Category: Extreme Automation

Music has a rich history of technological and digital augmentation. Think about Peter Frampton and Jimi Hendrix using “talk boxes” to make their guitars talk for them. Or how about the billions of people influenced by the computerized sounds of pop music from Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna. This is partly why the music industry… Continue reading AI will pick (and make) the songs you love in just 6 years

When science and the humanities collide, it’s usually a battle of existential proportions. However, this time the disparate communities came together to make a major statement (and a few dollars). Last week, the high-brow auction house Christie’s sold a painting called Portrait of Edmond Belamy for an astounding $435,000. The portrait isn’t visually appealing. The… Continue reading AI paints a portrait. Christie’s sells it for $435,000. What’s the world coming to?

Instinct, acumen, and industry foresight. Three crucial components to guiding a brand or corporation through mergers, industry instability, and overall strategy.When instinct is wrong, you become “the company that made the wrong move” like Kodak. When acumen lacks, you become an afterthought like Dell. When industry foresight is absent, you become obsolete like Blockbuster. Companies… Continue reading Why the Fortune 500 desperately needs an AI Board of Directors

There’s no doubt that human-created art is widely celebrated. Receiving an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, or Tony award is the pinnacle of success for many artists. When will the masses begin celebrating computer-created art? Will traditional award ceremonies even accept computers? Today, there’s nothing flashy or original about algorithms and their creative works. But, they’re still… Continue reading Netflix can’t wait to use AI to make movies

Time Magazine honored Predictive Policing back in 2011 as one of the world’s most promising inventions. Just seven years later it’s become one of the most controversial (and arguably failed) applications of artificial intelligence. It’s not for lack of positive intentions, though. Daniel Neill, a founder of CrimeScan which uses AI to predict crime areas… Continue reading Do you trust algorithms to guide the police?

For the first time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking these numbers in 1976, there are more single Americans than people who are married… 124.6 million American adults [are single]. Mythili Rao, PRI This implies two things. We’ve experienced a massive cultural shift from the 20th century. And, more importantly, the opportunity to serve… Continue reading Does AI belong in matchmaking?

Algorithms are discretely at work in the background of our lives, from the price you pay for a plane ticket to the information you receive on social media. Then again, what if our interactions with algorithms were more obvious? What if we deliberately called upon programs to make our decisions? Would this be the end… Continue reading Would you trust algorithms to make all your choices?

Intelligence is power. We are smarter than dogs, therefore we keep them as house pets. Computers will soon be smarter than humans, so they may keep us as house pets (at least that’s what Elon Musk believes). This claim isn’t baseless. In fact, I’m referring to The Singularity, which is the hypothesis that creating an… Continue reading Would you worship a superintelligent AI god?

Google built a hundred-billion-dollar behemoth by giving us answers to all of our questions. Now, they may be able to give us an answer to the most worrisome question of all: When will I die? Predicting the Inevitable In some way or another we’ve all learned from the deceased. Whether it’s the family stories passed… Continue reading Google may soon know the day you’ll die