AI in the News - #5

December 1, 2015 | Earl Wajenberg

When to Hand Off (Phys.org)
We have started introducing self-driving cars, but we are very far from perfecting them.  They need to be able to hand control back to the human.  That means questions arise about how to make sure the human doesn't get too distracted to take control nor too irritated to never buy that kind of car again.

AI Propriety in Spades (Phys.org)
One of Jim's Virtues of Personified Systems is "Propriety"—finding the balance between artificial aloofness and simulated familiarity.  This issue reaches some kind of limit (I hope) in the case of sexbots.  Should they be allowed at all? Would it even be possible to prevent them? If allowed, should they be treated as toys or lovers?

Robot Humility (Phys.org)
RoboSAM is an industrial robot (based on the Baxter robot featured in the "No Cute Robots" article two postings ago) that is not too proud to ask for help.