A Case for AI-Automation and Robotics

A Few Notes

For simplicity I will refer to the large umbrella of AI-automation and robotics as AAR, as the former is a mouthful. My definition is inclusive of nascent automation software already available up to sophisticated physical robotics driven by artificial intelligent programs; and everything in-between. 

When discussing AAR, it’s surprisingly easy to go down a rabbit hole of the philosophical implications on society and civilization which can oftentimes paint a dystopian picture. These conversations are important to have, however I am more interested in discussing what I perceive to be near-term implications (5-20 years). Although AAR is a transformative power in the global economy, this post is written from an American perspective.

Finally, this is not an academic paper. It is a personal opinion piece written in my spare time. 

The Revolution

The automation revolution currently underway is referred to as our generation’s industrial revolution; parallels are often drawn between these two disruption events. Drawing these parallels may in fact be inadvertently leading to a dangerous false sense of security whose byproduct is a lack of urgency in developing skills in areas not anticipated to be automated within the next decade.

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A Journalistic Integrity Problem

In our everyday lives we are subjected to an enormous quantity and variety of data via news editorials. We must then interpret this information to develop our greater view of the world and its state.

Casually observing the daily headlines, I have pinpointed a behavior and resulting phenomenon that is most certainly problematic.

Agnostic of subject, an influx of breaking news is being bursted to our mobile phones which come bearing metrics we must then interpret. Theoretically speaking, this should be a straightforward task. What has become problematic is micro-reporting on various metrics and their relative fluctuations, oftentimes referencing nebulous time periods as to create content that provokes consumption where consumption of information should not be applicable.

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Follow the Research, Not your Emotions

There appears to be a level of legitimacy based around fundamentals and investment research whose disintegration seems to be accepted more as each day passes. It is yet another part of an increasingly logic-defying investment environment.

One of the odder narratives that has been actively perpetuated by the legitimate and illegitimate alike is the idea of “buying the dip”, whether referring to crypto, stocks, or even real estate. 

This oftentimes defeats all sense of logic and reasoning. Buying an asset/financial instrument after its sudden price decline with the expectation that it must rise is not an acceptable investment strategy; when an asset suddenly loses value it does not and should not insinuate that it is undervalued. It is certainly possible that it is, but determining that can only be done through quantifiable research.

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The Twitter Saga and Argument Pitfalls

I want to preface this post by emphasizing that, although I respect Elon Musk and his work enormously, I am not a blind cult-follower. I do not spend the majority of my time talking or thinking about him and his next moves; this post is objective.

The Twitter saga currently unfolding has been massively interesting to witness. I spent several hours on Twitter, reading the general reception in regards to the acquisition. This included both notable personalities (verified on Twitter) and general people opining. I’ve consolidated my sample of feedback of those against Elon into a series of three narratives, which I will then dissect.

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Dreams of Next Gen Preventative Healthcare

I stumbled upon an interesting article describing researchers at John Hopkins University who successfully implemented an AI-based approach to predicting the likelihood of cardiac arrest via the analysis of cardiac imagery. It got me thinking:

Our bodies are outputting an absolutely enormous quantity and variety of data that regretfully goes unused. I could speculate that in this data exists critical insights which could be instrumental in indicating an impending heart attack (or other illness) days, weeks, or even months in advance.

Therefore, it is hardware and software limitations which prevent the real-time measurement and analysis of data that could, theoretically, dramatically reduce deaths from a variety of illnesses. It is a limitation that should be our highest priority in terms of healthcare. Real-time collection and real-time analysis of various metrics/processes in our bodies.

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Disclosure

Preface

For most of my life, the topic of UFOs was either something belonging exclusively to Hollywood or visions of the mentally unstable. Today, however, the world is different.

We now have verified, concrete, and tangible data that while the United States government claimed that they did not investigate UFOs, they were simultaneously pumping taxpayer money into classified programs that not only studied UFOs, but also science fiction-like topics including but not limited to invisibility cloaking.

No longer exist within anyone the prerogative to opine that they “do not believe” in UFOs; that ship has sailed. A new ship has arrived bringing with it a reality which must be confronted.

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Pot of Gold

Nothing can ever go wrong while carrying within you a constant and genuine kindness, compassion, and empathy for those around you.

The concept of happiness is a funny one in that we have been taught it is like a pot of gold at the end of rainbow we must search for. Happiness is not something to search for; it is something available now when you rid yourself of all that hinders it.

The fluctuating content of our lives can never open the doors to anything other than fluctuating emotion, as its very nature is one embedded in change. Our high’s and low’s will continue in perpetuity; wisdom derived from experiencing emotional peaks and valleys points towards detaching your state of well-being from that which can never be stable.

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The Humbling of Scientific Research

I stumbled upon an article in the NYTimes: Finding From Particle Research Could Rewrite Known Laws of Physic, which speaks to newly discovered subatomic particle behavior that seems to defy our textbook physics. It immediately struck me as a topic worth speaking to and for good reason:

We have lived through a decade of a dramatic drop in the price of storing vast quantities of data, amidst exponentially more powerful compute; capable of calculations incomprehensible a mere 10 years ago.

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The Fallacy of Reality

| Reality: the quality or state of being real |

Our lives and everything contained within them function on the basis of our conceptualized reality. We make our decisions based upon what is real: what is factual and what is tangible. Our friends, our families, our hopes, our dreams: all based in reality. The great paradox we face, of course, being that what is real is subject to a great degree of relativity.

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The Most Powerful Skill: Storytelling

NEVER PRESENT COMPLEXITY

A few weeks ago, a senior executive at my firm told me a funny story about a meeting he had been attending with several top talent data scientists. This team of data savvy PhDs’ were tasked with answering several business questions by leveraging their technical expertise to develop sophisticated algorithms.

After months of number crunching, the team had come back to present their findings to a panel of the firm’s top decision makers. Slide after slide of statistical models filled with endless numbers and equations were being shown to an audience of business stakeholders eager to understand what decisions they should be making and why. At the conclusion of the meeting, the senior executive walked out and whispered under his breath “What the hell did any of that mean?”

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