Writing for The Boston Globe, members of the Media Lab’s Scalable Cooperation research group argue that independent oversight is needed to ensure that new AI technologies are developed in an ethical manner. “AI is the new framework of our lives,” they write. “We need to ensure it’s a safe, human-positive framework, from top to bottom.”
Prof. Julie Shah and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speak with Miles O’Brien of the PBS NewsHour about how robots can be used to augment human capabilities in the workplace. Shah explains that she is developing technology that enables robots to “integrate and work effectively with the person, so that they can accomplish the task together.”
Boston Globe reporter Katie Johnston speaks with several MIT researchers about their work developing technology that is aimed at improving collaboration between humans and robots. Prof. Julie Shah notes that offloading easier decisions onto a machine “would allow people to focus on the parts of job that truly require human judgment and experience.”
CSAIL researchers have developed a technique that makes it possible to create 3-D motion sculptures from 2-D video, reports Jennifer Kite-Powell for Forbes. The new technique could “open up the possibility to study social disorders, interpersonal interactions and team dynamics,” Kite-Powell explains.
BBC Click reports on a system developed by CSAIL researchers that creates 3-D motion sculptures based off of 2-D video. The technique, say the researchers, “could help dancers and athletes learn more about how they move.”
Writing for Forbes, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, examines the increasing influence of AI in our lives. Coughlin concludes that in the absence of a human alternative, brief interactions could change our perception of an AI system from “a simple tool that ‘does stuff’ around the house, to a presence that is a real part of our social self.”
CNBC reporter Catherine Clifford writes that MIT researchers have started a project to spotlight creative collaborations between humans and machines. Postdoctoral associate Pinar Yanardag explains that the project is aimed at showing the public that “we can work together with AI to achieve the most creative and productive outcomes.”
Fast Company reporter Steven Melendez writes that CSAIL researchers have created a new system that allows a robot to detect human brainwave patterns so it knows when it made a mistake. Melendez explains that, “Teaching robots to understand human nonverbal cues and signals could make them safer and more efficient at working with people.”
CNBC reporter Lora Kolodny writes about Spyce kitchen, an MIT startup that uses both humans and robots to make what it calls “complex meals.” “Spyce has a stated goal of not replacing human chefs, explains Kolodny, “but helping them work faster, and make delicious meals more consistently, in its restaurants.”
Visiting Lecturer Irving Wladawsky-Berger writes about Prof. Thomas Malone’s book, Superminds, which examines how machines are becoming increasingly able to complement human intelligence. Wladawsky-Berger writes that Malone shows how, “humans can supply the general intelligence and whatever other skills machines don’t have, and machines can supply the vast information, computational power and other specialized capabilities that people don’t have.”
CBC News’ Anna Maria Tremonti explores a new study by MIT researchers that examines how children interact with AI toys. The study shows, “how children can develop emotional ties with the robots, which was cause for concern for the MIT researcher,” Tremonti explains.
Graduate student Carrie Cai speaks with BBC News reporter Gareth Mitchell about a tool named “WaitSuite” that can help users learn a foreign language during idle moments. Cai explains that WaitSuite, “might detect that you are waiting for WiFi and alert you to the fact that there is a word you could be learning.”
CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to correct their mistakes based on input from the brainwaves of human operators, reports Wired’s Matt Simon. “It’s a new way of controlling the robot,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus, “in the sense that we aim to have the robot adapt to what the human would like to do.”
Anthony Cuthbertson of Newsweek writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to change their actions based on feedback from the brain waves of a human operator. “Imagine robots or smartphones that could immediately correct themselves when you realize they’re making a mistake,” says PhD candidate Joseph DelPreto.
CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to detect brain signals generated by human operators, writes Oscar Williams of Huffington Post. The researchers hope the new system could “pave the way for more seamless interactions between robots and humans.”