With virtual personal assistants becoming more commonplace, Research Affiliate Jimena Canales suggests in an NPR article that it may be time to reconsider our views of them. Despite knowing that AI is not real, “the boundary between the simulated and the real is as contested as it ever was,” she writes.
Wired reporter Lauren Smiley speaks with a number of MIT experts about the growing use of technology as a home health care aid for the elderly. “I would always prefer the human touch over a robot,” explains Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab. “But if there’s no human available, I would take high tech in lieu of high touch.”
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.
Prof. David Kaiser writes for The New York Times that the LIGO Scientific Collaboration’s successful detections of gravitational waves, for which Prof. Rainer Weiss was awarded a Nobel Prize, underscores the importance of basic scientific research. “By building machines of exquisite sensitivity and training cadres of smart, dedicated young scientists and engineers, we can test our fundamental understanding of nature to unprecedented accuracy.”
Science reporter Gloria Emeagwali reviews Prof. Clapperton Mavhunga’s new book, which examines how Africans have contributed to science throughout history. “Eurocentric assumptions about the history of science and technology, entrepreneurship, epistemology, and scientific methodology are directly challenged in this scholarly collection of essays that masterfully document the historical and contemporary scientific contributions of Africans.”