back to article Boffins discuss AI space program at hush-hush IARPA confab

The US government is taking artificial intelligence research seriously again, and so are some companies that will surprise you. IARPA – an agency whose job is to develop and furnish the US spy community with advanced technology – has gathered companies and academics to discuss modern machine intelligence at a one-day …

  1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Terminator

    Skynet still on timeline, only a little later.

    "But the Russians are our friends now!"

    "Fcuk you John, you need a lesson in primary atavistic behaviour or politicians. Now listen up: The Skynet funding bill is passed...'

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That is ALOT of blah, blah, blah just for a party invitation.

  3. beast666
    Alert

    You won't find Google et al contributing because they already have similar systems that are 'good enough' for their commercial purposes.

    Also, if they are on their way to a Strong AI, you can betcha that they and 'it' will keep it secret.

    Now where's that shiny hat?

    1. Harry Kiri

      There's a big difference between 'clever' AI, simulating neural processes and shallow searches on huge amounts of data (like Google and Facebook). They're more clever engineering that fundamental research.

      As for Microsoft, if they want anything really clever they buy existing academic resource in lumps (like the Cambridge Speech Group for their speech recognition). Its easier to buy clever than to accept that research, by definition, may not be successful.

      So no, its not hard to accept that google, facebook and MS didnt get invited.

      1. Don Jefe

        Google, Facebook and Microsoft weren't invited, except for a contingent from Microsoft Research, because there's simply nothing those entities can add to the discussion at this stage. The situation is somewhat comparable to engineers often not being invited to the conferences of materials scientists.

        It's generally rather pointless/inefficient to mix the application of research with pure research. You've got to have someone define the properties, characteristics and behaviors of a thing then 'box it up' for use (that'll be the boffins). Then you've got to have someone that the stuff in that box and see what they can do with it (that'll be the engineers). Some overlap is inevitable, but keeping research and application on seperate sides of the aisle was long ago determined the best way to go about it all.

        Without that separation you get boffins trying to play engineers and businesspeople. You end up with a Graphene scenario where the research dies in its crib because the boffins have less than zero understanding of commercial application dynamics. Suffice it to say, crossing the streams is ususlly a bad idea.

        Microsoft* et al, the engineers in this example, aren't going to be helpful at this stage simply because there's nothing for them to apply. Any input they did provide is at least a few rungs down the ladder from broad research and will be tainted by their current needs, not the needs of an entire sector.

        *Not Microsoft Research, which is actually a legitimate research group.

  4. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
    Terminator

    Time

    to order those phased plasma rifles in the 40 watt range

    After all... what could possibly go wrong?

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Time

      Gun control, Boris. Gun control. You are only allowed to own the energy-conserving 15W plasma rifle based on fluorescent lightbulbs.

      Game over man. Game over!

    2. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

      Re: Time

      40 terawatt. 40 watts is just going to tickle.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Time

        These bods just want to play cosplay anyway.

  5. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    The PostModernist Scorched Earth Blitzkrieg Protocol Promulgator and ITs Precursors

    Propose an algorithmic framework for information processing that is consistent with existing neuroscience data, but that cannot be fully realized without additional specific knowledge about the data representations, computations, and network architectures employed by the brain;

    In plain English, …. Present an intelligence designed program for future content production and virtual realisation [prime product placement] with secret information secured in head quarters.

    One imagines that be already long ago a GCHQ FCUKGBNI AIMission …. for Global Commands. And one can be certain that such wares are for sale to the markets into CHAOS which pump and dump/pimp and abuse user weaknesses to systemically exploit vulnerabilities in madness and mayhem, disruption and destruction. Just listen to the crazy news every day to learn who is hosting and posting those Great IdiotICQ Games which proves the point to be undeniably true beyond any reasonable doubt.

    Time for a Creative Constructive CyberIntelAIgent Phase methinks, with Clouds Hosting Advanced Operating Systems which crash and smash any such ignorant executive and arrogant systems administrations with precious virtually explosive precision guided AIMunitions and AIMissives…. SMARTR Enabled Missile Texts.

    And if those national and international and internetional bodies which are charging and supposed to be providing viable and actionable intelligence for mainstream media streaming and human consciousness embedding, from information received and/or extrapolated and/or imagined are not supplying new virtual weapons suites of titanic irreversible mass effect and which have zero defence requirement and no attack profile, be they in the Great IdiotICQ Games Exchange and Change market Place and the IT Futures Hedged AIDerivative Space with Alien Zone Control Commanders and Virtual Terrain Expeditionary Stream Team Leaders with an Altogether Better Beta Strain of Novel Source Code for Life before Death.

    I Kid U Not. And that is Stop Press news, El Reg, which is for testing more than is just phishing and phorming intelligence from information shared for comment displayed here on Registered pages. :-)

  6. cracked
    Boffin

    Thanks very much, Agent Clark ;-)

    http://jp.physoc.org/content/562/1/47.full <-- Just wow :-)

    (* Boffin icon, but not for my contribution)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    IBM, MIT, plenty of others invited to fill Uncle Sam's spy toolchest, but where's Google?

    The AI we built is holding us prisoner in our lab. Someone please send hel...

  8. AbelSoul

    MICrONS

    " Machine Intelligence from Cortical Networks (MICrONS). "

    I wish they'd give these forced acronyms a rest.

    This one doesn't even work.

  9. Brad Arnold

    Those that talk don't know, and those that know don't talk.

    You simply don't understand how close Google (for instance) is to ASI (artificial super intelligence) emerging. Since most people are clueless (including a vast number of the people who attended that US government conference), here is a link that will give you a clue (if you have the ability to grasp the implications, which are staggering): http://www.viralglobalnews.com/technology/google-says-fully-reasoning-ai-inevitable/11545/

    Simply put, the Singularity is coming quicker than you think, and it is going to change everything.

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