The poet, Alexander Pope once wrote, “To err is human,” and I’ve never known anyone to dispute him.  That we rely on electronic devices to store our information and keep our calendars is understandable, except we forget they are designed by humans.  To presume they are perfect

I wonder how many apps developers can create that the public will continue to buy. A new one allows Donald Trump supporters to find restaurants where they can feel safe, not from guns, but from a “socialist goon squad.” (“Only In America,” The Week, March 22, 2019, pg. 6.)  

Recently, I got entangled with a company’s phone representative for whom English was a second language. Both her grammar and her accent made communication difficult.  Finally, she brought her supervisor on the line.  His, too, was hard to understand.   “Do you live in the Unit

What I know best about operating my computer is how to type. Still, I dare write about technology because I suspect others will want a heads-up about coming changes in their lives. What would you say, for example, if I announced homo sapiens are approaching a transhuman condition? I�

On several occasions, I’ve blogged about technological advances in robotics and how androids could disrupt our society. What I hadn’t considered was the way large tech companies could become a threat in themselves.  I’m talking about monopolies.  Not the traditional kind, like

Artificial intelligence mirrors the many faces of being human.  Our creations can be vicious and cruel as in The Terminator or curious and compassionate as in Wall-E.  They can destroy our word as in The Matrix,  betray us as in Ex Machina or give us a glimpse of miraculous possibi

I want to pose a question: How can we develop Artificial Intelligence when our own intelligence is questionable; when we can’t agree on standards of behavior or ethical goals; when we  know little about how our brains work; can’t define intelligence and have no idea what consciou

While I admit to worrying about the dark side of robotics, like the loss of jobs for the worker, I rarely imagine a world populated by Terminators bent on destroying mankind. In fact, as writer Charles Taylor points out, robots are likely to improve many aspects of our lives. (“Robo

I don’t need to explore the universe to live in a state of wonder.  Observing the human race is enough for me.  A number of articles  appeared in the December 19th issue of The Week that should convince the likes of Hawking or Einstein that there is more mystery in human behavior

In his new book, Super Intelligence, Nick Bostrom, director of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, issues a warning about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Huffington Post  One of the problems lies with language which can been dangerously ambiguous. Tell a robot its mission is to m