Robot nurses join Texas hospital staff to assist with patient care

 

Aurora Deploys Class 8 Self Driving Trucks On US Public Roads

VERY SCARY: AI bot lays out plans to destroy humanity

Technocracy, Ep. 6 HIGHLIGHTS - Counterfeit Creation: "Social Robots" in...

Robots in Finance Bring New Risks to Stability, Regulators Warn

Robots in Finance Bring New Risks to Stability, Regulators Warn

By
Silla Brush
@sabrushMore stories by Silla Brush

‎November‎ ‎1‎, ‎2017‎ ‎11‎:‎00‎ ‎AM‎ ‎EDT

Financial Stability Board issues paper on AI, machine learning
Firms are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence, FSB says





Robots Are Coming for Jobs on Wall Street

Banks and hedge funds that rely on artificial intelligence threaten to inject risks into the financial system that could exacerbate a future crisis, according to global regulators.

The financial industry’s rush to adopt AI raises the potential that firms will become overly dependent on technologies that herd them toward the same view of risks and could “amplify financial shocks,” according to a study published on Wednesday by the Financial Stability Board, a panel of regulators that includes the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.

“AI and machine learning applications show substantial promise if their specific risks are properly managed,” the FSB said in a report that called for additional monitoring and testing of robotic technologies designed to lessen human involvement. “Taken as a group, universal banks’ vulnerability to systemic shocks may grow if they increasingly depend on similar algorithms or data streams.”

The FSB, headed by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, said that many of the technologies are being designed and tested in a period of low volatility in financial markets, and, as a result, “may not suggest optimal actions in a significant economic downturn or in a financial crisis.”

Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that aims to imbue machines with aspects of reasoning. The term now includes machine learning, which is the ability for computers to learn by ingesting data, and natural language processing -- the ability to read or produce text.

Read More: How to Survive Wall Street’s Robot Revolution

The world’s biggest banks and hedge funds are embracing the tools, driven by the availability of major new sources of data that can be analyzed quickly with computer power and at the same time a desire to cut costs and employment levels. Management consultant Opimas LLC estimated in March that AI would result in a cut of 230,000 workers at financial firms worldwide by 2025, with the hardest hit being 90,000 people in asset management.


Firms are using AI and machine learning to assess the credit quality of borrowers, price insurance contracts, automate interactions with clients and estimate the risk of trading positions, the FSB said. Hedge funds relying purely on AI and machine learning technologies are growing rapidly and have about $10 billion in assets under management, the FSB said, citing an estimate from a unnamed financial firm.

The FSB said technology’s potential to cut costs and drive new profits is even creating an “arms race” among firms to demonstrate their use of AI.

In the process, firms may be relying on a small number of third-party technological developers and services. If those were to fail, the effect would ripple across the wider financial system and contribute to major disruptions at large financial firms at the same time.

“These risks may become more important in the future if AI and machine learning are used for ‘mission-critical’ applications of financial institutions,” the FSB said. “Moreover, advanced optimization techniques and predictable patterns in the behavior of automated trading strategies could be used by insiders or by cyber-criminals to manipulate market prices.”

— With assistance by Edward Robinson

Source

Tech giant is rolling out new robots to replace workers in hotels, airports and supermarkets

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics said Thursday it will showcase three new "concept robots" at next week's consumer electronics show in Las Vegas

A McKinsey report released in November said that up to 800 million workers could be affected globally by automation and the rise of artificial intelligence

Tech companies are testing robots to carry out various tasks that could affect the services industry, which employs nearly 50 percent of the global workforce, according to the International Labour Organization

Saheli Roy Choudhury | @sahelirc

Published 9 Hours Ago Updated 1 Hour Ago CNBC.com

Source: LG
LG launches self driving robots to assist travelers at South Korean airport.


A Korean tech giant on Thursday announced new robots that take aim squarely at the jobs of many services industry workers around the globe.

There have long been predictions that advances in artificial intelligence and automation could end up eliminating millions of jobs over time, and tech companies have been testing robots to carry out a variety of tasks — from working in a pizza parlor to making deliveries that could greatly affect the services industry in the future.

For its part, South Korean giant LG Electronics is the latest company that is planning to sell robots to solve tasks currently completed by humans.

On Thursday, LG said it will showcase three new "concept robots" at the global consumer electronics show, CES, in Las Vegas next week. Those robots are designed for commercial use at hotels, airports and supermarkets, according to the company. An LG spokesman later told CNBC that the robots are still "concept" products and that they are "a long way from ready to go public."

DARPA’s chameleon, shape-changing robot could usher in new age of spying

The Capitol Column | Staff | Sunday, August 19, 2012

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is having a stellar month. Shortly after researchers created a robotic earthworm that can inch its way through small spaces, DARPA announced the development of a color-changing robot which could someday be used in military operations.

Inspired by nature, researchers have created a robotic system that allows soft robots to camouflage themselves against a background such as rocks, grass or dirt. Besides military uses, researchers believe that the “dynamic coloration” system could assist with search and rescue operations and the planning of complex surgeries.

The project, which is being accomplished under DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program, is led by George Whitesides and Stephen Morin at Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

“DARPA is developing a suite of robots that draw inspiration from the ingenuity and efficiency of nature. For defense applications, ingenuity and efficiency are not enough—robotic systems must also be cost effective. This novel robot is a significant advance towards achieving all three goals,” said Gill Pratt, the DARPA program manager for M3, in describing the engineering genius behind the color-changing robot.

Researchers were able to design a color-changing robot by creating narrow channels into the molds through which air and fluids can be pumped. The robot can change color, temperature and glow by sending fluids through the narrow channels and researchers can move the robot through pneumatic pressurization.

“When we began working on soft robots, we were inspired by soft organisms, including octopi and squid,” said Mr. Morin. “One of the fascinating characteristics of these animals is their ability to control their appearance, and that inspired us to take this idea further and explore dynamic coloration. I think the important thing we’ve shown in this paper is that even when using simple systems — in this case we have simple, open-ended micro-channels — you can achieve a great deal in terms of your ability to camouflage an object, or to display where an object is.”

DARPA was so thrilled about the creation of a chameleon-like robot that they created a video of it in use. In a statement posted online, DARPA says that robots of “many shapes and sizes” will be the way of the future for military operations. However, DARPA notes that the costs of robotic technology are usually prohibitive because of the complex technology that goes into making a robot.

DARPA says that in the video above, a color-changing robot moves onto a bed of rocks is pumped full of fluid that matches the color of the rocks. According to researchers, the robot can move at a speed of approximately 40 meters per hour with fluid; without fluid, the robot can move at a speed of approximately 67 meters per hour. Like the robotic earthworm, the robot has the ability to move through small spaces.

According to DARPA, the color-changing robot could cost as little as $100 to make due to the low manufacturing costs associated with the use of molds. By lowering the costs of developing robots, DARPA has opened the door to DOD investment in robotic technology.

Earlier in the month, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the creation of a robotic earthworm made almost entirely of soft materials. Researchers at MIT, Harvard and Seoul National University made the “Meshworm” so resilient that it can be smashed and still inch away, without damage.

The robotic earthworm’s construction quickly raised questions about the future uses of such an invention. Many have speculated that the “Meshworm” could become the U.S. military’s next generation of small, silent spies, as the research was supported by DARPA. In fact, the robot’s ability to travel silently through small spaces makes it an ideal tool for reconnaissance, surveillance, and exploration.

Now that researchers have also developed a color-changing robot, DARPA may have two new candidates for spy school.

Source: http://www.capitolcolumn.com/news/darpas-chameleon-shape-changing-robot-could-usher-in-new-age-of-spying/#ixzz2435qnRuy

.