Gartner on smart machines: “Futurist fantasy” or future job menace?

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One of the hot topics at this week's Gartner Symposium/ITExpo is the future impact of smart machines that exploit machine learning and deep-learning algorithms to let them behave autonomously and can adapt to their environment.

One of the hot buttons with such machines is that they "can enhance processes and decision making, but could also remove the need for humans in the process and decision effort. CIOs will see this as a means of delivering greater efficiency, but will have to balance between the active human workforce and the cold efficiency of machines that can learn," Gartner analysts said.

[IN THE NEWS: Vinyl records fight digital death]

Still 60% of CEOs believe that the emergence of smart machines capable of absorbing millions of middle-class jobs within 15 years is a "futurist fantasy," according to Gartner's 2013 CEO survey. However, Gartner predicts that smart machines will have widespread and deep business impact within only seven years through 2020.

Gartner believes that the capability and reliability of smart machines will dramatically increase through 2020 to the point where they will have a major impact on business and IT functions. The impact will be such that firms that have not begun to develop programs and policies for a "digital workforce" by 2015 will not perform in the top quartile for productivity and operating profit margin improvement in their industry by 2020. As a direct result, the careers of CIOs who do not begin to champion digital workforce initiatives with their peers in the C-suite by 2015 will be cut short by 2023.

"The bottom line is that many CEOs are missing what could quickly develop to be the most significant technology shift of this decade," said Kenneth Brant, research director at Gartner, in a statement.

There is already a multifaceted marketplace for engineering a 'digital workforce,' backed by major players on both the supply and demand side. This marketplace comprises intelligent agents, virtual reality assistants, expert systems and embedded software to make traditional machines 'smart' in a very specialized way, plus a new generation of low-cost and easy-to-train robots and purpose-built automated machines that could significantly devalue and/or displace millions of humans in the workforce, Brant continued.

"The supply side of the market - including IBM, GE, Google, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon - is placing large bets on the success of smart machines, while the demand side includes high-profile first movers that will trigger an 'arms race' for acquiring and/or developing smart machines," Brant added.

While Gartner research asserts that smart machines will have widespread and deep impact through 2020, we also recognize there are significant impediments in the business, political, economic, social and technology spheres that must be overcome and these include

Some other interesting smart machine observations from the Gartner analysts include:

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Gartner on smart machines: “Futurist fantasy” or future job menace?

Alex Jones Legalize Freedom Rant — Obamacare is GREAT for Insurance Company Profits! – Video

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Alex Jones Legalize Freedom Rant -- Obamacare is GREAT for Insurance Company Profits!
Affordable Healthcare Act. Newspeak is here. It costs more and you get less, that #39;s affordable! The Libtards are going to take it in the shorts and will say ...

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Alex Jones Legalize Freedom Rant -- Obamacare is GREAT for Insurance Company Profits! - Video

Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale|Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag [SCAN] – Video

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Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale|Assassin #39;s Creed 4 Black Flag [SCAN]
Born a slave, Adewale found freedom as a pirate aboard Edward Kenway #39;s ship, the Jackdaw. 15 years later, Adewale has become a trained Assassin who finds him...

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Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale|Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag [SCAN] - Video

Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale|Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag [NOR] – Video

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Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale|Assassin #39;s Creed 4 Black Flag [NOR]
Born a slave, Adewale found freedom as a pirate aboard Edward Kenway #39;s ship, the Jackdaw. 15 years later, Adewale has become a trained Assassin who finds him...

By: ubisoft

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Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale|Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag [NOR] - Video

Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag – Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale 1080p – Video

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Assassin #39;s Creed 4 Black Flag - Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale 1080p
Born a slave, Adewale found freedom as a pirate aboard Edward Kenway #39;s ship, the Jackdaw. 15 years later, Adewale has become a trained Assassin who finds him...

By: Rohith Kumar

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Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag - Freedom Cry DLC Trailer Featuring Adewale 1080p - Video

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite | Episode 54 | High Rank Gravios | Red Lagoon Bafoon – Video

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Monster Hunter Freedom Unite | Episode 54 | High Rank Gravios | Red Lagoon Bafoon
I #39;m really glad I got this lance Next Episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEc5RGAnPgk Previous Episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCQN_k3VKO0.

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Monster Hunter Freedom Unite | Episode 54 | High Rank Gravios | Red Lagoon Bafoon - Video

Freedom of expression has limits, journalists told

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by Karen Bong, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on October 12, 2013, Saturday

KUCHING: Journalists should always write with accuracy, impartiality and without fear and favour.

Freedom of speech must be accompanied with responsibility and conscience as journalists too have responsibilities to the society at large, said Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Minister of Local Government and Community Development.

There must be some limits within us on the freedom of expression. It measures to what extend something is acceptable or otherwise. This is referred to as intellectual responsibility, he said at the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) Sarawak News Reporting Workshop in Mandarin Dinner and Certificate Presentation here on Thursday.

On the need to write accurately, Wong said this was essential as what is written today will be recorded and become part of history.

Noting the great challenges faced by the traditional media with the emergence of the Internet and social media, he said journalists needed to work harder to play their traditional role in disseminating information so as not to be outdone by the online media.

It all boils down on how you can equip yourself to compete with the Internet media.

Wong said the news media is often regarded as the fourth branch, or `fourth estate, of the government, apart from the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

It is generally regarded as such based on the perception that the medias role is to act as the custodian of public interest and as a watchdog on the government.

The fourth estate plays a very crucial role in nation building, and also in perpetuating and disseminating not just information but cultural values of our country.

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Freedom of expression has limits, journalists told

Freedom-Woodbridge’s Kyree Campbell is making a name for himself

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Ohio State called Tuesday. Alabama dropped by after he jumped out on tape. Theres no doubt that a Cardinal District defensive end is turning heads.

And no, were not talking about DaShawn Hand.

Video

Host B.J. Koubaroulis runs through the top plays from the weekend of football in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.

Video

Gaithersburg's Solomon Vault, a Northwestern recruit, is steadily recovering from a nearly catastrophic knee injury suffered against Clarksburg.

Freedom-Woodbridge sophomore Kyree Campbell enters Fridays tilt against Woodbridge and Hand with nine sacks and three touchdowns two of the scores coming on defense.

Weve kinda got that going on our side of town [with Campbell], that same thing you have with DaShawn Hand, who we respect highly, Eagles Coach Gary Wortham said.

Campbell currently holds oral, non-binding offers from the Buckeyes, Old Dominion, Virginia and Vanderbilt.

Junior defensive end Taureen Carter who missed Freedoms last two games (both losses) due to injury teams up with Campbell to give the Eagles (3-2) a pronounced height advantage on the edge.

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Freedom-Woodbridge’s Kyree Campbell is making a name for himself

Redeeming Eugenics?

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Language Games, Inconsistencies and Principles Washington, D.C., October 10, 2013 (Zenit.org) Denise Hunnell, MD | 0 hits

In vitro fertilization (IVF) fails moral and ethical scrutiny on numerous fronts. It violates natural law by attempting to separate the procreative and unitive natures of human sexuality. It also dehumanizes children by reducing them to commodities manufactured for the benefit and pleasure of adults. This morally objectionable practice descends further into the ethical morass when pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) brings eugenics into the mix. PGD screens the DNA of the laboratory-formed embryos for both desirable and undesirable genetic traits. Embryos whose genetic composition is acceptable are cleared for implantation and eventual birth while the remaining embryos are destroyed. Eugenics used to cleanse a population of those judged genetically inferior would normally be widely condemned.

However, British bioethicists Eve Garrard of the University of Manchester and Stephen Wilkinson of Lancaster University recently published a series of four provocative essays to re-evaluate the ethics of eugenics as applied to assisted reproductive technology. The authors suggest that there are cases where it is both ethical and desirable to select embryos for implantation based on their genetic composition. They acknowledge that most people recoil from anything labeled as eugenics, but through their four essays they seek to demonstrate that arguments can be made in support of eugenics for the common good. It is enlightening to read these essays because they elucidate the most popular justifications used to promote the use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Only when we understand these arguments can we effectively refute them.

Garrard and Wilkinson begin by looking at the language of eugenics. Because of the association of eugenics with the horrors of the Nazi regime, the term has developed a pejorative connotation. The authors suggest the word eugenics is also ambiguous because some only apply it to practices that are coercive or only include procedures that enhance desirable genetic qualities such as athleticism or intelligence. A broader use of the word labels all procedures, whether enhancing positive traits or diminishing negative ones, to be a form of eugenics, and no distinction is made between genetic selection done freely and that done under duress.

Without a common definition, a discussion of the ethics of eugenics is impossible. Therefore, Garrard and Wilkinson propose, attempts to improve the human gene pool, as a neutral and universally acceptable definition. However, with regards to PGD, this definition has a glaring omission. A complete definition of the eugenics of PGD should state, Eugenics is any attempt to improve the human gene pool by destroying those whom others judge to diminish the human gene pool.

By focusing on the embryos selected and glossing over the embryos discarded, Garrard and Wilkinson ignore that PGD is ethically and morally objectionable because it rejects the intrinsic human dignity of every person and deems some human beings as more worthy of life than others.

These essays also assert that by preventing the birth of someone afflicted with a physical or mental disability, the level of suffering in the world is reduced. This argument presupposes that the suffering of an individual is so repugnant that non-existence is preferable to the potential affliction. In fact, Garrard and Wilkinson argue that this defense for PGD does not have to be limited to severe disabilities. They claim the world would be a better place if everyone were healthier and happier, so if it is possible to choose, parents should always elect to have the child who will maximize health and happiness. In truth, this justification for eugenics offers no benefits for the disabled since disabled individuals are destroyed. Instead of offering authentic compassion, eugenics merely shields the strong from having to witness suffering and weakness in others.

The third essay in the series looks at the ethics of choosing a condition like deafness. Current British law forbids knowingly choosing embryos that will be disabled. However, deaf parents often hope for a child that is deaf because they want a child like themselves. The authors endorse this view and argue the law should not preclude such a possibility. This discussion is interesting for two reasons. First, it demonstrates that disability and suffering are in the eyes of the beholder. The decisions about what disabilities make an embryo unfit for life are entirely subjective and arbitrary. Parents with intact hearing may think that a deaf child would be an overwhelming burden while deaf parents view a deaf child as entirely normal. Should the life or death of an individual really be decided based on the whims and prejudices of others? Supporting PGD answers this question in the affirmative.

Another notable aspect of this essay is that it reveals the authors inconsistencies with regards to the personhood of the embryo. Garrard and Wilkinson claim that no harm is done if the embryo with the genes for deafness is implanted and the resulting child is deaf because the alternative is the destruction of this embryo and the non-existence of this particular child. However, Garrard and Wilkinson offer no similar recognition of personhood for the embryos not selected due to other genetic conditions. When the embryo selection results in a healthy child, they see the discarded embryos as nothing more than medical waste instead of as unique individuals whose lives were intentionally cut short.

The final essay addresses the issue of selecting embryos based on sex. The authors claim that if there is no cultural bias to influence the choice of one gender over the other, sex selection should be allowed because it can be assumed that the preferences of some parents for boys will be balanced by those who prefer girls. They also note that in countries like China and India where there is a strong bias for one gender over another, making prenatal sex selection illegal has done little to curb the population imbalance of males and females. While it is true that the legal status of sex-selection PGD may do little to influence the choices parents make when there is societal pressure to prefer one sex over another, the availability of sex-selection PGD reinforces the commodification of children. Parents place their order for a boy or a girl based on personal preferences in much the same way as one orders french fries instead of onion rings in the fast food line. The child is viewed as an acquisition obtained purely for the enhanced happiness of the parent.

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Redeeming Eugenics?