Essay

About two years ago, a couple of AI-enthusiasts got together, starting a discussion how to promote Central Switzerland as an attractive local AI-Hub.

A principal feature of innovative regions is their capacity to create environments favourable to turning knowledge into new products and services, supported by a  collaborative platform where AI-Experiences can be openly discussed.

Management teams are under pressure as their traditional corporate culture gets disrupted by a new form of collaborative and interdisciplinary leadership

Hence, organisations as well as individuals are challenged to constantly ‘reinvent’ themselves, The mission of  LAC² is to support its members on this endeavour. Hence, become engaged and join LAC²!

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Despite six decades of research,  we still do not have an AI that rivals the cognitive abilities of a human child, let alone one that can think like an adult.

One of the solutions being explored to overcome the limits of AI is based on the concepts of neuro-symbolic systems. According to Joshua Tenenbaum, Professor at MIT, bridging the gap starts with exploring one of the fundamental aspects of intelligence that humans share: intuitive physics and psychology.

Other scientists believe that neural network models will eventually reach the reasoning capabilities they currently lack. In addition, many researchers are engaged in the design of deep learning systems that can perform high-level symbol manipulation without the explicit instruction of human developers.

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The Ukrainian armed conflict and its violation of fundamental international law is causing a human tragedy Europe has not witnessed since World War Two.  It is also obvious that western democratic states and their leaders have failed to recognize Putin’s deception of his growing aggressiveness.

In 1939 John Dollard, a professor at the University of Washington, proposed that aggression was due to frustration, which was described as an unpleasant emotion resulting from any interference that one might encounter achieving his goal.

Hence, Vladimir Putin’s aggression will not end with the Ukrainian abduction and only the future will tell if the economic and social sanctions taken are enough to bring this deadly conflict to an end.

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Cyber-Warfare can be defined as a method of conducting war that includes criminal conduct for destructive purposes. The targets of the actions and their victims are no longer just military or state institutions, but civilians and corporations, with the infrastructures required to support our daily needs.

The combination of new power entities, either supported by the monetary interests of a few High-Tech companies or the application of cyber-warfare serving governmental interests for territorial control, has created a global ‘no-win’ scenario.

One possible way for counteracting this trend is related to the concept of a Digital Magna Carta which complements the provisions of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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There is no exact definition of the metaverse. A virtual reality space for artificial interaction by humans and avatars, combining specialized computer systems, visual interfaces, sensors and software might best describe the potential of its functionality.

A paradigm shift is defined as an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.

Whether the metaverse represents a paradigm shift, one has to contrast its design concept with other scientific achievements related to human behaviour.

The metaverse is a great tool for gaming, education and experimentation, yet lacks the components of a paradigm shift and what the reality of life is all about.

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Getting at questions about the nature of reality is an endeavour that engages the boundaries of neuroscience and fundamental physics.

Philosophers have been trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not in practically all of the world’s great philosophical traditions. The answers are often not that clear and developing philosophical theories is more difficult today as the issues are more complex.

Considering Donald Hoffmann’s scientific view that human perceptions of reality are all illusions or David Chalmer’s philosophical theory that simulation of a virtual world implicates a new reality – we have no choice but to resort to common sense as a reflection point to differentiate reality from virtuality.

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Precision-medicine and its application of nanobots are examples of an exponential trajectory of scientific and technological progress with no limit in sight so far.

Futurist  Ray Kurzweil suggests that neural nanobots could be used to connect the neocortex of the human brain to a synthetic copy in the cloud, empowering individuals to instantly access all stored knowledge accessible by the Internet.

As the data exchanged between the brain and its cloud-replica can be hacked or manipulated, a new chapter of ‘Surveillance Capitalism’ – to use Harvard Professor  Shoshana Zuboff’s terminology – is emerging. According to her, a human revolt is probably needed to stop this trajectory.

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