NPR

Should You Leave Grandma With The Robot?

Once a technology that treats emotions as data becomes pervasive, we may soon find that data is the only aspect of emotion we come to recognize or value, says astrophysicist Adam Frank.
Source: iStock

Every day, we are inching closer to some kind of artificial intelligence.

At this point, it isn't so important whether we're talking about truly self-conscious machines or not. Advances in big data, machine learning and robotics are all poised to give us a world in which computers are effectively intelligent in terms of how we deal with them.

Should you be scared by this proposition? Based on a lecture I just attended, my answer is: "absolutely, but not in the usual 'robot overlords' kind of way."

Instead, the real fear should be about getting human beings wrong, not getting AI right.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
Pro-Palestinian Campus Protesters Face Looming Deadlines And Risk Of Arrest
Hundreds of students have been arrested for participating in pro-Palestinian protests in recent days. And some schools, like Columbia and GW, have given them deadlines to dismantle their encampments.
NPR2 min readWorld
A Baby Girl Born Orphaned And Premature After An Israeli Airstrike In Gaza Has Died
The newborn died after five days in an incubator. Her family was killed in an air strike. UNICEF says 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, with thousands more orphaned and wounded.
NPR3 min read
American Airlines Passenger Alleges Discrimination Over Use Of First-class Restroom
In a complaint to the airline, Pamela Hill-Veal, a retired judge, says that while on a Chicago-to-Phoenix flight, a flight attendant berated her and accused her of slamming the lavatory door.

Related Books & Audiobooks