Unit 4 Documents

This packet includes four documents that will be used throughout Unit 4. Please print
and provide learner with documents before they begin the tutorial.
1. Rise of the Machines from The Week
2. Music Streaming is Here to Stay from The New York Times
3. Sample of A News Article Summary from Gallaudet in the News
4. You might be allergic to penicillin; then, again, you might not from American
College of Allergy

Materials for learner:

Pencil
Highlighter
Articles provided in this
document

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Unit 4 Documents

Rise of the Machines

Computers could achieve superhuman levels of intelligence in this century. Could they
pose a threat to humanity?

Source: The Week 10.18.14

How smart are today's computers?

They can tackle increasingly complex tasks with an almost human-like intelligence.
Microsoft has developed an Xbox game console that can assess a player's mood by
analyzing his or her facial expressions, and in 2011, IBM's Watson supercomputer won
Jeopardy a quiz show that often requires contestants to interpret humorous plays on
words. These developments have brought us closer to the holy grail of computer
science: artificial intelligence, or a machine that's capable of thinking for itself, rather
than just respond to commands. But what happens if computers achieve
"superintelligence" massively outperforming humans not just in science and math but
in artistic creativity and even social skills? Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of
Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford, believes we could be sleepwalking into a
future in which computers are no longer obedient tools but a dominant species with no
interest in the survival of the human race. "Once unsafe superintelligence is developed,"
Bostrom warned, "we can't put it back in the bottle."

When will AI become a reality?

There's a 50 percent chance that we'll create a computer with human-level intelligence
by 2050 and a 90 percent chance we will do so by 2075, according to a survey of AI
experts carried out by Bostrom. The key to AI could be the human brain: If a machine
can emulate the brain's neural networks, it might be capable of its own sentient thought.
With that in mind, tech giants like Google are trying to develop their own "brains"
stacks of coordinated servers running highly advanced software. Meanwhile, Facebook
co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has invested heavily in
Vicarious, a San Franciscobased company that aims to replicate the neocortex, the
part of the brain that governs vision and language and does math. Translate the
neocortex into computer code, and "you have a computer that thinks like a person," said
Vicarious co-founder Scott Phoenix. "Except it doesn't have to eat or sleep."
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Unit 4 Documents

Why is that a threat?

No one knows what will happen when computers become smarter than their creators.
Computer power has doubled every 18 months since 1956, and some AI experts
believe that in the next century, computers will become smart enough to understand
their own designs and improve upon them exponentially. The resulting intelligence gap
between machines and people, Bostrom said, would be akin to the one between
humans and insects. Computer superintelligence could be a boon for the human race,
curing diseases like cancer and AIDS, solving problems that overwhelm humans, and
performing work that would create new wealth and provide more leisure time. But
superintelligence could also be a curse.

What could go wrong?

Computers are designed to solve problems as efficiently as possible. The difficulty
occurs when imperfect humans are factored into their equations. "Suppose we have an
AI whose only goal is to make as many paper clips as possible," Bostrom said. That
thinking machine might rationally decide that wiping out humanity will help it achieve
that goal because humans are the only ones who could switch the machine off,
thereby jeopardizing its paper-clip-making mission. In a hyper-connected world, super
intelligent computers would have many ways to kill humans. They could knock out the
internet-connected electricity grid, poison the water supply, cause havoc at nuclear
power plants, or seize command of the military's remote-controlled drone aircraft or
nuclear missiles. Inventor Elon Musk recently warned that "we need to be super careful
with AI,'' calling it "potentially more dangerous than nukes.''

Is that bleak future inevitable?

Many computer scientists do not think so, and question whether AI is truly achievable.
We're a long way from understanding the processes of our own incredibly complex
brains including the nature of consciousness itself let alone applying that
knowledge to produce a sentient, self-aware machine. And though today's most
powerful computers can use sophisticated algorithms to win chess games and quiz
shows, we're still far short of creating machines with a full set of human skills ones
that could "write poetry and have a conception of right and wrong,"said Ramez Naam, a
lecturer at the Silicon Valleybased Singularity University. That being said, technology
is advancing at lightning speed, and some machines are already capable of making
radical and spontaneous self-improvements. (See below.)

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Unit 4 Documents

What safeguards are in place?

Not many thus far. Google, for one, has created an AI ethics review board that
supposedly will ensure that new technologies are developed safely. Some computer
scientists are calling for the machines to come pre-programmed with ethical guidelines
though developers then would face thorny decisions over what behavior is and isn't
"moral." The fundamental problem, said Danny Hillis, a pioneering supercomputer
designer, is that tech firms are designing ever-more intelligent computers without fully
understanding or even giving much thought to the implications of their inventions.
"We're at that point analogous to when single-celled organisms were turning into multicelled organisms," he said. "We're amoeba, and we can't figure out what the hell this
thing is that we're creating."

When robots learn to lie

In 2009, Swiss researchers carried out a robotic experiment that produced some
unexpected results. Hundreds of robots were placed in arenas and programmed to look
for a "food source," in this case a light-colored ring. The robots were able to
communicate with one another and were instructed to direct their fellow machines to the
food by emitting a blue light. But as the experiment went on, researchers noticed that
the machines were evolving to become more secretive and deceitful: When they found
food, the robots stopped shining their lights and instead began hoarding the resources
even though nothing in their original programming commanded them to do so. The
implication is that the machines learned "self-preservation," said Louis Del Monte,
author of The Artificial Intelligence Revolution. "Whether or not they're conscious is a
moot point."

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Unit 4 Documents

Music Streaming Is Here to Stay

Olufunmilayo B. Arewa is a professor of law at the University of California Irvine.

UPDATED NOVEMBER 7, 2014, 10:33 AM
The transition to streaming may give the music industry an opportunity to respond to
changing consumer preferences more quickly than with digital downloads. The industry
fought a futile war against digital downloads. The lesson should have been clear:
Businesses ignore consumers at their own peril.
As the recording industry learned when digital downloads became pervasive,
businesses that ignore consumers do so at their own peril.
As CD sales languished and digital downloads took hold, the instinctive reaction of
many industry incumbents was first to ignore downloads and then to attack their own
customers, including with thousands of copyright lawsuits. During that time,
unauthorized and uncompensated uses flourished, and business models that embraced
digital downloads (such as Apples iTunes) thrived.
But even Apple has reported declining iTunes sales. Apples recent purchase of Beats,
which has a subscription music streaming service, for $3 billion reflects the increasing
importance of streaming.
Continued engagement with streaming is the best way to ensure future revenue
streams for artists. The choice for many musicians today is between streaming
revenues or unauthorized uses that pay nothing. No amount of copyright enforcement,
attempts to restrict or control consumer access to music, or nostalgia for the pricing
power of the past are likely to fundamentally alter this.
Taylor Swifts decision to leave Spotify reflects a focus on short-term benefits: increased
album sales because her fans may be forced to buy her music or use other streaming
services. This decision may also reflect her belief that artists and labels should be able
to set price points for albums. Although this strategy will likely work well for her, it should
not become the dominant response to streaming if lessons of the past are to shape the
future.

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Unit 4 Documents

Sample of A News Article Summary

The following news article is from Gallaudet in the News, Washington D.C.,
Gallaudet University Office of Public Relations, edited by Evelyn Brewster.

Deaf president named

School yields to protests
WASHINGTON (AP) Gallaudet
University's board of trustees chose
the dean of the school's College of
Arts and Sciences to become the
first deaf president in the 124-year
history of the school for the hearingimpaired.
I. King Jordan, a popular campus
figure, was chosen to replace
Elisabeth Ann Zinser, a hearing
woman who resigned early Friday
after protests from students seeking
a deaf leader had virtually paralyzed
Gallaudet's campus.
School officials also announced that
board of trustees Chairwoman Jane
Bassett Spilman, who came under
fire from protesters for handling of
the crisis, has resigned. She will be
replaced by Philip W. Bravin, one of
four deaf members on the board.

In a clean sweep for student

protesters, Bravin announced that
the board of trustees would form a
task force to study composition of
the board, and institute a plan to
ensure that a majority of the school's
20-member trustees panel is deaf.
There also will be no reprisals
against student protesters, Bravin
said.
News of Jordan's selection was
received with joy on campus. "We
love it. We know now the university
is going to be ours," said Gallaudet
graduate student Paul Singleton,
who is deaf. "He's the perfect
president, the perfect selection."
Jordan, a finalist for the position
when Zinser was selected, stunned
protesters by endorsing Zinser's
presidency at a news conference
Wednesday, but gave protesters an
emotional lift when he retracted his
backing of Zinser the following day.
From The Houston Post
March 14, 1988

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Summary: "Deaf President Named"

by Stu Dent
According to a March 14, 1988 news article in the Houston Post, "Deaf
President Named," the selection of Gallaudet University President I. King
Jordan was a joyous event for the campus community, which had long sought
a deaf university president for the college.
In addition to Jordan's appointment, Gallaudet University Board of Trustees
member Phillip W. Bravin, one of four deaf board members, was selected to
replace Chair Jane Bassett Spilman. Spilman resigned from her position after
criticism from protestors. According to Bravin, the trustees will establish a
committee to ensure that the board has a majority of deaf members. Bravin
also said that none of the demonstrators will be penalized for participating in
the protest.
Jordan had at one point during the protest supported the selection of
Elizabeth Ann Zinser, a hearing woman originally chosen by the Board of
Trustees as Gallaudet University President. However, Jordan reversed his
position the next day in support of the protest

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Unit 4 Documents

You might be allergic to penicillin; then again, you might not

Date:
November 7, 2014
Source:
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI)
Many people have been told, incorrectly, that they're allergic to penicillin, but have not
had allergy testing. These people are often given alternative antibiotics prior to surgery
to ward off infection. But when antibiotic choices are limited due to resistance, treatment
alternatives may be more toxic, more expensive and less effective.
According to two studies presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, people who believe they have a
penicillin allergy would benefit from consultation from an allergist and penicillin allergy
skin testing. Once they know if they are allergic, they can be given appropriate -- and
not more resistant -- treatment prior to surgery. Of the 384 people in the first study who
believed they were allergic to penicillin, 94 percent tested negative for penicillin allergy.
"A large number of people in our study who had a history of penicillin allergy were
actually not allergic," said allergist and ACAAI member Thanai Pongdee, MD, lead study
author. "They may have had an unfavorable response to penicillin at some point in the
past, such as hives or swelling, but they did not demonstrate any evidence of penicillin
allergy at the current time. With that in mind, their doctors prescribed different
medications prior to surgery."
In the second study, 38 people who believed they were allergic to penicillin were given
penicillin skin testing to see if it was possible to help reduce the use of high-cost
antibiotics. Of the 38 people tested, all of them tested negative to an allergy for
penicillin. Once it was known they weren't allergic to penicillin, the medical center was
able to change the medications of 29 of the patients, thereby significantly lowering
prescription costs.
"When you are told you have an allergy to something, it's important to be seen and
tested by an allergist, who has the specialized training needed for accurate diagnosis
and treatment," said allergist James Sublett, ACAAI president-elect. "If you're truly
allergic to a medication, your allergist will counsel you on an appropriate substitute."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by American College of Allergy,
Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Note: Materials may be edited for content and
length.

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