Uh-oh, a robot just passed the self-awareness test

[PADemD]

Roboticists at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York have built a trio of robots that were put through the classic 'wise men puzzle' test of self-awareness - and one of them passed.

Video at link.

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/uh-oh-this-robot-just-passed-the-self-awareness-test-1299362

[phantom power]

1. Not too shabby

[Mnemosyne]

2. Exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I wish I was surprised, but was inevitable, imo. nt

[PADemD]

4. Have you seen Ex Machina yet?

It became available from Redbox on Tuesday. The movie was really good.


Ex Machina (2015)

Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company's brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test-charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan's latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated--and more deceptive--than the two men could have imagined.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ex_machina/

[Mnemosyne]

6. I am definitely going to watch that! Films that make you think, the best kind.

Thanks for recommending it, PADemD!

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Yes and it had me spellbound throughout.. its not action but cerebral in its dialogue

which asks important questions of consciousness and being.

[hunter]

15. Would you like to hear a story?

In our universe the story doesn't end or begin like Ex Machina.

Time is deep in both directions and Mother Nature has near fifteen billion years experience chewing up and shitting out all the loose ends. She always does it her way. No exceptions. Nobody is special.

There's never been, never will be, any good reason to shoot or stab or lock behind bullet proof glass any smart ass human or AI.

As a human being myself that's one of the more terrifying aspects of reality.

What we humans see as reality, what any of our AI children may see as reality, that reality we perceive, will never be more than a very shallow shifty surface.

The universe is very big, we are very small.

Best to hang on tight and enjoy the ride. We have no other choices in this life but for the party decorations.

I like party decorations with fireworks. Big, mostly safe, but insanely large fireworks.

[PoliticAverse]

3. Are we sure it didn't cheat?... n/t

[Renew Deal]

5. What happens if a robot really doesn't want to be powered off?

Will it defend itself?

[PuraVidaDreamin]

7. Yes, but...

Are they really conscious of their being aware?
Or are they aware of being conscious?

[mindwalker_i]

8. Are we?

It's a dangerous question to ask, because one could make the claim that we're just a bunch of electrical signals moving around synapses - a piece of software, in a sense. Given that chemicals can affect mood to such a great degree, are we really ourselves?

[PuraVidaDreamin]

9. Ah-ha!

So you get wher I'm coming from!

[mindwalker_i]

10. I might

Could just be spurious electrical signals rampaging through my synapses like a herd of wild goats

[dickthegrouch]

11. How they were prevented from speaking matters

If it was by a software switch, a really good device could perform a diagnostic on itself and determine that the software has prevented it from speaking. If the prevention were by cutting a speaker wire, diagnostics could determine that too.
"Hearing itself" doesn't have to be any more than detecting current flowing through the speaker circuit.
Another acid test: Can it still hear itself in a room full other noise makers? Humans are (mostly) remarkably good at separating one voice out of many, machines not so much.

[progressoid]

12. I welcome our future robotic overlords.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. Does it need a vacation?

[Bonobo]

16. It's just a matter of time now! nt