Evaluating Simulations

Before we set out to do a simulation of our own, it is a good idea to see practical examples of applications of simulations and evaluate their effectiveness and implications. Some common fields that have been subjected to modeling and simulation are:
- Weather forecasting
- Stock Exchange
- Genetics and evolution
- Training simulators, excluding Flight Simulators

Working in pairs, your assigned task will be to choose one of these fields and answer the following questions:
Find web sites or direct references to computer simulations within the chosen field.
How complex is the underlying model and on what theory/equations is it based?
To what extent are the above simulations being used for real-life or research/training purposes and why?
Based on the above, what is the reliability and effectiveness of the model and related simulation? (This is the most important question!)

You will be working on this assignment during the second part of the lesson today and the first block on Friday. You should be ready to submit the assignment on Friday.

Simulations and modeling

The next topic that we will be covering involves computer simulations and modeling. The unit will focus on the effectiveness, usefulness, limitations, and (of course!) the social and ethical impact of the increased use of simulations.

We will initially discuss the basics of computer simulations by reading the article on What is Modeling and Simulation from the University of Central Florida.

Some other simple but very complete resources that can serve as reference for the topic are Simulation Models and Analysis, the What is Simulation? tutorial at Simulism as well as the presentation on Introduction to Simulation and Modeling of Queueing Systems. Another important resource is a list of applications of computer simulations that can be found on Table 1(Page 2) of Growing Importance of Modelling and Simulation: Professional and Ethical Implications.

The following video shows some common applications of computer-based simulations:



Towards the end of our lesson today, we will be exploring a tantalizing possibility by reading the New York Times article entitled Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy’s Couch.

AI / Expert Systems Recap

Today, we will recap what we have learned on Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems. Working in pairs, the goal is to develop an open book assessment instrument (test) by using the Test Designer site.

The test must include a total of no less than eight multiple choice, short answer and essay questions, and cover the following keywords and topics:
- AI, Turing test, machine learning, natural language, pattern recognition, expert system, knowledge base, inference engine, heuristics, fuzzy logic, knowledge engineer.
- Roboethics, implications of the evolution of robots and their relations with humans.
- Development of AI engines, construction of a knowledge base.

The assignment consists of the questions themselves and the writing of model correct answers for all of the questions. You will be graded based on
- Coverage of all topics included.
- How well the questions lend themselves to an open book environment and stimulate analysis and learning of the above topics.

The tests, together with their answers, must be submitted to itgs.sass@gmail.com before the end of the lesson today.

Creating a SASS Bot

We will now put into practice some of the principles of Artificial Intelligence.

The objective of this activity is to create a chat bot that features some of the characteristics of a member of our community.

We will go to The Personality Forge and learn how to create a bot by building predefined phrases at the Language Center. Then it will be time to give life to a new bot.

• Form groups of two students each.
• Create an account for the group.
• Come to my desk to get a personality assignment.
• Work on creating a profile for the bot, that is, a series of stetements that define the personality of the bot based on the characteristics of the person assigned. Send it in a Word file to itgs.sass@gmail.com before the end of the lesson.
• Work on your bot during all of next week. You will be assessed on how well the bot responds to the characteristics assigned and how you have incorporated the features available with the AI engine.
• I will check your bot as from the end of next class.

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

A logical next step in the study of Robotics and its ethical and social implications is to focus on the software that makes robots acquire quasi human capabilities. The software that runs robots, as well as other modern technology applications, is based on Artificial Intelligence.

As a primer, we will refer to “What is Artificial Intelligence?” by Stanford University Professor of Computer Science Dr. John McCarthy, one of the pioneers of AI.
We will also be referring briefly to the first Chapter in the book “Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence”, by Robert S. Engelmore and Edward Feigenbaum.

In order to see the possibilities of AI for mainstream gaming applications, we will take a look at Project Milo.

Another short clip illustrates the concept of the Uncanny Valley and its relation to evolution of AI.



Finally, so that you can get some first person interaction with AI bots, we will transfer to The Personality Forge, where you will be chatting with an AI program and try to catch it into betraying itself to be a robot!

Roboethics assignment

Following up on our discussion on Roboethics and what we have learned on the evolution of robots, your assignment is to design a PowerPoint presentation that addresses one of the following statements:

- Robots that create the illusion of feelings and self awareness should be banned because humans become too attached to them.
- Human intelligence will improve by creating robots that extend human capabilities.
- In the near future, man’s best friend will inevitably be a robot.

You can work in groups of 3. Please follow the following directions regarding the completion of your assignment:
- Presentations should include a cover page and not more than five other pages.
- Do not include long texts, rather bullet points and images and / or videos to support your statements.
- Include references that you have used to complete the presentation.

The presentation should be submitted by the end of the lesson to itgs.sass@gmail.com

Roboethics

After our first approach to the subject, we will be analyzing the ethical and social implications associated with the development and evolution of robotics.

Our first step will be to watch two short videos from Georgia Tech University that focus on the evolution of robots:

- Will Robots Replace Humans?
- The Evolution of Robots

Subsequently, we will analyze some of the issues associated with the emerging field of study Roboethics through the following YouTube video:



We will then read Seed Magazine´s very interesting article on The Rise of Roboethics.

And finally, we will be going back to the Tech Museum of Innovation to look at Ethics and Robotics in the 21st Century.