Promotion of Human Values (142)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 1973
On a faraway planet, kidnapped humans under the name of Oms live as an inferior race to the Draggs, giant blue aliens that either keep the Oms as pets or banish them to the wilds to be consumed by extraterrestrial monsters. One of these Oms, Terr, is the pet of Tiwa, and begins to acquire an education through a malfunction of Tiwa’s brain-computer interface, which beams knowledge directly into her head. Terr eventually uses this cutting edge technology to which Oms do not usually have access to spread knowledge to other Oms and begin a revolt.
- Kinolab
- 1973
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 1973
Technology and Educational Inequalities
On a faraway planet, kidnapped humans under the name of Oms live as an inferior race to the Draggs, giant blue aliens that either keep the Oms as pets or banish them to the wilds to be consumed by extraterrestrial monsters. One of these Oms, Terr, is the pet of Tiwa, and begins to acquire an education through a malfunction of Tiwa’s brain-computer interface, which beams knowledge directly into her head. Terr eventually uses this cutting edge technology to which Oms do not usually have access to spread knowledge to other Oms and begin a revolt.
How can access to technology determine the quality of education that a certain person or group receives? How are people with less technological access or fluency somewhat at the mercy of those with more? How can educational technologies be made more equitable?
Fantastic Planet: An Om's Name-
- 15 min
- Kinolab
- 1993
Dinosaurs are an extinct species that are revived and brought into the modern day in Jurassic Park. This is accomplished through a cloning process involving extracting dinosaur DNA from mosquitos preserved in amber, and using computational genomics to create replicants with certain properties, such as breeding only female dinosaurs. Three scientists are sent to audit the park, and all three find problems inherent with the use of technology in attempts to control life itself. Eventually, the park’s founder, John Hammond, admits that his idea to create entertainment out of this dangerous technological revival was a failure, which is seen in action during the subsequent dinosaur attack.
- Kinolab
- 1993
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- 15 min
- Kinolab
- 1993
Technological Revival of the Past
Dinosaurs are an extinct species that are revived and brought into the modern day in Jurassic Park. This is accomplished through a cloning process involving extracting dinosaur DNA from mosquitos preserved in amber, and using computational genomics to create replicants with certain properties, such as breeding only female dinosaurs. Three scientists are sent to audit the park, and all three find problems inherent with the use of technology in attempts to control life itself. Eventually, the park’s founder, John Hammond, admits that his idea to create entertainment out of this dangerous technological revival was a failure, which is seen in action during the subsequent dinosaur attack.
Is using computational genomics to alter the course of nature and natural selection itself inherently wrong? Are there contexts where this may be helpful or necessary? How should technology be used to tell the story of the past, and what limits should exist in this prospect? How can technological idealists like John Hammond be checked before their innovations lead to disaster?
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 1993
Jurassic Park is an under-review theme park where innovator John Hammond has managed to use computational genomics to revive the dinosaurs. The park is managed by a complex security system, involving an internet of things which connects security cameras, other monitors, and defense systems to the computers in the control room. Computer programmer Dennis Nedry, under command of a briber, uses malware to hack the computer systems and steal dinosaur DNA, turning the park into a very hostile environment for the scientists once the safety mechanisms fail.
- Kinolab
- 1993
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 1993
Systems Errors in Entertainment Areas
Jurassic Park is an under-review theme park where innovator John Hammond has managed to use computational genomics to revive the dinosaurs. The park is managed by a complex security system, involving an internet of things which connects security cameras, other monitors, and defense systems to the computers in the control room. Computer programmer Dennis Nedry, under command of a briber, uses malware to hack the computer systems and steal dinosaur DNA, turning the park into a very hostile environment for the scientists once the safety mechanisms fail.
How can workplaces be protected against hacks from someone who works within said workplace? Should safety systems be under the control of a small number of people or computers? Should volatile environments, such as nuclear power plants or dinosaur parks, be trusted with a security system involving a hackable internet of things? What are the alternatives? Is convenience worth the cost in this case?
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- 51 min
- TechCrunch
- 2020
In this podcast, several disability experts discuss the evolving relationship between disabled people, society, and technology. The main point of discussion is the difference between the medical and societal models of disability, and how the medical lens tends to spur technologies with an individual focus on remedying disability, whereas the societal lens could spur technologies that lead to a more accessible world. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning is labelled as inherently “normative” since it is trained on data that comes from a biased society, and therefore is less likely to work in favor of a social group as varied as disabled people. There is a clear need for institutional change in the technology industry to address these problems.
- TechCrunch
- 2020
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- 51 min
- TechCrunch
- 2020
Artificial Intelligence and Disability
In this podcast, several disability experts discuss the evolving relationship between disabled people, society, and technology. The main point of discussion is the difference between the medical and societal models of disability, and how the medical lens tends to spur technologies with an individual focus on remedying disability, whereas the societal lens could spur technologies that lead to a more accessible world. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning is labelled as inherently “normative” since it is trained on data that comes from a biased society, and therefore is less likely to work in favor of a social group as varied as disabled people. There is a clear need for institutional change in the technology industry to address these problems.
What are some problems with injecting even the most unbiased of technologies into a system biased against certain groups, including disabled people? How can developers aim to create technology which can actually put accessibility before profit? How can it be ensured that AI algorithms take into account more than just normative considerations? How can developers be forced to consider the myriad impacts that one technology may have on large heterogeneous communities such as the disabled community?
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- 7 min
- ZDNet
- 2020
Dr. Gary Marcus explains that deep machine learning as it currently exists is not maximizing the potential of AI to collect and process knowledge. He essentially argues that these machine “brains” should have more innate knowledge than they do, similar to how animal brains function in processing an environment. Ideally, this sort of baseline knowledge would be used to collect and process information from “Knowledge graphs,” a semantic web of information available on the internet which can sometimes be hard for an AI to process without translation to machine vocabularies such as RDF.
- ZDNet
- 2020
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- 7 min
- ZDNet
- 2020
Rebooting AI: Deep learning, meet knowledge graphs
Dr. Gary Marcus explains that deep machine learning as it currently exists is not maximizing the potential of AI to collect and process knowledge. He essentially argues that these machine “brains” should have more innate knowledge than they do, similar to how animal brains function in processing an environment. Ideally, this sort of baseline knowledge would be used to collect and process information from “Knowledge graphs,” a semantic web of information available on the internet which can sometimes be hard for an AI to process without translation to machine vocabularies such as RDF.
Does giving a machine similar learning capabilities to humans and animals bring artificial intelligence closer to singularity? Should humans ultimately be in control of what a machine learns? What is problematic about leaving AI less capable of understanding semantic webs?
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
In an imagined future of London, citizens all across the globe are connected to the Feed, a device and network accessed constantly through a brain-computer interface. Tom, the son of the Feed’s creator Lawrence, realizes that his father had deleted some of his childhood memories from the device in his brain, thus Tom has lost all access to them. For further insights into technology and the nature of parent-child relationships, see the narratives “Marie and Sara Parts I and II.”
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Personal Control over Memories
In an imagined future of London, citizens all across the globe are connected to the Feed, a device and network accessed constantly through a brain-computer interface. Tom, the son of the Feed’s creator Lawrence, realizes that his father had deleted some of his childhood memories from the device in his brain, thus Tom has lost all access to them. For further insights into technology and the nature of parent-child relationships, see the narratives “Marie and Sara Parts I and II.”
What rights do parents have over the minds and bodies of their children? Should parents ever be able to alter the memories of their children, even if this is supposedly for their own good? What are the consequences of the externalisation of memory through digital technology? How should children be able to give consent for alterations to technological implants?