I’ve been thinking a lot about artificial intelligence (AI) lately. And I figured it was apropos to muse on the topic here, as an introduction to our August issue, which will live only as 1s and 0s in the digital landscape, and not printed on paper as usual.
As a recovering neo-Luddite, I’ve come to accept the fact that increasingly savvy robots are already replacing humans in a variety of roles, from manning the assembly line in warehouses and driving trucks to working in the laboratory and (gasp!) reporting the news. I also firmly believe that humanity possesses qualities that are, if not irreplaceable, at least tough to replicate even with the most advanced technology.
For example, I have little difficulty conceiving of some John Snow–bot triangulating the source of a cholera outbreak to a pump handle. Indeed, epidemiology is a field into which AI has already made fruitful incursions. ...
