Artificial Intelligence and Us – La Junta Tribune Democrat

I was introduced to the prospects of Artificial Intelligence in 1968. I was sitting in my car at a drive-in theater watching the blockbuster movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL, the onboard computer, had taken control of the spaceship Discovery and shut down life support for the crew who were in suspended animation for the voyage to Jupiter. Dave, the lone surviving astronaut, was trapped outside, demanding re-entry. HAL’s red cyclops eye stared back at Dave and said calmly and without emotion, “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” In 1968 Artificial Intelligence was science fiction. Today Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reality, and scientists…