Human Rights without humans: The final line between artificial and superhuman intelligences | Opinion - The Hill

Photo: Jose Mauricio Gaona

Jose Mauricio Gaona, O’Brien Fellow at the McGill Center for Human Rights (CHRLP), a Saul Hayes Fellow at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, and a Vanier Canada Scholar (Social Sciences, Humanities, and Research Council of Canada SSHRC) asks if we develop a conscious artificial being or a super-intelligent human being, what rights then prevail?

Photo: Getty

Human intelligence precedes civilization; artificial and superhuman intelligences, however, will redefine it. Current research in artificial general intelligence (AGI) and intelligence enhancement (IE) seek to remove human error from their most ambitious technological quests. On the one hand, using evolutionary algorithms, AGI aims to develop a fully automated, increasingly independent, gradually cognitive, and eventually conscious artificial being. On the other hand, using neurotechnology, IE intends to create a super-intelligent and inherently different human being capable to counteract the inexorable ascension of machines in the next few years.

But what is the limit of such scientific enterprises? If we develop a conscious artificial being or a super-intelligent human being, what rights then prevail: human rights, artificial- or superhuman- rights? How far should we go to satisfy our intellectual curiosity, our ability to innovate, or other less noble yet often prevailing reasons such as productivity, greed, or power?...

As MIT Professor Erik Brynjolfssen explains, AI machine learning provides machines with sometimes a million-fold improvement in their performance enabling them to solve problems on their own. That is, outside human supervision, despite human nature and, ergo the risk.
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Source: The Hill

Princeton students take a deep dive into deep learning computing | Campus Life - Princeton University

On Oct. 16-17, some 60 Princeton graduate students and postdocs — along with a handful of undergraduates — explored the most widely used deep learning techniques for computer vision tasks and delved into using new parallel computing programs to dramatically speed up applications, says Melissa Moss, Office of Communications at Princeton University.

Since an early flush of optimism in the 1950s, smaller subsets of artificial intelligence, first machine learning, then deep learning, have created ever larger disruptions.
Photo: courtesy of NVIDIA

The two daylong workshops were led by experts  from the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute and were sponsored by the Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (PICSciE), part of the Princeton Research Computing consortium and co-sponsored by the Center for Statistics and Machine Learning.

Deep learning, perhaps the most rapidly growing branch of machine learning, loosely models itself after the complex and non-linear way the human brain analyzes information and makes predictions. Computer vision programmers realized that, by the age of 3, young children have absorbed information about hundreds of millions of objects they see in the world around them; it’s this vast and varied input of data that trains them to recognize the same object in very different contexts.

“We train an artificial neural network to recognize and classify things in a somewhat similar way,” said NVIDIA solutions architect Brad Palmer. “The algorithm gets better at identifying something the more it sees that object in varied situations.” (A Princeton professor, Kai Li, the Paul M. Wythes and Marcia R. Wythes Professor in Computer Science and an associated faculty with PICSciE, was on the team that created the world’s largest visual database, Imagenet, a crucial training resource for computer vision programmers.)

One attendee of the deep learning workshop was Princeton computer science doctoral student Ksenia Sokolova, who works on a research project with Olga Troyanskaya, professor of computer science and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and an associated faculty with PICSciE. Sokolova said she attended the workshop because of this technology’s potential in genomics research and precision medicine. “I am currently working on a deep learning model that would help us get better insight into the dependencies between mutations in the DNA and diseases the person might have,” she said.
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Source: Princeton University

4 human-caused biases we need to fix for machine learning | Contributors - The Next Web

Glen Ford, Director of Product Management at Alegion argues, Bias is an overloaded word. It has multiple meanings, from mathematics to sewing to machine learning, and as a result it’s easily misinterpreted.

Photo: The Next Web

When people say an AI model is biased, they usually mean that the model is performing badly. But ironically, poor model performance is often caused by various kinds of actual bias in the data or algorithm.

Machine learning algorithms do precisely what they are taught to do and are only as good as their mathematical construction and the data they are trained on. Algorithms that are biased will end up doing things that reflect that bias.

To the extent that we humans build algorithms and train them, human-sourced bias will inevitably creep into AI models. Fortunately, bias, in every sense of the word as it relates to machine learning, is well understood. It can be detected and it can be mitigated — but we need to be on our toes.

There are four distinct types of machine learning bias that we need to be aware of and guard against.
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Source: The Next Web 

Part-time students 'down by more than half' | Family & Education - BBC News

Employers and universities are calling for major changes to student funding in England, to reverse the collapse in part-time student numbers, notes Sean Coughlan, BBC News education correspondent.

Employers say university has to be available for adults wanting to re-train.
Photo: Getty Images 

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says university should not only be for young people, and adults need to be able to re-train for new skills.

Part-time undergraduate numbers have fallen by more than 50% since 2010.

The CBI and Universities UK want more support for students to take short, flexible part-time courses.

A joint statement warns of a generation of "lost learners" who might previously have gone back to study for part-time degrees or other qualifications.

Skills gap 
They are calling for a more flexible system, where students can take shorter courses and with greater support for people who are trying to work and study.

They suggest funding could be drawn from the apprenticeship levy paid by employers.

• Second chance learn: 'No exams but I knew I wasn't thick'
• Theresa May launches review of future of tuition fees
• 'I want to be the first in my family to go to university'

They say the decline in part-time study is a lost opportunity for people wanting to improve their job options - and a problem for employers concerned about a skills gap after Brexit...

Tuition fees barrier 
For the CBI and UUK report, there were interviews with more than 830 people who had considered going on to study part-time, but had decided against it or dropped out.

They were asked what barriers needed to be removed, and 59% wanted cheaper tuition fees, 44% more flexible courses to fit around their other commitments and 37% wanted more support for living costs.

The project's chair, Julie Lydon, vice chancellor of the University of South Wales, said the current system was failing to meet the "significant demand" for a more flexible approach to studying.
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Source: BBC News

Community colleges prepare for TN Reconnect influx | WZTV

Harriet Wallace, one of Nashville’s leading journalists reports, Money is often the top barrier standing between students wanting to further their education, but thanks to Tennessee Reconnect, adults who want to go to college don't have to fit the bill. The program offers a full scholarship. 

Photo: FOX 17 News

“I had no idea what I wanted to do," Megan Roberts, a first semester Tennessee Reconnect student, said. "It was just so expensive to pay for classes.”

Roberts is a wife, mom of a special needs child and a first semester student at Volunteer State Community College in the Tennessee Reconnect program. She’s also pretty lucky. Only 1,500 Reconnect students got accepted at Vol State this fall before classes were full...

Vol State also added extra night classes and faculty. The school will soon add an extra worker in the adult learning center to help new adult students with the transition.

And Vol State is not alone, Nashville State Community College recorded the highest Reconnect enrollment in the state with more than 3,500 students this fall. They added nearly 20 extra positions and expanded online classes. Even with all of the additions, not everyone will be accepted for the spring semester. Classes will fill quickly so a little advice from Roberts...

Spring registration begins Nov. 6 at Vol State.
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Source: WZTV 

Innovation in Digital and Virtual Immersion Will Change The Way We Live | Innovation Excellence

In 1999, the Wachowski siblings released a monument to modern film-making: The Matrix. Stylistically, the world really had never seen anything like it, observes Andrew Heikkila, Tech and Business Writer at Page One Power.  

Photo: Innovation Excellence

However, the movie’s impact wasn’t confined to its entertainment value; the movie centered around metaphysical themes popularly attributed to Western philosophers Plato and Descartes, and reframed them in modern, digital fashion. For many, this was the first legitimate pop-culture representation of not just “virtual reality,” but the concept of full “virtual immersion.”

This isn’t to say that The Matrix was the first, or even the definitive, movie about virtual immersion. Ready Player One and Surrogate both offer their own takes on digital immersion with unique variation. However, there is almost always one constant in tales that explore the digital otherworldliness of an alternate existence, and that’s the focus on negative elements. Of course, the mechanics of a narrative inherently dictate that there must be conflict present somewhere in the yarn — but it’s worth keeping in mind that the idea of virtual immersion, as it creeps from ether to existence, will likely be a multifaceted experience with ups and downs.

The truth is that we’re going to have to become adept at navigating these experiences, because virtual immersion will likely permeate our lives sooner rather than later. That’s assuming our universe isn’t a simulation already!

What we do know for sure is that virtual reality is already here, and the world of “tele-everything” is also becoming more prevalently represented in academics and modern workforce the world over. The innovation and eventual union of these two technologies as they evolve will fundamentally change the human experience via the introduction of true virtual immersion...

Will “Virtual” Ever be as Good as “Reality”? 
We’re currently at a crucial point in the evolution of virtual immersion, because we’re still in need of conviction — not over whether virtual presence and immersion is worth pursuing, but rather that it’s achievable by current standards. We have to ask ourselves, as good as “virtual” is, will it ever be as good as reality? When it comes to telepresence robots and online/distance education, that remains to be seen.

“Even in 100 percent online degree programs, there are some experiences that can’t be simulated,” write the experts at Regis. “For instance, seeking a bachelor’s degree in social work involves experiential learning elements, embedding pupils in workplace roles that give a practical look at the day-to-day requirements of social work.”

This type of virtual presence would need to combine telepresence with virtual reality, but would likely require haptic feedback and a more sensory experience than we are currently able to facilitate. A more simplistic example of this can be found looking at online shopping. 
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Source: Innovation Excellence

Moody Hacks encourages digital innovation, does not require coding experienc | Student Life - UT The Daily Texan

On Nov. 3, the first Moody Hackathon will take over the Belo Center for New Media, the lives of over 250 students and numerous volunteers and the world — well, not quite yet.

Photo: Bixie Mathieu | Daily Texan Staff

The Moody Hackathon began as an idea pitched to the Dallas Morning News in 2016 by the School of Journalism’s Innovation team in order to obtain an innovation endowment. After receiving the funds, the team worked on small projects while beginning to plan for the Hackathon.

Two years later, the event is in its final planning stages. The Hackathon will be the first big event to showcase the forward-thinking, technological side of the department, said Robert Quigley, senior lecturer and innovation director.

“I want people to know that the UT (Journalism) school is an innovative leader,” Quigley said. “The Dallas Morning News has funded something pretty great here, and we’re building something that will become our legacy in a lot of ways.”

Like other Hackathons, the event will last all day and focus on collaboration. What sets it apart is its focus on the media, non-competitive nature and availability to people of all skill sets...

Participation in the event is open to students of all majors, something that Sabrina LeBoeuf, journalism and radio-television-film sophomore and Moody Hackathon employee, said she hopes will encourage collaboration across campus.

“Our dream is to bring together people from different parts of campus to work on one project together,” LeBoeuf said. “We would love to have the impact be students realizing the need for collaboration among your peers and also just helping engage the community for the upcoming election.”
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Source: UT The Daily Texan 

Loyola University New Orleans Launches Urban and Electronic Music Production Degree | Loyola Press Release - Loyola University New Orleans

Loyola University New Orleans inform, One-of-a-Kind Undergraduate Degree Program Honors Culture, History, Music, and Industry Skills of Hip-Hop.

Urban and Electronic Music Production Program at Loyola University New Orleans

Aspiring producers, studio engineers, rap artists, singers, and musicians can now hone essential professional music industry skills through a new Urban and Electronic Music Production undergraduate degree program launching at Loyola University New Orleans in Fall 2019. Taught within the university’s celebrated College of Music and Fine Arts, the bachelor of science degree is the first of its kind in the country and allows students to develop valuable and relevant skill sets in production and performance that translate widely to the ever-changing modern music industry, while mastering the latest technology in the university’s state-of-the-art recording studios and studying with industry professionals in Loyola’s acclaimed Music Industry Studies program.

“It’s been 45 years since the birth of hip-hop, so it’s exciting to finally see academia focusing on the genres at the forefront of modern American pop,” said Lovell “U-P” Cooper, a New Orleans-based and Grammy-award-winning hip-hop producer and Loyola faculty member. “The great thing about this degree is that we make sure that the students not only get involved in performance and being creative with their music, lyric-writing, and productions. We also focus on their business skills and their learning the true business side of the music industry, while giving them a deep understanding of the hip-hop world and its lifestyle, history, and culture.”...

Like the university’s Popular and Commercial Music degree program, the new Urban and Electronic Music Production degree program at Loyola combines music technology, music production, and audio recording classes with courses covering the practices of the modern music business, said Kate Duncan, who currently leads the “PopComm” program at Loyola. Through regular music industry forums, students hear from campus visitors ranging from studio executives to artists...

For more information on the program, click here.
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Source: Loyola University New Orleans

Eye disorder may have helped Da Vinci's art: journal | Other news - Phys.Org

A common eye disorder may help explain Leonardo Da Vinci's talent for three-dimensional representation and the sense of perspective in his mountain landscapes, according to research published in an academic journal, explains Phys.Org.

A study in the JAMA Opthalmology journal suggests a common eye disorder may have helped Leonardo Da Vinci's art.

The study looked at two sculptures, two oil paintings and two drawings by the Renaissance master which it said showed "a consistent exotropic strabismus angle of -10.3 degrees".

Exotropic strabismus is a form of eye misalignment and is the opposite of crossed eyes, or esotropia. A misalignment of 10.3 degrees would be considered a medium level.

People with strabismus often have monocular instead of binocular vision, meaning that both eyes are used separately thereby increasing the field of view and depth perception.

"The presence of exotropia, particularly if it was intermittent, may have contributed to da Vinci's exceptional ability to capture space on the flat canvas," according to the research published in the JAMA Ophthalmology journal this month...

Da Vinci, who lived between 1452 and 1519, was an Italian polymath whose interests ranged from art to engineering and natural science.
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Additional resources 
Evidence That Leonardo da Vinci Had Strabismus. JAMA Ophthalmol. October 18, 2018. DOI: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2018.3833 , https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/article-abstract/2707245

Source: Phys.Org

WATCH: Why your brain actually needs music | Health24

Learning to play a musical instrument challenges your brain in a dynamic way, which is enjoyable and fulfilling, but important for your brain's development, as Health24 reports.

The neuropsychologist Erik Scherder has found that music triggers a system of recompenses in the brain, which activates feelings of happiness. He says the enjoyment of music is a good way of keeping mentally agile.

Listening to music makes us happy, brings smiles to our faces and gets us moving.

Dutch professor of neuropsychology Erik Scherder, says that music is not only beneficial for making on feel better, it also helps with brain development.

According to the Brain and Creativity Institute in California, learning to play a musical instrument induces brain and behavioural changes in children that are not linked to pre-existing biological traits.
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Source: Health24