By Dr. Lawrence Jones II

Reuters (July 22, 2024) reported that Tesla will have humanoid robots in "low production" for the company's internal use next year, CEO Elon Musk said on Monday, months after he announced a rollout by the end of 2024. The automaker will have the robots "hopefully" in high production for other companies in 2026. Musk, on his social media platform X, said that the Tesla robot, called Optimus Gen 2, would be able to perform tasks in the factory by the end of this year and could be ready for sale as soon as the end of 2025. The name was inspired by "Optimus Prime the fictional character and the protagonist of the Transformers movie franchise.

Technology is moving faster and faster every month and every year. Jones (2024) mentioned earlier this year that artificial intelligence is emerging everywhere, and "general tasks have been programmed with broad human-like cognitive capabilities autonomously engaging on unfamiliar tasks like discerning and making decisions without human guidance. However, the super intelligent task AI "represents a future form of AI where machines could surpass human intelligence across all fields, including creativity, general wisdom, and problem-solving." Tesla put out the first generation of its Optimus robot, dubbed Bumblebee, in September 2022. The company, he predicted, will have "over 1,000, or a few thousand, Optimus robots working at Tesla" in 2025.

Musk just mentioned a couple of days ago (September 20, 2024) that his company's (Tesla) aim is to produce millions of humanoid Optimus Gen 2 and 3 robots and will ramp up production until millions of Optimus across the globe. Musk plans these robots to do countless tasks around your house; you only need to spend $20,000 for your robot. Tesla is confident that it has the most advanced humanoid robot in the world and boasts that the Optimus 3 could be a homemaker, launder your clothes, or even home-school your kids. According to (2024), "Elon has confidently stated multiple times they could truly replace humans in the tedious dangers and repetitive daily chores of life."

Optimus Gen 2 is the second generation of Tesla's humanoid robot. It is designed to be a general-purpose machine that can assist humans in various domains, such as manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and entertainment. Optimus Gen 3 will be able to perform even more complex tasks compared to Optimus Gen 2. Although humanoid robots have been developing for several years by Japan's Honda and Hyundai Motor's Boston Dynamics, "companies are betting on them to meet potential labor shortages and perform repetitive tasks that could be dangerous or tedious such as logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing." Tesla put out the first generation of its Optimus robot, dubbed Bumblebee, in September 2022. 

References:

Jones, L. (June 25, 2024). Our Cultural Fixation of Artificial Intelligence is Becoming Part of Our Lives. The Narrative Matters. St. Louis, MO

Kolodny, L. (June 13, 2024). Elon Musk claims Optimus robots could make Tesla a $25 trillion company more than half the value of the S&P 500 today. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/elon-musk-says-optimus-robots-could-make-tesla-25-trillion-company-.html

Reuters. (July 22, 2024). Tesla to have humanoid robots for internal use next year, Musk says. Tesla to have humanoid robots for internal use next year, Musk says | Reuters

Tesla.(August 25, 2024). The Tesla Bot 2025 Update is HERE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96g2Dap_l3U

Tesla.(December 13, 2023).Optimus Gen 2 | Tesla. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpraXaw7dyc

Tesla.(September 20, 2024). It Happened! Elon Musk Review Everything Tesla Bot Optimus Gen 3 Can Do! Homemaker and Hard Worker!

Photo credit: https://cyberguy.com/future-tech/next-generation-teslas-humanoid-robot-makes-debut/

Tags: A.I., Tesla

By Dr. Lawrence Jones II

What comes to mind when you hear the term artificial intelligence (AI)? Making machines think and act like humans, such as robots? What about using Siri, Alexa, or a Tesla car's autopilot? Well, all of these examples fall under the category of artificial intelligence.

Simplilearn (April 16, 2024) reports that the imagination of artificial intelligence has appeared in science fiction stories, plays, and movies in American culture for nearly 100 years. History, though, documents the term as being coined in 1956. A computer scientist, John McCarthy, coined the term artificial intelligence, but it took time to evolve. Retrospectively, evolution shows that computing power demands had to be based on capabilities, functionalities, and Technologies.

Let's look at a few broad categories of AI that have and will appear in everyday life. From a capability perspective, there is a) Narrow tasks AI, b) General tasks AI, and c) Superintelligent tasks AI. We are bombarded with narrow-task AI daily. People with smartphones, laptop computers, the latest technology vehicles, and online commerce engage in a Narrow Tasks AI, which operates under limited parameters.

General Tasks AI have been programmed with broad human-like cognitive capabilities autonomously engaging on unfamiliar tasks like discerning and making decisions without human guidance. However, the super intelligent task AI "represents a future form of AI where machines could surpass human intelligence across all fields, including creativity, general wisdom, and problem-solving." This sounds like it could be more safe for many people. Simplilearn (April 16, 2024) shares that considering the functionality of AI, it may encompass 1) reactive machines, 2) Limited memory, 3) Theory of the Mind, and 4) Self-aware AI.

Reactive Machines do not store memories or past experiences for future actions. They analyze and respond to different situations. Limited Memory AI systems can make informed and improved decisions by studying the past data collected. Theory of Mind would entail understanding and remembering emotions, beliefs, and needs and making decisions based on those. This type requires the machine to truly understand humans. Self-aware AI is where machines have consciousness, sentience, and self-awareness, but it is still theoretical.

Simplilearn (April 16, 2024) reports that Technologies Machine Learning (ML) AI systems are "capable of self-improvement through experience without direct programming. They concentrate on creating software that can independently learn by accessing and utilizing data." Deep Learning is a subset of machine learning "involving many layers of neural networks. It is used for learning from large amounts of data and is the technology behind voice control" and image recognition.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an AI technology that "enables machines to understand and interpret human language. It's used in chatbots, translation services, and sentiment analysis applications." Robotics is the field that involves designing, constructing, "operating, and using robots and computer systems "to control them, provide sensory feedback, and process information.

Computer Vision technology allows machines to interpret the world visually, and it's used in various applications such as medical image analysis, surveillance, and manufacturing. Expert Systems AI systems answer questions and solve problems in a specific domain of expertise using rule-based systems. There are many types of AI. It is here to stay!

The Narrative Matters!

References:

• Duke University ( What is Artificial Intelligence? | Quick Learner -YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0m6yaGlZh4
• Simplilearn. (April 16, 2024).Types of Artificial Intelligence That You Should Know in 2024 (simplilearn.com)
• Photo credit: https://emarsys.com/learn/blog/real-ai/

Tags: A.I.

By Dr. Lawrence Jones II

Photo credit: CNN

The American Cancer Society (2018) states that while breast cancer is more common in White women, the mortality rate for Black women is higher. The differences may be attributed to poor access to healthcare, screenings, and education. Satarian and Metz (March 6, 2023) report that advancements in artificial intelligence (A.I.) are beginning to deliver breakthroughs in breast cancer screening by detecting the signs that cancer specialists could miss. So far, the technology is showing an impressive ability to spot cancer at least as well as human radiologists, according to early results and radiologists, in what is one of the most promising signs of how A.I. can improve public health.

The country of Hungary, which has one of the most robust breast cancer screening programs, has become one of the most significant testing grounds for the technology on actual patients. In Hungary, at least five hospitals and clinics, according to Satarian and Metz, perform more than 35,000 screenings a year. Their A.I. systems became part of their screening program a few years ago to help to check for signs of cancer that a radiologist may have overlooked. Clinics and hospitals in the United States are also beginning to test or provide data to help develop the systems.

Although the added A.I. screen is potential, additional clinical trials are needed before the systems can be automated as a second reader of breast cancer screens. Ultimately, an A.I. tools must consistently produce accurate results on women of all ages, ethnicities, and body types. And the technology must prove it can cut down on false positives that are not cancerous. Harlow (March 8, 2023) featured a segment where she met with Dr. Larry Norton, the medical director at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, regarding the benefits of using artificial intelligence in breast cancer detection.

Dr. Norton discussed the application of A.I. technology to look at mammograms and identify areas a human radiologist may want to look at more carefully. But, first, Dr. Norton discussed that computer-assisted detection is familiar and has been around for about three decades. Fortunately, technology is continually improving. For example, MIT used artificial intelligence to predict breast cancer; on the left side of your screen, you see an area in a woman’s breast identified as high risk; four years later, cancer developed right, and the point is a doctor’s human eyes might miss lots of abnormalities you can’t call everything cancer cause.

MIT and the Massachusetts General Hospital are collaborating with Memorial Sloan Kettering. Machines can look at previous mammograms and see if there are any changes, and so and so other than a human eye can compare to images. Individual judgments about individual people tests such as contrast-enhanced mammograms, MRI’s, and other tests people sometimes should go for testing to see if they’re carrying an abnormal gene to know if they’re at high risk. The more individualized approach using A.I. may be a plus for screening for women and especially Black women in the future.

References:

American Cancer Society. (2018).https://www.cancer.org/content...

Harlow, P. (March 7, 2023). Images show AI detecting breast cancer 4 years before it developed.https://www.cnn.com/videos/hea...

Satarian, A. and Metz, C. (March 6, 2023). Using A.I. to Detect Breast Cancer That Doctors Miss. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/0...

Tags: A.I.