Robotics
Articles: The Week
in Tech: Are Robots Coming for Your Job? Eventually, Yes.
Steven Lohr reports
that unemployment will increase in the future as technology improves. There are
about two-thirds of Americans who do not have a four-year college degree, which
means they tend to mainly occupy industrial and manufacturing sectors. Eventually,
when mechanical robots occupy every manufacturing plant, laborers and floor
workers will no longer be needed. People tend to compare this phenomenon to the
past when the agriculture industry was taken over by the industrial revolution. Where
the majority of farmers were employed in the manufacturing plants. However, this is
not the case because the skills required to transfer from one industry to the
other was minimal. Now all the employed manufacturing workers will no longer be
able to find another job because they lack the necessary skill set. Without a
college degree, a manufacturing worker can not just start working at Google the
next month. In order to combat unfair job displacement, governments all across
the globe and non-profit organizations are pushing for legislatures are could
benefit average Americans in the future. I think it is necessary more than ever
to push for a lower cost of education. It is one of many issues that stir away potential students and future coders.
3D Printing
Article: 3-D
Printing for Space Exploration
In the near-decade,
companies like SpaceX and NASA will embark on a mission to land man on Mars. It
is an ambitious goal but certainly will take a lot of hard work and ingenuity
to persist. Branch Technology in Chattanooga, Tennessee has developed a 3-D printing
process that could potentially build structures on Mars without any human
involvement. In fact, they have won the 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge organized
by NASA One benefit that I could think of is that it could save years of time
and effort. Imagine if we send 3-D printing robots before any human lands on
Mars. The robots would build all the necessary structures to keep humans safe
and secure years in advance. It could fast-track human colonization in space.
The technology is not just limited to space exploration but it could also prove
beneficial here on Earth. It could cut construction costs and time and even
prove to be a safer alternative. However, this technology is still in its
infancy and we would have to wait a few more years for it to gain any real
momentum.
AI
Articles: Using AI
to improve breast cancer screening
A common way to
detect if someone has breast cancer is by utilizing an exam called digital
mammography. Specialists with years of experience investigate the results of the
exam, in this case, X-ray images and conclude if the signs of breast cancer are
present or not. However, oftentimes the signs do go undetected and produce false-positive results. This is where AI comes in. AI researchers developed a
model and using machine learning, AI got the task of detecting breast cancer.
The more data the AI consumes, the better the accuracy. So far, the AI a 9.4
percent reduction in false-negative but it is bound to improve over the years.
I think there is much more potential in this technology. Breast cancer is not
the only focus, there is a countless illness that could benefit from early
detection. On a broader note, however, the AI, in this case, is narrow. There lies
a treat to humanity when general AI gains traction.
Comments:
Stephen Pettit:
Stephen, you bring
up a good point regarding 3-D printing. It has a lot of potentials when it is
fully developed. I thought it was interesting that you brought up the downside
as well. I agree that 3-D printing that the entire structure is a bit absurd. There
will always be a need for human incorporation when materials and tasks become
complex.
Abigail Kryszan:
You bring up good questions when it comes to the treatment of workers at Amazon warehouses. I
actually know a few people who work at the warehouses. They do not complain much
about the working condition however they do complain about the absurd amount of
stuff people order, from tissue papers to bottled water bottles. However, it
may be the case at other locations of warehouses that are all across the world.
Especially, in underdeveloped countries where the cost of labor is cheap.
Cory:
Cory, I agree with
you on AI. Anything more capable than human intelligence a topic that should
start with trepidation. The creation of general AI can be devastating. If human
input goals that are not beneficial to us, in the end, it could end up hurting
us. Also on a further note, people who argue that we could turn it off using a
switch is an illusion.
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