Sugar, sugar (1) Wired to love it!

"We seek out energy-dense food like sugar, because the sweet taste signals us lots of calories we need to survive... So we're kind of hard-wired to love sugar."

~Vanessa Hill
BrainCraft
 

Self Driving Cars (3) Enter, The Philosopher

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Enter, the philosopher; center stage, the engineer

A philosopher is perhaps the last person you’d expect to have a hand in designing your next car, but that’s exactly what one expert on self-driving vehicles has in mind.

Chris Gerdes, a professor at Stanford University, leads a research lab that is experimenting with sophisticated hardware and software for automated driving. But together with Patrick Lin, a professor of philosophy at Cal Poly, he is also exploring the ethical dilemmas that may arise when vehicle self-driving is deployed in the real world.

Gerdes and Lin organized a workshop at Stanford earlier this year that brought together philosophers and engineers to discuss the issue.

Reference:  How to Help Self-Driving Cars Make Ethical Decisions.
 

Self Driving Cars (2) Is Tesla Autopilot Flawed?

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So is Tesla positioning itself in a reckless manner?

[C3group president Doug] Newcomb says that Tesla is being “somewhat cavalier” in not fully acknowledging how the technology might be used. “With new technology, people are going to use it in ways that it wasn’t intended,” he says. “But in this case, you’re not talking about smart phone or a computer. You’re talking about a dangerous vehicle.”

Reference:  Drivers Push Tesla’s Autopilot Beyond Its Abilities.
  
More importantly, it sounds like this new Tesla Autopilot is flawed!
 

Self Driving Cars (1) An Ethics-Algorithm Quandary

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The title "Why Self-Driving Cars must be Programmed to Kill" is borderline headline porn, I'd say

The subtitle is better: "Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets. But before they can become widespread, carmakers must solve an impossible ethical dilemma of algorithmic morality."

Then, the article: What do you think?

Note: more thoughts to come!

Reference: Why Self-Driving Cars Must Be Programmed to Kill.
 

The starfish story makes a difference to children

I have always loved the classic story of a little boy who was throwing starfish into the ocean when he was approached by an old man. After observing the boy's actions, and a beach covered with helpless starfish, the man told the boy that he couldn't possibly save all of the starfish and that it didn't "make a difference." The little boy then picked up another starfish and explained: "it makes a difference to this one."

For a long time, I have wanted to depict this inspiring story through photographs. Recently, my wife and I took two of our grandkids to the beach in Southern California, told them about the boy and the starfish, and then watched them act it out in their own magical way.

The following video is the result. If you are inspired by this story, please pass it along and make a difference in someone's life today.

 ~Monte Stiles
 

The starfish story à la Rutger Hauer

Starfish Tango

Rutger Hauer's tender meditation on the starfish story, that Soledad O'Brien alluded to.
 

Soledad O'Brien moved by the starfish story

"We knew we could have a pretty big impact, if we could send a handful of girls to and through college," i.e. in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

References

Starfish Media Group
Starfish Foundation