Vinay Kumaran

When we think about artificial intelligence we think in terms of something that can think like a human but better. Science fiction movies like the Terminator series have raised concerns about what such an AI would want. Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, among others, have raised concerns about humanity becoming irrelevant once it is surpassed in intelligence and innovation by its own creations. It has been suggested that the first artificial intelligence smarter than a human being will be the last thing invented by humans. I have no doubt, there will eventually be computers which can think like humans, learn and innovate but let's look at things which are likely to happen in a shorter span of time. Self Driving Cars: this is something which is already nearly ready for introduction into society. The major problem with self driving cars is having to account for erratic, rule-breaking human drivers on the roads. Once more and more cars become self-driving, the safety factor can be enh...

'Saving Private Ryan' is an iconic movie starring Tom Hanks which won five Oscars, the movie is about a mission to save a soldier at the front. His brothers have been killed in the war and the generals decide that he must be removed from the front. It's a uniquely American idea which makes little sense to anyone else. Dozens of soldiers die in the course of this mission to save one soldier but apparently it is still a good idea. On my last trip to theUS, I decided to fly to Newark on the non-stop flight from Mumbai and take a bus from there instead of the usual hopping flights required to get to Pittsburgh. The flight landed on time. I got out of the airport in an hour. I got a taxi to the Greyhound Station. It was less than 4 miles from the airport. So far, so good. The Greyhound station was closed. It opens at 7.00 AM. For some reason the first bus to Pittsburgh leaves at 6.50 AM. There is no way to buy a ticket for that bus. The next bus to Pittsburgh is at 7.55 A...