Before we get to the existential threat of AI, we need to focus on other things, including economic disruption and society's need to adapt so AI can enhance their lives. We need to stifle the capabilities of bad actors and keep them from improving. This could be anything from deepfakes used maliciously to developing new kinds of weapons or trying to hack into secure systems. No matter how advanced machines get, humans remain uniquely suited to understanding what other humans want. None of these systems has ever learned from interaction with a human in general.

This week, Elon Musk unveiled, "Optimus," Tesla's humanoid robot. Most of the demonstration of Optimus' abilities was via videos of his performance in laboratory conditions. Live, on stage, he merely stood still and waved his arms. Musk joked that he didn't want the robot to do anything more in front of the audience because he might "fall on his face." Perhaps the most impressive thing about the robot was that it had a human-like, five-fingered hand and a human-shaped head, so, except for the metal and wires, it did resemble a human.

Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks continued his podcast discussion with anesthesiologist Richard Hurley in "Good and bad algorithms in the practice of medicine" (May 19, 2022). An algorithm is "a procedure for solving a mathematical problem (as of finding the greatest common divisor) in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation." Algorithms, Dr. Marks points out, can either sharpen or derail services, depending on their content. Before we get started: Note: Robert J. Marks, a Distinguished Professor of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Engineering at Baylor University, has a new book, coming out Non-Computable You (June, 2022), on the need for realism in another area as well -- the capabilities of artificial intelligence. This portion begins at 01:59 min.

Yesterday at Google's I/O developer conference, the company outlined ambitious plans for its future built on a foundation of advanced language AI. These systems, said Google CEO Sundar Pichai, will let users find information and organize their lives by having natural conversations with computers. All you need to do is speak, and the machine will answer. But for many in the AI community, there was a notable absence in this conversation: Google's response to its own research examining the dangers of such systems. In December 2020 and February 2021, Google first fired Timnit Gebru and then Margaret Mitchell, co-leads of its Ethical AI team. The story of their departure is complex but was triggered by a paper the pair co-authored (with researchers outside Google) examining risks associated with the language models Google now presents as key to its future.

Garry Kasparov has warned that any attempts by the Government to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) could "stifle" its development and give Russia and China an advantage. The former world chess champion has become an advocate for AI development following his resignation from professional chess in 2005. He told The Telegraph that "the government should be involved" in helping researchers and private firms to develop AI in order to "pave the road" for the technology. However, he cautioned against governments attempting to regulate the technology too closely. "It's too early for the government to interfere," he said.

Yawning is so contagious that one sleepy person in a room can easily set off the rest. But anyone trying to stifle their yawns at a particularly dull work meeting or date is fighting a losing battle, scientists have found. However much you try not to look bored by yawning, you will yawn just the same amount, it has emerged. And trying to stifle a yawn by keeping your mouth tightly shut will only make you want to do it more. Scientists at Nottingham University made the discovery after showing 36 adults video clips of yawning to study the copycat effect. They say yawning, much like coughing and urinating, is something you feel driven to do more when you know you can't or shouldn't.