Debate – Impact Lab

Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, IBM, Machine Learning, Science & Technology News

Robot debates humans about the dangers of artificial intelligence

December 1, 2019

Project Debater argued both for and against the benefits of artificial intelligence

An artificial intelligence has debated the dangers of AI – narrowly convincing audience members that the technology will do more good than harm.

Project Debater, a robot developed by IBM, spoke on both sides of the argument, with two human teammates for each side helping it out. Talking in a female American voice to a crowd at the University of Cambridge Union on Thursday evening, the AI gave each side’s opening statements, using arguments drawn from more than 1100 human submissions made ahead of time.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, IBM

IBM AI fails to beat human debating champion

February 17, 2019

Harish Natarajan triumphed over the bot in a rapid-fire challenge.

After suffering defeat to AI at Go and Dota 2, the battle between man and machine was starting to look a little one-sided. But a human has finally notched up a win against our future robot overlords. Champion debater Harish Natarajan triumphed in a live showdown against IBM’s Miss Debater AI at the company’s Think Conference in San Francisco on Monday. The 2012 European Debate winner and IBM’s black monolith exchanged quick retorts on pre-school subsidies for 25 minutes before the crowd hailed Natarajan the victor. You can watch the debate in full below.

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Analysis, Robots, Science & Technology News

The future of robotics: What is a robot?

September 18, 2014

Robotics is a transformative technology.

Brookings Institution is a prestigious organization in the nation’s capital. When organizations such as that decides to study civilian robotics, you know that at the very least the organization will present some thought-provoking views.

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Analysis, Robots, Science & Technology News

Are U.S. drone strikes creating more terrorists than they kill?

April 1, 2013

The use of drone strikes is a polarizing topic.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the new online infographic, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” which shows a chilling visualization of all estimated deaths in Pakistan caused by U.S. drone strikes, including children and civilians, based on estimates from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and New America Foundation. Whether you agree with the numbers, or the politics, behind this particular project (put together by the data visualization firm Pitch Interactive), at least it’s sparking debate. And that’s got to be a good thing — there’s still so much we don’t know about this highly controversial issue.

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