Evil Machines

Evil Machines PDF

Author: Terry Jones

Publisher: Unbound Publishing

Published: 2011-11-10

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1908717025

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How do you feel about your phone? Or your car? You probably don't think about them much, except when they go wrong. But what if they go really wrong and turn properly bad – evil, even? Join Terry Jones on a hilariously disturbing journey into the dark heart of machines that go wrong: meet the lift that takes people to places they don't want to go, the vacuum cleaner that's just too powerful, the apparently nice bomb, the truthful phone, the terrifying train to anywhere, and Mrs. Morris, a little old lady from Glasgow who turns out to be a very resourceful heroine... Brisk and cheerful on the outside, but as edgy and uncomfortable as any of Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected within, Terry Jones's collection of thirteen cautionary fables will make you look at the 'helpful' inventions that surround you in a very different way. A brilliantly-written and gleefully mischievous book, suitable for Luddites of all ages or anyone who likes a bit of Pythonesque edge to their silliness.

Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths

Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths PDF

Author: Steven Shwartz

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group

Published: 2021-02-09

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 1735424544

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Are AI robots and computers really going to take over the world? Longtime artificial intelligence (AI) researcher and investor Steve Shwartz has grown frustrated with the fear-inducing hype around AI in popular culture and media. Yes, today’s AI systems are miracles of modern engineering, but no, humans do not have to fear robots seizing control or taking over all our jobs. In this exploration of the fascinating and ever-changing landscape of artificial intelligence, Dr. Shwartz explains how AI works in simple terms. After reading this captivating book, you will understand • the inner workings of today’s amazing AI technologies, including facial recognition, self-driving cars, machine translation, chatbots, deepfakes, and many others; • why today’s artificial intelligence technology cannot evolve into the AI of science fiction lore; • the crucial areas where we will need to adopt new laws and policies in order to counter threats to our safety and personal freedoms resulting from the use of AI. So although we don’t have to worry about evil robots rising to power and turning us into pets—and we probably never will—artificial intelligence is here to stay, and we must learn to separate fact from fiction and embrace how this amazing technology enhances our world.

Machines Behaving Badly

Machines Behaving Badly PDF

Author: Toby Walsh

Publisher: Black Inc.

Published: 2022-05-03

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1743822332

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Artificial intelligence is an essential part of our lives – for better or worse. It can be used to influence what we buy, who gets shortlisted for a job and even how we vote. Without AI, medical technology wouldn’t have come so far, we’d still be getting lost on backroads in our GPS-free cars, and smartphones wouldn’t be so, well, smart. But as we continue to build more intelligent and autonomous machines, what impact will this have on humanity and the planet? Professor Toby Walsh, a world-leading researcher in the field of artificial intelligence, explores the ethical considerations and unexpected consequences AI poses – Is Alexa racist? Can robots have rights? What happens if a self-driving car kills someone? What limitations should we put on the use of facial recognition? Machines Behaving Badly is a thought-provoking look at the increasing human reliance on robotics and the decisions that need to be made now to ensure the future of AI is as a force for good, not evil.

The Outer Edge

The Outer Edge PDF

Author: William N. Ellis III

Publisher: Trafford Publishing

Published: 2010-11-09

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1426942036

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We were created on the outer edge of the universe, and powerful ancients continue to watch us from that home far away. The ancients use 100% of their brains, which enables them to perform fantastic feats no earthly creature could imagine. Many years ago, these ancient beings altered the human DNA, removing our capability to use 100% of our brains, therefore keeping us forever beneath their reign and keeping them forever safe from human attack. Despite the lessened use of our brains, the human race has developed high-tech radar devices that travel into space, searching for intelligent life. The ancients have become aware of this technology; they are now concerned that humans have advanced enough to bring war. In an effort to avoid the inevitable, the ancients are coming to Earth to destroy the human race. Extermination is eminent, until Earth connects with its sister planet. Together, the humans must fight back against this ancient power that seeks to destroy. The Outer Edge is not merely science fiction; it is an authoritative vision of our living universe. These fictional tribulations have direct and irrefutable links to science. And so the question remains: is science fiction truly fiction at all, or does it peer into the depths of fact and foreshadow devastation yet to come? Decipher the true riddles of the universe with The Outer Edge.These riddles include the science based posits on how the afterlife and prayer are indeed true. We also answer how the psychics, mediums and all the paranormal work through science. ForeWord Clarion Review FICTION The Outer Edge: Our Origins From Dust to Us William N. Ellis III (The Messenger) Trafford Publishing 978-1-4269-4204-4 Three Stars (out of Five) Where do we come from? is perhaps the most popular existential question. Over the years, there have been numerous possible answers: the Big Bang, divine creation over seven days, adaption from single-celled organisms. Ultimately, the answer to the question is not necessarily about where we came from, but why we are here. William N. Ellis IIIs latest book, The Outer Edge, explores a theory that seeks to answer both. Jampa and Pammy are siblings from the Outer Edge, the perimeter of the universe. As young members of the Ancient Good, they protect the unified grid from beings like Riverway, a member of the Ancient Evil. The outcome of the battle leads Ancient Good to journey to a blue planet called Earth. There, the story switches to Gene, a common salesman, living with his wife and family in Ohio. After a near accident in his home, Gene discovers he has an extraordinary gift and opportunity. Under the guidance of Pammy and eventually Jampa, Gene must defend Ancient Good against Ancient Evil in a great debate. The Outer Edge is a modern quantum mysticism parable, similar to works like What the BLEEP do we know?! It champions knowledge, compassion, and love as a way to work with and shape the universe. Ellis claims to have used automatic writing, in addition to having received ideas for the story as messages from the spirit realm (thats why hes the messenger, not the author). The result is clear, precise writing, particularly when it comes to crafting tense, powerful scenes. After Jampa makes a speech, Ellis writes, The entire hall erupted in a frenzy of applause. From left to right to top to bottom, warriors slammed their palms together and parted their lips to cheer and whistle. Briefly, a tear trickled in Jampas eye, for the idea of living beings committed to lives of goodness never failed to move him. Ellis commits a portion of the book to building up for a war, but after a skirmish between two characters the author goes straight to negotiating the treaty. The story does have very strong central characters. For instance, Riverway, his antagonist, is chilling and diabolical, yet strangely sympathetic after you learn why he is like he is. Although Ellis might rush his characters through plot points, he gives them clever, descriptive dialogue. In one scene, Pammy advises Gene, saying, Battling against evil is like trying to floss using barbed wire. The Outer Edge is fascinating. Its the perfect work for introducing others to the concepts in quantum mysticism. Even if readers only comprehend The Outer Edge on a surface level, its an interesting tale of good versus evil with a sci-fi bent. While it might be slightly confusing to those unfamiliar with the ideas, its a thought-provoking answer to anyone who wonders how humankind got here. Katerie Prior

A Neuroscientist Looks at Robots

A Neuroscientist Looks at Robots PDF

Author: Donald Pfaff

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2015-10-28

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9814719633

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The book, written for a general educated public, compares the most important elements of the human nervous system to the corresponding capacities of robots. Crucial are the areas of activities for which the constraints limiting human and robot performances are much different. Those areas offer opportunities for synergies. The book argues that we now understand mechanisms for emotional feelings in the human brain so well that we will be able to program robots to act as though they also have emotion. Written in a clear and open fashion by an expert neuroscientist, the book will appeal to interested lay readers in addition to neuroscientists and computer scientists. Contents:IntroductionRobots YesterdaySentient MachinesMotors to GoEmotionsRegulation and Display of "Emotions" by RobotsHuman–Robot InteractionsLegal Implications of Living and Working with RobotsRobots TomorrowIndex Readership: Interested lay readers, students and researchers in biology, neuroscience, computer vision, neural networks and psychology. Key Features:It is unique in comparing brain to robot controlsIt is absolutely up to date in describing current capacities of robotsIt looks not only at social implications of burgeoning robot capacities but also at the legal implicationsKeywords:Vision;Smell;Muscle;Cortex;Neuron;Amygdala;Fear;Sex;Robot;Prosthesis;Synergy;Population Growth;Learning;Liability;Design Engineer;Control Engineer

A History of Evil in Popular Culture

A History of Evil in Popular Culture PDF

Author: Sharon Packer MD

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2014-07-15

Total Pages: 704

ISBN-13:

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Evil isn't simply an abstract theological or philosophical talking point. In our society, the idea of evil feeds entertainment, manifests in all sorts of media, and is a root concept in our collective psyche. This accessible and appealing book examines what evil means to us. Evil has been with us since the Garden of Eden, when Eve unleashed evil by biting the apple. Outside of theology, evil remains a highly relevant concept in contemporary times: evil villains in films and literature make these stories entertaining; our criminal justice system decides the fate of convicted criminals based on the determination of their status as "evil" or "insane." This book examines the many manifestations of "evil" in modern media, making it clear how this idea pervades nearly all aspects of life and helping us to reconsider some of the notions about evil that pop culture perpetuates and promotes. Covering screen media such as film, television, and video games; print media that include novels and poetry; visual media like art and comics; music; and political polemics, the essays in this book address an eclectic range of topics. The diverse authors include Americans who left the United States during the Vietnam War era, conservative Christian political pundits, rock musicians, classical linguists, Disney fans, scholars of American slavery, and experts on Holocaust literature and films. From portrayals of evil in the television shows The Wire and 24 to the violent lyrics of the rap duo Insane Clown Posse to the storylines of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books, readers will find themselves rethinking what evil is—and how they came to hold their beliefs.

Machine Art in the Twentieth Century

Machine Art in the Twentieth Century PDF

Author: Andreas Broeckmann

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2016-12-23

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0262035065

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An investigation of artists' engagement with technical systems, tracing art historical lineages that connect works of different periods. “Machine art” is neither a movement nor a genre, but encompasses diverse ways in which artists engage with technical systems. In this book, Andreas Broeckmann examines a variety of twentieth- and early twenty-first-century artworks that articulate people's relationships with machines. In the course of his investigation, Broeckmann traces historical lineages that connect art of different periods, looking for continuities that link works from the end of the century to developments in the 1950s and 1960s and to works by avant-garde artists in the 1910s and 1920s. An art historical perspective, he argues, might change our views of recent works that seem to be driven by new media technologies but that in fact continue a century-old artistic exploration. Broeckmann investigates critical aspects of machine aesthetics that characterized machine art until the 1960s and then turns to specific domains of artistic engagement with technology: algorithms and machine autonomy, looking in particular at the work of the Canadian artist David Rokeby; vision and image, and the advent of technical imaging; and the human body, using the work of the Australian artist Stelarc as an entry point to art that couples the machine to the body, mechanically or cybernetically. Finally, Broeckmann argues that systems thinking and ecology have brought about a fundamental shift in the meaning of technology, which has brought with it a rethinking of human subjectivity. He examines a range of artworks, including those by the Japanese artist Seiko Mikami, whose work exemplifies the shift.

The Coming Robot Revolution

The Coming Robot Revolution PDF

Author: Yoseph Bar-Cohen

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-04-20

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 0387853499

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Making a robot that looks and behaves like a human being has been the subject of many popular science fiction movies and books. Although the development of such a robot facesmanychallenges,themakingofavirtualhumanhaslongbeenpotentiallypossible. With recent advances in various key technologies related to hardware and software, the making of humanlike robots is increasingly becoming an engineering reality. Development of the required hardware that can perform humanlike functions in a lifelike manner has benefitted greatly from development in such technologies as biologically inspired materials, artificial intelligence, artificial vision, and many others. Producing a humanlike robot that makes body and facial expressions, communicates verbally using extensive vocabulary, and interprets speech with high accuracy is ext- mely complicated to engineer. Advances in voice recognition and speech synthesis are increasingly improving communication capabilities. In our daily life we encounter such innovations when we call the telephone operators of most companies today. As robotics technology continues to improve we are approaching the point where, on seeing such a robot, we will respond with ‘‘Wow, this robot looks unbelievably real!’’ just like the reaction to an artificial flower. The accelerating pace of advances in related fields suggests that the emergence of humanlike robots that become part of our daily life seems to be imminent. These robots are expected to raise ethical concerns and may also raise many complex questions related to their interaction with humans.

Bosses, Machines, and Urban Voters

Bosses, Machines, and Urban Voters PDF

Author: John M. Allswang

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2019-12-01

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1421430738

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Originally published in 1986. Political machines, and the bosses who ran them, are largely a relic of the nineteenth century. A prominent feature in nineteenth-century urban politics, political machines mobilized urban voters by providing services in exchange for voters' support of a party or candidate. Allswang examines four machines and five urban bosses over the course of a century. He argues that efforts to extract a meaningful general theory from the American experience of political machines are difficult given the particularity of each city's history. A city's composition largely determined the character of its political machines. Furthermore, while political machines are often regarded as nondemocratic and corrupt, Allswang discusses the strengths of the urban machine approach—chief among those being its ability to organize voters around specific issues.

Transformers and Philosophy

Transformers and Philosophy PDF

Author: John Shook

Publisher: Open Court

Published: 2009-05-12

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0812696670

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Transformers began with toys and a cartoon series in 1984 and has since grown to include comic books, movies, and video games — its science fiction story has reached an audience with a wide range second only to that of Star Wars. Here, in Transformers and Philosophy, a dream team of philosophers pursues the fascinating questions posed by humankind’s encounter with an artificially intelligent mechanical civilization: Is genuine artificial intelligence possible? Would a robotic civilization come with its own morality and artistic life, and would it find a need for romantic love? Should we be more careful about developing robots that may eventually develop ideas of their own? Transformers and Philosophy puts Transformers under a microscope and exposes its philosophical implications in an instantly readable way.