2016 AAAS Annual Meeting (February 11-15, 2016)

February 10 - 15, 2016

Emergence of Intelligent Machines: Challenges and Opportunities

Advances in information technology continue to transform our society on a global scale. Novel techniques in artificial intelligence (AI), combined with ever-increasing computing power and ubiquitous data, are bringing us closer to the age of intelligent machines. The development of AI technology is accelerating such that a range of transformative innovations now appear likely within the next decade. Examples include self-driving cars, real-time speech-to-speech translation, fully automated image and speech recognition, autonomous robots, and complex decision support systems. These technologies will have a substantial level of both autonomy and intelligence. Several of the world’s most prominent intellectual and technology leaders, including Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, have recently suggested careful consideration of the potential impacts of intelligent machines on human society. This symposium considers this question from a range of perspectives, including machine ethics, human labor and employment, autonomous decision-making, and AI safety, as well as concerns about the potential emergence of superhuman intelligence.