[Midterm Topic] What do we have to do before meeting an A.I. era?

It is time to come up with the moral code for Artificial Intelligence(A.I.). Everything around us is changing at a speed of light in a modern society. Just imagining what will come tomorrow is an exhilarating thing to do. Now we are facing an era of IoT(internet of things) and the robot. That means we will live convenient lives where the information on our every single activity is transmitted, saved and analyzed to ‘serve’ us in the best way. During this process, big data is generated. The designated and programmed machine (we can name it) will respond to the human’s need appropriately. How about the robot? It is in the beginning stage of development but its role is expanding in many areas from factories to hospitals replacing human workforce. Some robots even provide emotional service which is essential for healthy human life. Also, development of super intelligence(artificial intelligence) is on the process. If big data and  A.I. intergrated what would happen? A.I. is very similar to human intelligence, and very different at the same time. First, A.I. does not have a limit of volume. It could be built in a warehouse. So does its speed.  The last thing human needs to invent will be A.I. because after then A.l . will invent things much better than when humans do, but the content of the result matters. Suppose we give an A.I. the assignment to make humans smile. The A.I. could embed an electrode into humans’ cheek to cause a constant smile, because ,for A.I., the result of a task does not need to be worthwhile at the human’s standard. Now, Deciding the response to humans need from big data is in the hands of human. At the early stage of IoT. There do not seem to be many problems with it.

We all know a myth of King Midas. He wishes that everything he touches be turned into gold. He touches his daughter, she turns into gold. He touches his food, it turns into gold. This happens when we set misconceived or poorly specified goals. As such, the matter now is how to define human values, and load it onto the A.I. system, and IoT. A.I should be able to consider if the result accords with human values and to pursue it when performing action. The aspect  mentioned above should be put first to the development of both A.I and IoT before they become uncontrollable.  

reference : Ted.com 

Nick Bostrom: What happens when our computers get smarter than we are?

Thoughts on gun control

The topic of this week was interesting. That is because, the chance to learn about gun possession issue in the U.S has hardly been given despite the increased frequency of mass shooting in the U.S.

I have come to know that public opinions on the gun control are evenly divided in accordance with the party they support or whether or not they possess any guns. Also the law on gun control has been affected by massive scale of gun lobby. There is a Federal law requiring that licensed gun dealers conduct a background check, but there are lots of holes in it that make it impossible to screen those who are not eligible to possess a gun.

I think, despite massive lobby and majority’s approval of gun possession, well executed background check law could function effectively in preventing mass shooting. There is a proverb saying ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link’. I think complementing the existing law will do a lot in stopping increase in mass shooting even without a huge change in the policy. 

Thoughts on becoming an interpreter

Becoming an interpreter is my short term goal in life now.The life of an interpreter 

would be full of hectic schedules and new array of tasks. It will not be easy, but it

also will open a new world to me in which I could feel a sense of accomplishment

and get a glance at the people who are professionals in their fields. Also I will need

to comprehend many things that explain how the world is functioning. Hence I have 

no doubt that working as an interpreter will be rewarding and exciting. However, 

the road to be an interpreter is not smooth. It is a tough one. I think I need to 

dedicate myself to studying more. It will be worth it. The second semester almost 

has been halfway through. The beautiful season fall is around the corner. I would 

like to spend fall with diverse and splendid speeches.

My thoughts on the China's military parade

President Park Geun-Hye watched the China's military parade commemorating the 70^th anniversary of World War II’s end in Asia in Tiananmen square.The United States announced that the president Park’s visit to China was not offensive, but it was clear that the U.S did not welcome it. The U.S is concerned that the closest ally between 2 nations in Asia would be damaged, because deploying the army in South Korea can be a good way to check the rising power China and North Korea.The alliance between Korea and the U.S has been very close and very important in the political and economic perspectives. In my opinion, it would be ideal if the U.S and china form a strong alliance not with Japan. By doing so, the world will be able to check Japan that is expanding military power in the name of self-defense. Furthermore, both countries the U.S and China would be able to save tremendous amounts of energy and efforts reaching shared prosperity. The relation between 2 countries seems complementary in many aspects including economic issues, but 2 countries seem to fight for hegemony which is never a simple problem.