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Stephen Hawking warns artificial intelligence could end mankind

Rory Cellan-Jones

December 2, 2014

    “The development of full artificial intelligence (AI) could spell the end of the human race”, said Professor Hawking. His warning came in response to a question about a revamp of the technology he uses to communicate, which involves a basic form of AI. But others are less gloomy about AI’s prospects. The theoretical physicist, who has the motor neurone disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is using a new system developed by Intel to speak. Machine learning experts from the British company Swiftkey were also involved in its creation. Their technology, already employed as a smartphone keyboard app, learns how the professor thinks and suggests the words he might want to use next. Prof Hawking says the primitive forms of AI developed so far have already proved very useful, but he fears the consequences of creating something that can match or surpass humans. “It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate,” he said. “Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”

    But others are less pessimistic. “I believe we will remain in charge of the technology for a decently long time and the potential of it to solve many of the world problems will be realised,” said Rollo Carpenter, creator of Cleverbot. Cleverbot’s software learns from its past conversations, and has gained high scores in the Turing test, fooling a high proportion of people into believing they are talking to a human. Mr Carpenter says we are a long way from having the computing power or developing the algorithms needed to achieve full artificial intelligence, but believes it will come in the next few decades. “We cannot quite know what will happen if a machine exceeds our own intelligence, so we can’t know if we’ll be infinitely helped by it, or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivably destroyed by it,” he says. But he is betting that AI is going to be a positive force.

    Prof Hawking is not alone in fearing for the future. In the short term, there are concerns that clever machines capable of undertaking tasks done by humans until now will swiftly destroy millions of jobs. In the longer term, the technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has warned that AI is “our biggest existential threat”.

   In his BBC interview, Prof Hawking also talks of the benefits and dangers of the internet. He quotes the director of GCHQ’s (Government Communications Headquarters) warning about the net becoming the command centre for terrorists: “More must be done by the internet companies to counter the threat, but the difficulty is to do this without sacrificing freedom and privacy.”

    He has, however, been an enthusiastic early adopter of all kinds of communication technologies and is looking forward to being able to write much faster with his new system. But one aspect of his own tech – his computer generated voice – has not changed in the latest update. Prof Hawking concedes that it’s slightly robotic, but insists he didn’t want a more natural voice. “It has become my trademark, and I wouldn’t change it for a more natural voice with a British accent,” he said. “I’m told that children who need a computer voice, want one like mine.”

(www.bbc.com. Adaptado.)

Refugees in Germany

Cheering crowds greeted the new arrivals and handed out toys and chocolate as they filed off trains and into tents for basic medical checks.

They are then taken by bus to conference centres, school halls and other large spaces that have been pressed into service as temporary housing centres, part of a complex system for managing the influx set up almost overnight. Dieter Reiter said he was surprised at how effectively his city had responded to the crisis. The mayor said: “Of course there are some limits in response to the space we have in Munich but that is not the question I am asking myself.”

“Every day I am asking myself how can we accommodate these people, these refugees, how can we give them a feeling that they are safe here in Munich, here in Germany. I am not really thinking about how many people can we afford and can we take here in Munich. That is not the question,” he told journalists at a news conference.

On Saturday 6,780 people arrived in Munich on trains, many of them from the large group that had set off to walk from Budapest after days stranded at a train station in the Hungarian capital. After a long day’s march, most were picked up by buses and taken to the border, but many arrived exhausted and ill. The city is expecting another 4,000 people to arrive on Sunday. The first 1,200 came in the early hours of the morning, but their trains were diverted straight away to other German cities, including Frankfurt, to ease the pressure on Munich.

There were so many well-wishers at Munich’s station that police had to push back barricades to give those arriving more space, and volunteers were turning away people with clothes to donate away. Many of those at Munich station think maybe Germany should act as a role model for other nations and Robert Bogner, a Munich’s citizen, says: “These people have left enough behind.”

Disponível em: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/06/munich-mayor-i-dont-think-about-numbers-only-refugees-safety. Acesso em: 04/10/2015, às 17h (adaptado).

Refugees in Germany

Cheering crowds greeted the new arrivals and handed out toys and chocolate as they filed off trains and into tents for basic medical checks.

They are then taken by bus to conference centres, school halls and other large spaces that have been pressed into service as temporary housing centres, part of a complex system for managing the influx set up almost overnight. Dieter Reiter said he was surprised at how effectively his city had responded to the crisis. The mayor said: “Of course there are some limits in response to the space we have in Munich but that is not the question I am asking myself.”

“Every day I am asking myself how can we accommodate these people, these refugees, how can we give them a feeling that they are safe here in Munich, here in Germany. I am not really thinking about how many people can we afford and can we take here in Munich. That is not the question,” he told journalists at a news conference.

On Saturday 6,780 people arrived in Munich on trains, many of them from the large group that had set off to walk from Budapest after days stranded at a train station in the Hungarian capital. After a long day’s march, most were picked up by buses and taken to the border, but many arrived exhausted and ill. The city is expecting another 4,000 people to arrive on Sunday. The first 1,200 came in the early hours of the morning, but their trains were diverted straight away to other German cities, including Frankfurt, to ease the pressure on Munich.

There were so many well-wishers at Munich’s station that police had to push back barricades to give those arriving more space, and volunteers were turning away people with clothes to donate away. Many of those at Munich station think maybe Germany should act as a role model for other nations and Robert Bogner, a Munich’s citizen, says: “These people have left enough behind.”

Disponível em: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/06/munich-mayor-i-dont-think-about-numbers-only-refugees-safety. Acesso em: 04/10/2015, às 17h (adaptado).

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Pop songs ‘derogatory about growing old’

March 8, 2016

    Pop songs set a bad example by portraying ageing and old people in a negative light, focusing on dying and physical decline, according to a study in a nursing journal.

    UK researchers trawled the musical archives from the 1930s to the present day for any tracks mentioning old age. The majority - 55 out of 76 songs - focused on “bad” aspects of ageing. The Beatles and Elton John feature on the “negative list”, along with Pulp and The Who.

    Meanwhile, Bob Dylan and John Lennon were commended by the researchers for penning positive lyrics in their respective songs Forever Young and Borrowed Time, with Dusty Springfield mentioned for her version of the Carole King and Gerry Goffin song Goin’ Back.

    Lead researcher Jacinta Kelly, senior lecturer in nursing at Anglia Ruskin University, whose work is published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, says popular music is a powerful tool that can influence behaviour and attitudes, and it should be used responsibly.

    “For example, The Beatles’ When I’m Sixty Four, is generally thought of as an upbeat tune that is quite lighthearted. “But the lyrics ‘when I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greeting, bottle of wine’ are actually questioning whether someone who is old is still loveable, and that’s concerning.”

    Likewise, The Who’s My Generation song has lyrics saying “I hope I die before I get old”, while Pulp’s Help The Aged track asks the listener to give the aged hope and comfort “cos they’re running out of time”. But Dusty Springfield sings that “growing old is no sin” and John Lennon’s song declares “now I am older, ah hah, the future is brighter”.

    The researchers scanned the Music Lyric Database, Songfacts, The Macronium and Absolute Lyrics for English language music texts relating to age and ageing. Then they categorised the songs they found as either “contented and celebrated aged”, “pitiful and petulant pensioners” or “frail and flagging old folks”.

    Ms Kelly said: “The message coming out of the negative songs is that the elderly are frail and a burden. It’s confidencelowering. Music is very pervasive and the message could penetrate. While it may prove an impossible task, as well as an infringement on the freedom of expression, to censor negative portrayals of old age, it is important that awareness is raised and some efforts are made to reduce these negative stereotypes.”

(www.bbc.com. Adaptado.)

Leia o texto para responder à questão.

Pop songs ‘derogatory about growing old’

March 8, 2016

    Pop songs set a bad example by portraying ageing and old people in a negative light, focusing on dying and physical decline, according to a study in a nursing journal.

    UK researchers trawled the musical archives from the 1930s to the present day for any tracks mentioning old age. The majority - 55 out of 76 songs - focused on “bad” aspects of ageing. The Beatles and Elton John feature on the “negative list”, along with Pulp and The Who.

    Meanwhile, Bob Dylan and John Lennon were commended by the researchers for penning positive lyrics in their respective songs Forever Young and Borrowed Time, with Dusty Springfield mentioned for her version of the Carole King and Gerry Goffin song Goin’ Back.

    Lead researcher Jacinta Kelly, senior lecturer in nursing at Anglia Ruskin University, whose work is published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, says popular music is a powerful tool that can influence behaviour and attitudes, and it should be used responsibly.

    “For example, The Beatles’ When I’m Sixty Four, is generally thought of as an upbeat tune that is quite lighthearted. “But the lyrics ‘when I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greeting, bottle of wine’ are actually questioning whether someone who is old is still loveable, and that’s concerning.”

    Likewise, The Who’s My Generation song has lyrics saying “I hope I die before I get old”, while Pulp’s Help The Aged track asks the listener to give the aged hope and comfort “cos they’re running out of time”. But Dusty Springfield sings that “growing old is no sin” and John Lennon’s song declares “now I am older, ah hah, the future is brighter”.

    The researchers scanned the Music Lyric Database, Songfacts, The Macronium and Absolute Lyrics for English language music texts relating to age and ageing. Then they categorised the songs they found as either “contented and celebrated aged”, “pitiful and petulant pensioners” or “frail and flagging old folks”.

    Ms Kelly said: “The message coming out of the negative songs is that the elderly are frail and a burden. It’s confidencelowering. Music is very pervasive and the message could penetrate. While it may prove an impossible task, as well as an infringement on the freedom of expression, to censor negative portrayals of old age, it is important that awareness is raised and some efforts are made to reduce these negative stereotypes.”

(www.bbc.com. Adaptado.)

Leia o texto para responder à questão.

Pop songs ‘derogatory about growing old’

March 8, 2016

    Pop songs set a bad example by portraying ageing and old people in a negative light, focusing on dying and physical decline, according to a study in a nursing journal.

    UK researchers trawled the musical archives from the 1930s to the present day for any tracks mentioning old age. The majority - 55 out of 76 songs - focused on “bad” aspects of ageing. The Beatles and Elton John feature on the “negative list”, along with Pulp and The Who.

    Meanwhile, Bob Dylan and John Lennon were commended by the researchers for penning positive lyrics in their respective songs Forever Young and Borrowed Time, with Dusty Springfield mentioned for her version of the Carole King and Gerry Goffin song Goin’ Back.

    Lead researcher Jacinta Kelly, senior lecturer in nursing at Anglia Ruskin University, whose work is published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, says popular music is a powerful tool that can influence behaviour and attitudes, and it should be used responsibly.

    “For example, The Beatles’ When I’m Sixty Four, is generally thought of as an upbeat tune that is quite lighthearted. “But the lyrics ‘when I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greeting, bottle of wine’ are actually questioning whether someone who is old is still loveable, and that’s concerning.”

    Likewise, The Who’s My Generation song has lyrics saying “I hope I die before I get old”, while Pulp’s Help The Aged track asks the listener to give the aged hope and comfort “cos they’re running out of time”. But Dusty Springfield sings that “growing old is no sin” and John Lennon’s song declares “now I am older, ah hah, the future is brighter”.

    The researchers scanned the Music Lyric Database, Songfacts, The Macronium and Absolute Lyrics for English language music texts relating to age and ageing. Then they categorised the songs they found as either “contented and celebrated aged”, “pitiful and petulant pensioners” or “frail and flagging old folks”.

    Ms Kelly said: “The message coming out of the negative songs is that the elderly are frail and a burden. It’s confidencelowering. Music is very pervasive and the message could penetrate. While it may prove an impossible task, as well as an infringement on the freedom of expression, to censor negative portrayals of old age, it is important that awareness is raised and some efforts are made to reduce these negative stereotypes.”

(www.bbc.com. Adaptado.)