📝 A Half-Baked AI or a Recipe for Success? 📈

AND: Silicon Diplomacy

In today’s Tracker:

  • 🧪 Research highlights: Small Wonders: Johannes Gutenberg University Unveils Swarm Robotics Breakthrough

  • 🚨 Industry news: Amazon's Generative AI: A Silent Echo in the ChatGPT Arena?

  • ⚖️ Policy and regulation: The TTC's Tech-focused Tête-à-Tête in Sweden."

  • 🌐 AI and society: Artificial Ignorance: The Cost of AI's Contextual Blindness

🦗 Small Wonders: Johannes Gutenberg University Unveils Swarm Robotics Breakthrough

Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) investigated the collective behavior of micro-robots, which resembles the swarm behavior of active Brownian particles, using statistical physics principles.

The team utilized small, commercially available robots known as 'walkers' that move due to vibrations transmitted to their minuscule legs.

The results demonstrated that the robots explored their environment faster and endured self-organized sorting when their group's orbital paths were more diverse.

These characteristics could potentially be utilized in load-transporting applications. Researchers anticipate that swarm robotics will provide innovative solutions for micro- and nanoscale tasks, surpassing the limitations of individual robots due to their diminutive size.

🤫 Amazon's Generative AI: A Silent Echo in the ChatGPT Arena?

Critics have voiced concerns about the technology's viability despite Amazon's announcement six weeks earlier of its foray into generative AI, which mirrors ChatGPT's capabilities.

Customers of Amazon's cloud, eager to test the new technology, have been told to wait, fueling rumors that the AI tool may not be completely developed.

Amazon's announcement was deemed unusually vague, and the company's customary practice of showcasing numerous customer testimonials at product launches was conspicuously absent.

In this instance, only one customer, the document-editing startup Coda, was cited, adding to skepticism regarding the totality and robustness of the new AI technology.

🏛️ The TTC's Tech-focused Tête-à-Tête in Sweden

During a two-day meeting in Sweden, senior U.S. and European Union officials are discussing a variety of tech-related issues, including how to deal with China, cooperation on artificial intelligence, and EU concerns regarding Trump-era tariffs and U.S. green subsidies.

As part of the fourth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC), discussions will center on establishing minimum standards for generative AI algorithms, such as ChatGPT, as well as export controls and investment monitoring, which have primarily centered on Russia.

China remains a significant concern, particularly regarding its non-market practices and disinformation. This event coincides with unveiling of the European Commission's "Economic Security Strategy," which is anticipated to include measures to prevent competitors such as China from gaining access to Europe's most sensitive technology.

The EU also seeks cooperation to promote green trade and progress toward an agreement on critical minerals used in electric vehicles, as well as a "green steel" agreement that is crucial to preventing the return of steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

👁️ Artificial Ignorance: The Cost of AI's Contextual Blindness

Shannon Vallor, a professor of data ethics and artificial intelligence, contends in this thought-provoking article that despite the advanced capabilities of AI, it fundamentally lacks human understanding and contextual awareness.

This lack of comprehension, according to Vallor, could contribute to a decline in our intelligence as we interact with these systems more frequently. Using the language-generation program GPT-3 as an illustration, she demonstrates how these AI models produce outputs disconnected from the real world, replicating patterns without proper understanding.

Vallor expands her thesis by describing how AI's lack of understanding can lead to misinterpretations, such as Facebook's algorithm mislabeling contextually important content.

She investigates further the unsettling possibility of individuals adopting an algorithmic mode of thought, resulting in cognitive distortions and a diminished capacity to distinguish between fact and fiction.

The article concludes with a note of caution, cautioning against the risk of becoming more like AI as we continue to interact with these systems, ultimately eroding our uniquely human capacities.

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