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Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by randcraw on Friday April 26, 2019 @03:19PM (#19760923)
It's not clear to me how this "field" of study is any different from existing academic analyses of automation or computing. AI doesn't change what computers do; it affects only how it's done. The problems inherent in automation are as old as windmills, falling water, and certainly electricity.

Sure, a few modern fields are affected more than others, but improving voice recognition or visual object identification component by 20% doesn't fundamentally change the system using such code to a degree that it warrants a new academic discipline of study.

A new legal field of study on automation makes more sense to me. Algorithmic bias, product or service liability, baseline accountability, the standards of due diligence and safety -- these are rising concerns exacerbated by the recent increase in automation, AI-based or not. But these problems are hardly unique to AI any more than the misdirection of elections was unique to manipulation of digital social media.

I'm also doubtful that meaningful solutions to byproducts of automation by corporations and nations can be meaningfully addressed by a bunch of academic computer scientists.

Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by fromthestart on Friday April 26, 2019 @03:36PM (#19761066)
>AI doesn't change what computers do, if affects only how it's done.

Except AI is very much changing how things are done as well as what computers do. Image recognition, natural language processing, self piloted vehicles, these are all novel applications for machines which carry significant real world risks to life and property.

Moreover, AI in it's current state is a complex black box with unpredictable outputs for given inputs, which may be chaotic - see, for example, adversarial attacks. If we want a better handle on, say, regularizing outputs in a predictable way, or at least a clearer window into the occluded complexity of neural network decision making, a whole new field may very well be warranted. There's a reason we are calling these program outputs behaviors now; it's a new type of loosely -deterministic computing until we develop a deeper understanding which will not be trivial.

Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by drb91 on Friday April 26, 2019 @04:01PM (#19761276)
> Image recognition, natural language processing, self piloted vehicles

Obviously none of these are AI and I don't see how you're helping anything by insinuating they are.

Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by IanCal on Friday April 26, 2019 @05:15PM (#19761800)
These absolutely are AI as far as the term has been used for a significant amount of time. There is no value in trying to redefine it after, what, 70 years?
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by drb91 on Friday April 26, 2019 @05:20PM (#19761837)
> There is no value in trying to redefine it after, what, 70 years?

That implies any meaningful definition to begin with. That is entirely an illusion and people are using this to mislead investors (not that I'll ever shed a tear for them).

Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by IanCal on Friday April 26, 2019 @06:10PM (#19762196)
People absolutely use it usefully, that it can be used as marketing fluff is a far more recent thing. If it's never been used usefully and isn't now, there's no point arguing about it because that war has been lost and if it has been used usefully redefining it makes no sense.

Arguing about definitions is easily one of the least relevant parts of any discussion so I'll leave it here. I just wish AI topics didn't always have someone say it wasn't "real AI".

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Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by IanCal on Friday April 26, 2019 @08:22PM (#19762904)
I'm not really sure what it is you expect to bite me about using a term as almost everyone else has and continues to use it.
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by drb91 on Friday April 26, 2019 @08:41PM (#19762985)
Self respect, I guess.
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by pixl97 on Friday April 26, 2019 @06:01PM (#19762143)
And this folks, is the AI Effect in practice.
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by drb91 on Friday April 26, 2019 @07:27PM (#19762653)
Hey, at least I don't sell snake oil.
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by aricblunk on Saturday April 27, 2019 @01:50AM (#19764019)
Are you sure you aren't conflating AGI with AI? If not, could you define AI?
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by drb91 on Sunday April 28, 2019 @01:28AM (#19769520)
AI is “do you wish you had a slave”. I can’t think of any other definition that fits all the use cases. It’s also more obvious why it’s a snake oil term: slaves are people you can communicate meaningfully with in both directions.
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by dictum on Friday April 26, 2019 @04:30PM (#19761471)
Effective policymaking takes into account both the precise technical terminology and the real-world usage of a concept. Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to tackle any issue for which popular usage doesn't take into account technical nuance, leaving those fields in a lawless limbo.
Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by drb91 on Friday April 26, 2019 @04:38PM (#19761531)
Sure, just make it illegal to say you're selling AI technology. Problem solved. I'm absolutely fine with the use of the term in the context of regulating its abuse.

Real-world usage would imply people use it in a meaningful way. I have yet to see any evidence of this.

Re:Researchers propose a new interdisciplinary subfield call... by jononor on Saturday April 27, 2019 @05:40AM (#19764723)
When electricity first came about, it also 'just changed how things were done', a better way to do what we did with diesel and lamp-oil. But the consequences to society over time were much bigger than just more light...