Today's Hours:
Critical Theory of AI by
We live in an age of artificial intelligence. Machines think and act in ever more complex ways, making suggestions and decisions on our behalf. While AI might be seen as practical and profitable, issues of data surveillance, algorithmic control, and sexist and racist bias persist. In this rapidly changing landscape, social analysis of AI risks getting scaled down to issues of 'ethics', 'responsibility', and 'fairness'. While these are important issues, they must be addressed not from an 'AI first' perspective, but more thoroughly in terms of power and contention. Approaching artificial intelligence from the often overlooked perspective of critical social theory, this book provides a much-needed intervention on how both old and new theories conceptualize the social consequences of AI. Questions are posed about the ideologies driving AI, the mythologies surrounding AI, and the complex relationship between AI and power. Simon Lindgren provides a way of defining AI as an object of social and political critique, and guides the reader through a set of contentious areas where AI and politics intersect. In relation to these topics, critical theories are drawn upon, both as an argument for and an illustration of how AI can be critiqued. Given the opportunities and challenges of AI, this book is a must-read for students and scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines.
Societal Impacts of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning by
This book goes beyond the current hype of expectations generated by the news on artificial intelligence and machine learning by analyzing realistic expectations for society, its limitations, and possible future scenarios for the use of this technology in our current society. Artificial Intelligence is one of the top topics today and is inflating expectations beyond what the technology can do in the foreseeable future. The future cannot be predicted, but the future of some elements of our society, such as technology, can be estimated. This book merges the modeling of human reasoning with the power of AI technology allowing readers to make more informed decisions about their personal or financial decisions or just being more educated on current technologies. This book presents a model that sketches potential future scenarios based on a discussion of the expectations today, the analysis of the current gap in the literature, and a view of possible futures in terms of technology and use cases. Specifically, this book merges literature on the technology aspects, the sociological impacts, and philosophical aspects.
Good Robot, Bad Robot by
This book explores how robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance human lives but also have unsettling "dark sides." It examines expanding forms of negativity and anxiety about robots, AI, and autonomous vehicles as our human environments are reengineered for intelligent military and security systems and for optimal workplace and domestic operations. It focuses on the impacts of initiatives to make robot interactions more humanlike and less creepy (as with domestic and sex robots). It analyzes the emerging resistances against these entities in the wake of omnipresent AI applications (such as "killer robots" and ubiquitous surveillance). It unpacks efforts by developers to have ethical and social influences on robotics and AI, and confronts the AI hype that is designed to shield the entities from criticism. The book draws from science fiction, dramaturgical, ethical, and legal literatures as well as current research agendas of corporations. Engineers, implementers, and researchers have often encountered users' fears and aggressive actions against intelligent entities, especially in the wake of deaths of humans by robots and autonomous vehicles. The book is an invaluable resource for developers and researchers in the field, as well as curious readers who want to play proactive roles in shaping future technologies.