I started writing this post innocently enough just to report on the  newest tech gadgets that are available and have become ‘useful’ in assisting us with our ‘day-to-day’ chores. Those of you who follow tech4boomers know that I pretty much give you the pros and cons of the ‘experts’ advice about new devices.

As I think about these newest, ‘cute’, robotic gadgets, I am reminded about 2001: A Space Odyssey and the famous HAL 9000, the spaceship’s computer, which is capable of speech, speech recognition, automated reasoning,  and a host of other capabilities. For those of you who don’t already know, HAL 9000 malfunctions and decides inappropriately to kill the astronauts!  Yes! It’s a pretty scary film, much more so than vampires, zombies, etc. At least you may be able to handle vampires when the daylight comes.

Have you thought about how much we humans rely more and more on artificial intelligence devices to ‘help’ us out? I don’t know the last time I even looked at a map to get me somewhere, and the truth be told, in most cases if Siri takes me in the wrong direction, I am pretty much lost – LOL.  I started wondering: what are humans doing about paying attention to their increasingly all-purpose uses of  Artificial Intelligence?

♦ CNET has a lot to say about Google Chrome and Amazon Echo with a side by side chart, which compares the two devices. You can also view the videos. Click the source link below.

• Given the surprising success of the Amazon Echo — a smart speaker that responds to your voice commands, plays music, and controls your smart home — competition was inevitable. With Google Home entering the arena, complete with the backing of the company’s ubiquitous search engine, the Echo’s place on top is no longer secure. Source: Google Home vs. Amazon Echo: Alexa takes round 1 – CNET

Click this picture to see more robots available.

♠  In the long term, an important question is what will happen if the quest for strong AI succeeds and an AI system becomes better than humans at all cognitive tasks. Click the Source: Benefits & Risks of Artificial Intelligence – Future of Life Institute

 Black History Month
Celebrates

Mae Carol Jemison … She became the first African-American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992. After medical school and a brief general practice, Jemison served in the Peace Corps from 1985 until 1987, when she was selected by NASA to join the astronaut corps. She resigned from NASA in 1993 to found a company researching the application of technology to daily life. Source: Mae Jemison – Wikipedia