Learn about why engineers designed a robot that can imagine itself; why the Great Compression was the best time to be alive, financially speaking; and the ups and downs of a rare genetic condition that makes you incredibly loving. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: Engineers Created a Robot That Can Imagine Itself — https://curiosity.im/2DgC8BW Financially Speaking, the Best Time to Be Alive Was During the Great Compression — https://curiosity.im/2Dj6nIl The Rare Genetic Condition That Makes You Incredibly Loving Isn't What It Sounds Like — https://curiosity.im/2DhO5r9 If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about why engineers designed a robot that can imagine itself; why the Great Compression was the best time to be alive, financially speaking; and the ups and downs of a rare genetic condition that makes you incredibly loving.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom
Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/a-new-robot-can-imagine-itself-williams-syndrome-and-the-great-compression
CODY: Hi! We’re here from curiosity-dot-com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about why engineers designed a robot that can imagine itself; why the Great Compression was the best time to be alive, financially speaking; and the ups and downs of a rare genetic condition that makes you incredibly loving.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Engineers Created a Robot That Can Imagine Itself — https://curiosity.im/2DgC8BW (Ashley)
Engineers have created a robot that can essentially imagine itself. In late January, a robot modeled itself without prior knowledge of physics or its shape, and the Columbia researchers behind this believe it’s a necessary next step in AI development. [CODY: THE ROBOTS ARE BECOMING SELF-AWARE / ad lib]
ASHLEY: This is a big deal because a lot of artificial intelligence is what we call narrow AI. That means the AI is trained to do something super-specialized, like a robot that can move boxes around a warehouse, or work in a production line. That kind of AI works great for specific tasks, but it’s kind of like teaching someone to only shoot a basketball from a free-throw line: sure, you’ll be great in free-throw contests, but you’d be hopeless in an actual basketball game. Engineers dream of a future with general AI, where robots can learn and adapt to their surroundings without having to be pre-programmed. The problem with that is that robots have to be hard-coded with a simulator, and it can cost a lot of time and money to program an AI with its own simulator. Remember: a big difference between robots and YOU is how familiar you are with your own body. You probably don’t even think about how handy your mental map of yourself really is. I mean, you can do a lot of things with your eyes closed, and your brain is constantly updating its model of you in case you break a bone or lose weight or grow taller. That kind of mind-body connection is why Columbia engineers wanted to make a robot that could figure itself out. So they created a single robot arm and let it explore. It made a thousand random movements and recorded each one to help itself learn. While the robot moved, it figured out that certain movements in certain orders were impossible. With every success and failure, it learned what it could and couldn’t do. And after about 35 hours, it came up with a model of itself — all on its own. Then, the researchers put it to the test. They had the robot arm pick up small red balls at different places on the ground and put them into a small jar. The robots did this using a closed-loop system, and then using an open-loop system. In the closed-loop system, the robot could recalibrate its original position using its internal model, kind of like watching your own hand as you reach out to touch something. In the open-loop system, it had to completely rely on its internal model with no calibration, which would be like trying to pick up a glass of water wth your eyes closed. The robot had a 100 percent success rate in the closed-loop test, and a 44 percent success rate with the open-loop test. The researchers even 3D-printed a deformed part and installed it on the robot to see if it could adapt to damage. Sure enough, it detected the change, altered its self-model, and kept up with its tasks at about the same level of performance. And joking aside, the researchers really did say this ability is on the path to machine self-awareness. They say it’s a powerful technology, but it should be handled with care.
Financially Speaking, the Best Time to Be Alive Was During the Great Compression — https://curiosity.im/2Dj6nIl (Cody)
We all know about the Great Depression, the severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, starting here in the U.S. It was probably one of the worst times to be alive in the last century, at least financially speaking. But have you heard of the Great COMPRESSION? That was the BEST time to be alive, financially speaking. There’s a fair amount of doom and gloom in the news these days about wealth and income inequality, but we can look to the Great Compression to see a time when the economy was a little more even-keel, and maybe even figure out what’s happened since then. During the Great Compression, the top .01 a percent of income earners in the U.S. — that’s the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent — held just over one percent of the country's wealth. For comparison, in 2015, that same portion of income earners earned more than FIVE percent of the country’s total wealth. The income gap has been growing at an accelerating rate by every major statistical measure and there are no signs that it’ll be stopping any time soon. So why were the 40s, 50s, and 60s so special? Well, there’s a short answer and a long answer. The short answer is “World War 2.” The long answer involves an increase in demand for unskilled labor during and right after the war, newly strengthened unions, and the effects of the wartime taxation rate. American goods also had a premium slot in global markets: everyone had to buy American-made cars, food, and other products because their own economies were destroyed in the war. That “unskilled” labor part I mentioned is key, because the high demand raised the income of the poor and working class. Economists disagree on the main cause of today’s unequal economy, but one clear factor is global manufacturing. These days, the U.S. simply has competition that it didn’t have back then. American workers had a bubble of economic safety back when Europe was recovering from the war, and China was dealing with the upheaval of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. It's hard to say whether we’ll ever return to a Great Compression. But it's good to keep in mind that economies rise and fall with the times. Today's economic climate won't last forever, but since “the times” can be unpredictable, there's no knowing which way the climate will go.
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The Rare Genetic Condition That Makes You Incredibly Loving Isn't What It Sounds Like — https://curiosity.im/2DhO5r9 (Ashley)
For our last story, we’re going to shine a spotlight on a rare genetic condition called Williams syndrome. Imagine being born with a genetic condition that makes you not only friendly, social, and loving, but extraordinarily so. That’s Williams syndrome, which only affects one in ten thousand people worldwide. It might sound like a nice perk to be incredibly loving, but it comes with a few downsides. People with Williams syndrome tend to be incredibly loving and trusting, but they can have plenty of different personalities, just like everyone else. They can be outgoing or shy, positive or grouchy, talkative or quiet. Little kids with the condition are known to run up and hug people they’ve never met, but a lot of them learn to control that behavior as they get older. On the science side of things, the condition is caused by a tiny genetic abnormality: just 26 to 28 genes missing from a single chromosome. Because of this, people with Williams syndrome are believed to have a surplus of oxytocin, sometimes called the love hormone. They also experience abnormal behavior in the amygdala, which is involved in processing social cues. That's why most tend to be extremely social, expressive, polite, and completely unafraid of strangers. The majority also have an intense love of music. According to the Williams Syndrome Association, a lot of parents say children with Williams syndrom bring an unimaginable amount of joy and perspective into their lives. Unfortunately, the condition comes with a slew of medical concerns that can include heart and blood vessel problems, musculoskeletal issues, hypersensitive hearing, and developmental delays. And the challenge in processing social cues can make it hard for them to form lasting friendships. Still, the warmth that comes with the condition is something special. With the right care and support, those children and people like them can live long, happy lives, spreading joy to strangers the rest of us might normally ignore.
CODY: Read about today’s stories and more on curiosity-dot-com!
ASHLEY: Join us again tomorrow for the award-winning Curiosity Daily and we’ll spread some joy in just a few minutes. I’m [NAME] and I’m [NAME]. Stay curious!