep older people, but really anybody, company. But AI
need not take the form of a physical robot. As we communicate more often with
Alexa and the Google Assistant, could anyone really blame us for thinking
of them, too, as "friends?"
We're
still worlds away, though, from the romanticized view of AI that was portrayed
in the 2013 sci-fi film "Her."And, frankly, the Hollywood
hype around social robots hasn't been all that great, with them mostly bent on
causing our demise.
And their own reality has been rather bleak,
mostly focused on their own demise.
Earlier this year, for example, the company
behind the Jibo “social” robot for the home that had
not all that long ago graced the cover of Time magazine as one of the best inventions of 2017, shut
down its servers. Other once-promising robotics companies
including Mayfield Robotics (known for the Kuri robot) and Anki
(Cozmo) recently met a similar fate.
While
robots still aren’t prancing around most living rooms, beyond the occasional
Roomba, we are increasingly forming some kind of bond with the AI’s in our
smart speakers, phones and other devices – yes, Alexa, Google Assistant and
Siri.
“Alexa’s personality has helped to create a
place for her in the home of millions of customers – and we continue to find
ways to evolve her personality to be more helpful and useful for them,” says
Toni Reid, Amazon’s vice president for Alexa. “This includes responding to
sensitive customer questions or interactions such as 'Alexa, I’m
lonely,' 'Alexa, I’m sad,' 'Alexa, I’m depressed,' and so on. As
we prepare to respond to these interactions, we are very aware that these are
high-stakes answers and have worked closely with experts, such as crisis
hotlines, to ensure Alexa’s response is helpful."
But
can a machine fill in for a human?
While Reid says “AI can help make life
easier – and at times, more delightful – I don’t see AI as a replacement to
human relationships.”
Indeed, it seems like a pipe dream to
suggest that a machine-based solution, no matter what human traits it picks up
or how chatty it gets, can properly fill the void when relationships end or
loved ones pass on.
New cash machines: withdraw money with veins in your finger Cash machine technology that reads the pattern of finger veins is already available in Japan and Poland By Telegraph Reporters 6:59PM BST 15 May 2014 Cash machines could soon be installed with devices that identify customers by reading the veins in their fingers. The technology is already being rolled out in Poland, where 1,730 cash machines will this year be installed with readers, negating the need for a debit card and Pin. Developed by Hitachi, the Japanese electronics firm, the machines read the patterns of the veins just below the surface of the skin on your finger using infra-red sensors. The light is partially absorbed by haemoglobin in the veins to capture a unique finger vein pattern profile, which is matched to a profile. The technology is used by Japanese banks and also in Turkey, offering “groundbreaking levels of accuracy and speed of authentication”, Hitachi said, which in t...
Scientists discover ‘magical’ material that’s stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum — and its potential is dizzying Story by Rick Kazmer • September 21, 2023 Galvorn is stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and has the conductivity of copper, according to an article on LinkedIn. While the jury is still out on whether it’s faster than a speeding bullet, experts at Houston-based DexMat suggest their product can revolutionize the green tech landscape. Galvorn can be an alternative to rare and expensive copper — a crucial metal in electronics, according to a report from GreenBiz. What’s more, the inventors plan to displace dirty materials, contribute to cleaner air, and advance green tech as their “magical” material is rolled out. Galvorn is the result of a more than $20 million investment from two U.S. Air Force research agencies, the Department of Energy, and NASA, among other tech heavy hitters, GreenBiz reports. “DexMat’s potential climate impact gets us dizzy,” ...
The City That’s Trying to Replace Politicians With Computers (It’s Working) After sneaking his AI-written water bill into law, Ramiro Rosário says government press-release writers could go, too By Samantha Pearson and Luciana Magalhaes Dec. 22, 2023 8:58 am ET PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — In a country with a history of corruption and government inefficiency, Councilman Ramiro Rosário has come up with what he believes is a winning strategy to improve the work of politicians: replace them with computers. The 37-year-old legislator in Brazil’s southern city of Porto Alegre passed the country’s first law in November that was written entirely by ChatGPT, the artificial-intelligence chatbot developed by the San Francisco startup OpenAI. The law itself was purposefully boring—a proposal to stop the local water company from charging residents for new water meters when they were stolen from their front yards. It would easily pass, calculated Rosário. One recent day, donning jeans and sneakers...
Comments
Post a Comment