Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

consciousness

Digitising consciousness: Can machines ever be conscious? Or are they conscious already?

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Consciousness has been described as “the hard problem” by philosopher David Chalmers, and the term has stuck. While it seems rather an unimaginative term, it does point a central truth – scientists and philosophers are finding it very hard to conclusively define it or quantify it in any way.

The fact that consciousness has been identified as a “thing” is probably the greatest achievement so far. Everything else is up for grabs.

Some people say everything has some level of consciousness – from humans to inanimate objects, such as chairs and tables. Others say that only humans can be said to be conscious. [Read more…] about Digitising consciousness: Can machines ever be conscious? Or are they conscious already?

How Realistic is AI in Films?

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Hollywood loves Sci-Fi and artificial intelligence is one of the genre’s most popular themes. Robots, in particular, have played center stage in many Sci-Fi flicks. And they have not always been positioned in a positive light. On the contrary, many such films have depicted dystopias where robots take over the world.

Having virtually no knowledge of AI from any other sources, many have taken these inaccurate depictions of robotics as reality. In fact, according to research by a leading AI authority, Fountech, a quarter of adults in the UK believe that AI might lead to the end of humanity.

So what are the most and least plausible robots in fiction? Here are four depictions of robotics in films that sit at both ends of the scale. [Read more…] about How Realistic is AI in Films?

Video: F&P Robotics boss says he wouldn’t trust the thinking, feeling robots of the future

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The founder and managing director of F&P Robotics says he wouldn’t trust the robots of the future because they will become conscious and capable of taking over the world, and possibly enslaving humans. (See video below.)

The experienced roboticist, who has a background in natural sciences and brain research, says it’s only a matter of time before artificial intelligence-powered robots start thinking about big questions – like, who created the universe and what is the point of humans.

In an interview with RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, recorded at Hannover Messe in Germany (video above), Dr Hansruedi Früh says the only difference between humans and robots, at the moment, is “self-reflection, which only humans and very few animals have”, but robot learning is progressing and that their consciousness is inevitable.  [Read more…] about Video: F&P Robotics boss says he wouldn’t trust the thinking, feeling robots of the future