STS REVIEWER (LESSON 4)

MAN VS. MACHINE

Characteristics of a HUMAN

 Brain can work constantly and more efficiently to create and make use if something wisely.
 Capable of learning, grasping, understanding the concept of various things.
 Curious to discover and create new things.
 Multi-talented
 Created artificial intelligence

Characteristics of a MACHINE

 Superior to human in terms of speed and accuracy (E.g calculators)

 Are programmed, developed and fed information by humans
 Have no emotional intelligence

In the Industrial Age

1700s - Machines were a threat to the economic security of the newly formed working class and no
longer simply helping people achieve more but also were now displacing a great many workers.

Luddite Rebellion of 1811-1813

- Inspired by Englishman Ned Ludd’s smashing of textile stocking frames in 1779 it did take on a life
of its own.
- Craftsmen concern: Decreasing wages: Fears are justified
*Skilled craftsmen were replaced
by machines within 10 years
*Machine breaking = capital
Offense

John Henry (1800s) - (a steel driving men) worked for the C&O Railway, helping lay the rails for the
trains and Westward expansion of America

- Henry emerged victorious against steam powered hammering machine but he collapsed and died.

In the 20th Century

- Computers could operate the machine and do the job of some people and enabled humans to do
work that could not have been done before, spawning new jobs from space exploration to risk
management.
- Science fiction writers imagine how new technologies can be used evil as well as good.

George Orwell (1984) - omnipresent TV’s used to monitor citizens

Arthur C. Clarkes (2001) - Space Odyssey shows the life and death struggle of Dave and the H.A.L, 9000.
Isaac Asimov - Three Laws of Robotics

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to
harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict
with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First
or Second Law.

Man vs Machine Today

The computer’s gained victories in games (Jeopardy, chess go, etc.) Googles Deepmind defeat human
world champions in these games

Artificial intelligence (1956)

- is the ability of a computer or a computer-controlled robot to perform tasks that would normally be
performed by intelligent beings (Britannica)
- 1950s – (Early AI research) explored topics like problem solving and symbolic methods.
- 1960s - US Department of Defense began training computers to mimic basic human reasoning.
- 1970s - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) completed street mapping projects
- 2003 - DARPA produced intelligent personal assistants long before Siri, Alexa or Cortana were
household names.

Understanding the Perils of Artificial Intelligence

three categories:

 Large-scale Unemployment - Technology and machines replacing humans for doing certain
types of work
 Singularity - Refers to that point in human civilization when Artificial Intelligence reaches a
tipping point beyond; that surpasses human cognitive powers, thereby potentially posing a
threat to human existence
 Machine consciousness - Idea deals with the possibility of implanting human-like consciousness
into machines, taking them beyond the realm of ‘thinking’ to that of ‘feeling, emotions and
beliefs; Ethical conundrum.
 Oligarchy - Those who control that intelligence will hold immense power over the rest of us