Current:Home > MyCan you teach a computer common sense?-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Can you teach a computer common sense?
lotradecoin volume View Date:2024-12-26 05:04:04
The first time Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong ever "spoke" to a computer was at a children's museum. On display was a computer equipped with ELIZA, one of the very first programs for natural language processing.
The monitor was black with inviting green font, which read, "Hello, I'm ELIZA. I'll be your therapist today." Emily sat down at the keyboard and started typing, detailing all of her middle school friendship stress, and Eliza responded in ways that felt almost human.
Nowadays, instead of ELIZA, ChatGPT is talking up a storm. In the last decade, machines capable of natural language processing have moved into our homes and grown in sophistication. From spell check to spam filters, smart speakers to search autocomplete, machines have come a long way in understanding and interpreting our language. However, these systems lack a quality we humans take for granted: commonsense reasoning.
"Common sense, in my view, is the dark matter of intelligence and language," says Yejin Choi, professor of computer science at the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for AI. "What's written down or spoken out loud in the literal form is only the surface of it. Really, beneath the surface, there's these huge unspoken assumptions about how the world works."
Choi teaches machines to understand these unspoken assumptions and is one of the world's leading thinkers on natural language processing. In 2022, her work caught the eye of the MacArthur Foundation, earning her one of their prestigious fellowships. Today on the show, Choi talks with Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong about how she's teaching artificial intelligence systems the art of common sense and how to make inferences about the real world.
Curious about the future of AI? Email us at [email protected].
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Today's episode was produced by Liz Metzger. It was edited by Gabriel Spitzer. Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez was the audio engineer.
veryGood! (34)
Related
- Family of man killed by Connecticut police officer files lawsuit, seeks federal probe of department
- Most Americans say overturning Roe was politically motivated, NPR/Ipsos poll finds
- Climate Activist Escapes Conviction in Action That Shut Down 5 Pipelines
- Amazon Web Services outage leads to some sites going dark
- Get 10 free boneless wings with your order at Buffalo Wild Wings: How to get the deal
- A baby spent 36 days at an in-network hospital. Why did her parents get a huge bill?
- Gigi Hadid Shares What Makes Her Proud of Daughter Khai
- What is the Hatch Act — and what count as a violation?
- Meta kills off misinformation tracking tool CrowdTangle despite pleas from researchers, journalists
- Jimmie Allen's Estranged Wife Alexis Shares Sex of Baby No. 3
Ranking
- The Sunscreen and Moisturizer Duo That Saved My Skin on a Massively Hot European Vacation
- Coach Just Restocked Its Ultra-Cool, Upcycled Coachtopia Collection
- The Nipah virus has a kill rate of 70%. Bats carry it. But how does it jump to humans?
- Ukraine: The Handoff
- Traveling? Here Are the Best Life-Saving Travel Accessories You Need To Pack, Starting at Just $7
- Pennsylvania Battery Plant Cashes In on $3 Billion Micro-Hybrid Vehicle Market
- Utah's governor has signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth
- Kids’ Climate Lawsuit Thrown Out by Appeals Court
Recommendation
-
Social media celebrates Chick-Fil-A's Banana Pudding Milkshake: 'Can I go get in line now?'
-
Nicole Richie Shares Rare Glimpse of 15-Year-Old Daughter Harlow in Family Photo
-
U.S. Taxpayers on the Hook for Insuring Farmers Against Growing Climate Risks
-
Biden officials declined to offer legal status to hundreds of thousands of migrants amid border concerns
-
What Conservation Coalitions Have Learned from an Aspen Tree
-
All the Dazzling Details Behind Beyoncé's Sun-Washed Blonde Look for Her Renaissance Tour
-
Greenland’s Ice Melt Is in ‘Overdrive,’ With No Sign of Slowing
-
6.8 million expected to lose Medicaid when paperwork hurdles return