Gigaom Minute – June 14

Transcript

• Lisa Yearsley, the former CEO of Cognea, cautions users to be wary of building emotional attachment to chatbots. In a recent article on MIT Technology Review, she warns of possible exploit by profit-seeking companies. She writes, “We need to consciously build systems that work for the benefit of humans and society. They cannot have addiction, clicks, and consumption as their primary goal.” Read more.

• United Nations agencies, AI experts, policymakers, and industrialists convened last week at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. The summit focused on AI’s ability to help with global issues such as poverty, malnutrition, and inequality. Chaesub Lee, an organizer of the event, remarked, “Developing countries may have the most to gain from AI, but also the most to lose if we are not vigilant.” Read more.

• As reported by Stanford Medicine News Center, University researchers have developed an algorithm that sifts through vast data sets to identify genetic pathways for cancer. Addressing 12 different types of cancers, researchers were able to “specify thousands of new complementary genes that could be amenable to drug therapy.” Read more.

• If you grew up watching The Jetsons and just knew you’d one day have your own Rosie the Robot, well that day may have come. Developed by US-based Mayfield Robotics, a robot named Kuri is soon expected to join the family. Living in your home, Kuri can recognize family members by face and voice, understand directions, and respond to human touch. She even reads bedtime stories. Currently in pre-order, Kuri is expected to cost $699. Read more.