Hello and thanks for reading.
I remember asking a high school English teacher one time about why we still read/studied the works of Shakespeare, even hundreds of years later. His response stuck with me …. “Because, genius knows no time barriers, he will always be a genius”.
Now, I am not sure if people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates will be remembered in the year 2400, but it is important to listen to such men when it comes to predictions, as they have already shown the ability to change the world we live. I came across this article from Forbes, where those two, as well as others, shared their thoughts on IoT and Automation.
While I won’t comment on all 19 items, here are some thoughts on some key ones:
If you invent a breakthrough in artificial intelligence, so machines can learn, that is worth 10 Microsofts.” — Bill Gates
While I am not sure that it will be worth THAT much, the idea makes sense. A machine that can learn would replace thousands of workers, be able to make decisions based on billions of variables and would improve the quality of life for all. That would be a valuable company.
“I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, I’d probably say that. So we need to be very careful.” — Elon Musk
In many blogs, I have quoted both the Terminator movies and The Minority report, as both of them show possible examples of how AI and robotics can be used in negative ways against us. While I think we can build in many safeguards, this is something that does worry me, and apparently, Elon Musk.
“As the Internet of things advances, the very notion of a clear dividing line between reality and virtual reality becomes blurred, sometimes in creative ways.” — Geoff Mulgan
Last night, my son and his friend decided to play a game of pool, in my garage. I don’t have a table. They were doing it using AR (Augmented reality) in an open space. Sure, it wasn’t totally lifelike, but imagine where it will be in 5, 10 or 15 years?
“Everything that can be automated will be automated.” — Robert Cannon
There is always the question of “is there demand for a new technology”. Steve Jobs brilliantly showed that the right product can create new demand, so one wonders if some roles that will be automated are simply being done because it can be done. I think we will start with roles that no one wants to do (or there is a lack of supply to meet demand), but it will be interesting to see where it goes from there
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