Is it possible for artificial intelligence to be conscious? This topic always sparks controversy when academics and professionals debate whether, how, and when AI can regard itself as a person. We, humans, tend to anthropomorphize everything, projecting consciousness onto everything. And, in the case of AI, because of its ability to influence things that are normally human, such as vision and language, society is often driven to assign meaning to the entire experience. In an article for the Economist, cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter believes that existing AI is far from comprehending -- and provides numerous examples.

The company's previous demo had involved marching a human out in a robot-like bodysuit, so when Optimus walked slowly around the stage, it was met with delight from the cheering crowd. Despite the show's futuristic framing, robotics experts were mostly underwhelmed by the reveal. Optimus' clunky attempts at something like a dance seemed less advanced than other humanoid robots, such as Honda's ASIMO, which played soccer with former President Barack Obama back in 2014. Tesla engineers boasted that Optimus' hand had as many as 11 degrees of freedom (that's to say, all the ways in which robotic parts can bend). In comparison, a robotic hand designed by a Japanese engineer back in 1963 had 27. What is it about Optimus that makes us feel threatened?

The company's previous demo had involved marching a human out in a robot-like body suit, so when Optimus walked slowly around the stage, it was met with delight from the cheering crowd. Despite the show's futuristic framing, robotics experts were mostly underwhelmed by the reveal. Optimus' clunky attempts at something like a dance seemed less advanced than other humanoid robots, such as Honda's Asimo, which played soccer with former President Barack Obama back in 2014. Tesla engineers boasted that Optimus' hand had as many as 11 degrees of freedom (that's to say, all the ways in which robotic parts can bend). In comparison, a robotic hand designed by a Japanese engineer back in 1963 had 27. What is it about Optimus that makes us feel threatened?

Do we still need data scientists? The sexiest job of the 21st century may now seem outdated. Today, training a random forest or a neural network is a matter of a few lines of code or even clicks. Every software vendor promises to turn you into a "citizen data scientist" thanks to their fantastic tools, so trying to understand the statistical and mathematical facts behind our data seems like a waste of time but is it really? When you've finished this article I hope you'll agree with me that it's not the tools we use that define us as data scientists but our understanding of the data, All the knowledge needed to understand the following can be found in the first part of this article.

The why and how the human brain develops religious beliefs may stem from our ability to learn, a new study reveals. Researches found individuals who can unconsciously predict complex patterns in the environment believe there is a god who creates order and intervenes in an otherwise chaotic universe. The study used a cognitive test to measure implicit pattern learning, which showed a sequence of dots appeared and disappeared on a computer screen. Participants were told to push a button when a dot appeared, but some learned the distinct patter and were able to predict when it would appear - and sometimes before. The data showed those who noted they had faith in a higher power performed better overall during the experiment.

Frequently reported advances in artificial intelligence make some people curious, and others nervous. While some people picture their next smart appliance purchase being an AI robot, others wonder if an AI robot will take their job. The truth is, neither of those scenarios will be a reality anytime soon. True AI doesn't exist yet, and it's not a likely near future, either. People get excited when new breakthroughs in machine learning are publicized, like the CNBC interview with a robot named Sophia.

Who wouldn't welcome a helping hand to tackle chores like laundry? So it may be exciting to learn that laundry-folding robots already exist. The best-known version is the Japanese clothes-folding machine the Laundroid. Another one has recently been invented, too, with software designed by the University of California, Berkeley and hardware by Rethink Robotics. But don't get too excited.

Nick Chater has put forward a bold claim in his recent book, The Mind Is Flat, as well as in an article and interview in Nautilus: that we don't have any unconscious thoughts. A metaphor that Chater, a behavioral scientist, dislikes is that of the iceberg, the tip of which is our consciousness, and the vast, submerged part is our unconscious. As Chater says in the Nautilus interview, this suggests that unconscious and conscious processes use the same kinds of representations, and that the kinds of things we are unconscious of we could be conscious of. He's certainly right that many brain processes go on that we're unaware of, and can't be aware of. Let's take visual recognition as an example.

Gait recognition technology, a method to identify people by characteristics shown unconsciously in the ways they walk, is being utilized in criminal investigations in Japan. The technology enables the identification of individuals even from images taken from a distance and low-resolution footage. According to advocates, a video image of only two strides is sufficient to identify a person with a high rate of accuracy, based on arm swings, length of stride and other characteristics. Researchers are working to improve the accuracy of the technology with the use of artificial intelligence. In a brazen daytime attack in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district in April 2017, a man was robbed of some ¥40 million on a street after he had converted gold into cash.

Mothers across the globe subconsciously change the tone of their voice when they talk to their baby to help them learn, a new study found. Regardless of the language spoken, all mothers use a universal'motherese' or'baby talk' when they address to their infants, which is an exaggerated and somewhat musical form of speech. While it may sound silly to adults, studies show it plays an important role in language learning, engaging infants' emotions and highlighting the structure of language to help babies decode the puzzle of syllables and sentences. Now Princeton University researchers have found another unique feature of the way mothers talk to their babies, claiming they shift the timbre of their voice in a specific way. A mother shifts the timbre, which is defined as the quality of a sound, in her voice so her newborn can recognize and pay attention to her from birth, the researchers explained, adding that the same could be true for fathers.