Question 2 of 21

What is the name of the prediction that the number of transistors incorporated into a processor chip will double every 24 months?

... Moore's Law's, which Gordon Moore explained in 1965, has turned from prediction to reality. The trend of doubling transistors in chips has been going strong for the last several decades. However, it also predicts this trend will slow down around 2020 or a little later.

Question 3 of 21

What company did Gordon Moore, the author of Moore's Law, co-found?

... Goorden Moore co-founded Intel, a technology company that is best known for producing microprocessor chips.

Question 4 of 21

In technological terminology, what is "singularity"?

... As defined by the Singularity Institute, it is the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence.

Question 5 of 21

What does the "event horizon thesis" on singularity, formulated by author Vernor Vinge, predict we will encounter?

... Vinge's event horizon thesis predicts the emergence of a "new reality" of technology with superior intelligence that will bring an end to the era of the human as we know it.

Question 6 of 21

In which novel did Hugo Award-winning author Victor Vinge coin the term "technological singularity?"

... The term "technological singularity" first appeared in Vinge's sci-fi novel Marooned in Realtime.

Question 7 of 21

Who claimed that humankind and its technology were "approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue"?

... John von Neumann was a Hungarian-born mathematician who made enormous contributions to many scientific fields. He, too, expressed awed expectations about the technological singularity.

Question 8 of 21

In the past, artificial intelligence (AI) referred a non-human mechanism like a robot or computer. What has the definition been expanded to include?

... Is that tablet winking at you? Electronic and digital devices, as well as virtual or non-biological/disembodied entities that demonstrate intelligence, can now be said to possess the capability for artificial intelligence.

Question 9 of 21

Roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro is blazing the trail for designing human-look-alike robots. He even made an angry-looking robot version of himself to teach his classes for him. How does he control his evil twin?

... Ishiguro controls his evil twin by using a motion capture system that allows the robot to mimic his movements.

Question 10 of 21

In 1950, mathematician Alan Turing developed the idea of the Turing Test. What was this used to assess?

... The Turing Test was proposed to measure a computer's ability to imitate the thinking of a human being. Whether or not a machine can "think" may be an unanswerable question, but we are able to test whether a computer can sufficiently trick human users into thinking its text-based output is coming from another human.

Question 11 of 21

In its current state, at which of the following does AI (artificial intelligence) excel?

... Artificial intelligence currently excels at formal logic. Deep Blue, the chess-playing computer that beat world chess champion Gary Kasparov, used logic to do it. According to Matt Berlin, AI researcher at MIT, AI falters when making perceptual connections to the real world.

Question 12 of 21

According to author and expert on 21st-century warfare P.W. Singer, which of the following would robots have to possess in order to orchestrate warfare on the human race?

... Dr. Singer points to the fact that robots would need to possess a survival instinct or a "will to power." Most robots in use today, military drones for example, are programmed to prevent human loss by doing dangerous, potentially "fatal" jobs.

Question 13 of 21

The folks at Hanson Robotics are building robots that can track faces and sound to perceive and mimic human facial expressions. What's their reason for doing this?

... Hanson Robotics envisions a world where robots are extensions of human families. To that end, they use facial expressions and movements as a way to teach a robot empathy.

Question 14 of 21

In the short story "Evidence," by Isaac Asimov, a candidate for public office is rumored to be a secret robot. How does the candidate attempt to convince the public that he is human?

... Asimov's fictional politician uses violence against a heckler in a crowd. This violates the Asimov universe's First Law of Robotics: A robot may not harm a human or allow a human to come to harm. Ironically, some have observed that this very quality would make such a robot an ideal leader.

Question 15 of 21

Perhaps a robot takeover won't involve laser eyes, machine guns and getting squished by huge steel feet. In fact, some might say a robot takeover is already underway in this arena.

... While there are robots being built that will act like nannies, and while robots do play important roles in combat situations, robots have already made huge inroads into the world's industrial infrastructure.

Question 16 of 21

Ray Kurzweil, perhaps the best-known futurist and authority on singularity, has his own take on what's to come. He predicts that the rate of growth and change in technology will become exponential. What does he call his law?

... Kurzweil's Law of Accelerating Returns states that changes and growth in technology are exponential. Unlike Moore's Law, which states that exponential technology growth will be followed by a slow-down, Kurzweil's Law predicts technological advances will continue to grow at great speeds in the coming years.

Question 17 of 21

In order to protect humans from rogue robots, what are some researchers advocating?

... Alan Winfield, a professor at the University of West England, has pushed for robots to undergo ethical and clinical trials, similar to the tests done on new drugs.

Question 18 of 21

South Korea's Robot Code of Ethics is laying down the law for human/robot interaction. What is one social problem the code addresses?

... "Robot Love" sounds like a the title to a bad 1980s song, so let's go the dependence route. Part of the Robot Code of Ethics deals with the possibility of human addiction to robot interactions.

Question 19 of 21

Some new robots are coming equipped with this artificial and lifelike skin material.

... Frubber is a skin-like material made from elastic polymer. It enables a robot to make more realistic facial expressions.

Question 20 of 21

What is one of the most difficult human characteristics to replicate in robots?

... Some robots are already good at telling jokes or caring for people in hospitals. Bipedal locomotion -- specifically, replicating how a human walks -- is difficult to pull off. Researchers in Germany are using mechanical joints, muscles and tendons to make robot mobility a bit easier.

Question 21 of 21

In 1993, futurist Hans Moravec of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University predicted generations of universal robots, each improving upon the last. According to Moravec, what will the fourth generation universal robot, constructed by 2030 or 2040, be able to do?

... Hans Moravec wrote that fourth-generation robots would be capable of designing sophisticated programs for themselves or other robots. They would also able to design and build robot successors that continually build upon their capabilities.

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