MORE SUMMER USE
Hulu has some SciAm vids with Alan Alda that are worth bookmarking here. See below the jump.
The first is on robots at MIT’s media labs. I’ve posted most of the bots here already, but its a good overview of the work they are doing with social robotics. However, at the start of the program Alda unbelievably says
“The problem with most robots is that they tend to be robotic. They know nothing, they aren’t programmed to know. And they do nothing, they aren’t programmed to do. But for many applications where robots could be useful, they need to be more like humans.”
My diss is now titled “Rethinking Machines: why Alan Alda is wrong about everything”
The second vid is Alda again working with some cybernetically enhanced humans, regaining either the rudimentary power to hear or to see. The bit where Alda describes what it is like to hear a human voice with the cochlear implants is terrifying. This is much more of a human interest piece, and I can’t help but feel sorry for early adopters.
