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NCSA Director Bill Gropp weighs in on the future of AI

Close up of HAL 9000 from a 2001: A Space Odyssey. A red pinpoint of light surrounding by a circle of glass.
2001: A Space Odyssey Wiki

Artificial Intelligence is certainly a hot topic these days. A quick search of “AI news” gave me such headlines as:

There is much talk about AI’s capacity for good and for “evil”. In a virtual Thought Leadership Series installment by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, NCSA Director Bill Gropp offered up some thoughts about this technology that is quickly infiltrating all aspects of life, and gives a shout out to a famous example of evil AI in pop culture, with a U of I origin story. A few highlights:

  • NCSA is utilizing AI in a couple of of important ways: Through the use of DeltaAI, launched recently with the help of a $10 million grant, and through the Center for Artificial Intelligence Innovation, opened in 2019.
  • Currently, there are limitations in using AI due to “challenges that AIs face when confronted with something beyond their training.”
  • Research is critical in understanding these limitations and finding ways to successfully use AI applications

You can read the full article, and all Thought Leadership articles on the NCSA website.

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