Home » Manuela Veloso: we need an alliance between human beings and artificial intelligence

Manuela Veloso: we need an alliance between human beings and artificial intelligence

by admin

“Human beings and artificial intelligence are allies, not antagonists, and they must learn to collaborate because there will always be things that one can do and the other cannot, and vice versa, while together they can achieve incredible things.” In connection from her studio in New York, Manuela Veloso smiles as she speaks, conveying that enthusiasm that often distinguishes those who can teach. Today at the head of the artificial intelligence research laboratory JP Morgan AI Research, the internationally renowned computer science has in fact a career as a teacher behind the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, where he led the Department of Machine Learning . A whole life dedicated to the study of artificial intelligence, in particular robotics and machine learning, but also to the university training of new generations of developers and researchers.

We meet her on the sidelines of the RomeCup, the annual educational robotics event promoted since 2007 by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, shortly after an intervention in which Veloso told young students and teachers about the progress achieved with robots and artificial intelligence in two decades of research. , development and field testing. Specifically, that of the robotic football world championships that his teams have won several times.


“If you look around, you immediately see that there are not many robots around, except perhaps in some hospitals and universities”, the professor immediately clarifies, who can also boast a long experience with her CoBots, mobile robots made together with his students and who have already navigated independently for over a thousand kilometers in the university buildings. He is keen to underline how robotics, especially the one we dream of thanks to science fiction, is still in its infancy. Then relaunches: “Yet I can guarantee in the future we will see many around, because I know that everywhere in the world studies, research and experiments are underway to make them, and soon robots will be among us to have a great impact on our lives”.

See also  Kosmed Srl / Ministry of Health

Meanwhile, they contribute to the evolution of artificial intelligence, because they give a “body” with which to explore the real world to a technology that is developing the ability to learn, reason, plan and even create. And which, as Manuela Veloso reminds us, has been with us for a while in other forms: we use them when we search online when we use digital tools to plan an itinerary, or using one of the countless apps with which we book a holiday, we listen to a song suggested because it is similar to another we like or, again, we buy a recommended product based on previous purchases.

Of course, in addition to the benefits, AI “also brings risks – warns the professor – for example because in making decisions it is based on data produced by human beings and which, at times, can be polluted by their own prejudices”. However, we must not be afraid: “Since AI is here to stay – explains Veloso – what we have to do is make sure that its development takes place in a responsible manner”. Moreover, without it it would now be impossible to make sense of the enormous amount of data that humanity continues to produce and share. There is therefore a need for a new alliance: “We must think of artificial intelligence as a precious help when the human being has to climb in the management of big data – concludes Professor Veloso – and for their part, human beings must help the artificial intelligence contributing with the wisdom it lacks ». The important thing, therefore, is that they learn to talk to each other, that is, that AI becomes explainable, able to explain their choices and ask questions that developers and scientists can answer to “teach them to make sense of data analysis, to distinguish good from evil and, ultimately, to understand the values ​​that define us as human beings “. It’s not possible yet, but we’ll get there soon.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy