Just last week we were taking solace in the fact that at least “intelligent” computers couldn’t beat us at go, even if they can beat us at chess. Now they can beat us at go.

Here’s a bullish rebuttal to some of the ideas in Gordon’s “end of growth” thesis from MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson. Note in particular his emphasis on growth that is not counted in official economic metrics simply because it makes products that are distributed for free. Brynjolfsson also points out the disruption to the job market as we adjust to new technologies.

Animal intelligence is one absolute limit on the ability to make tools. This story in the New York Times (with cool videos) is relevant to our discussion coming later in the semester about intelligence, relative brain size, and tool use in humans and other animals. Here, the animals are not making tools. But notice that they are manipulating objects more successfully in captivity than they do in the wild. A similar pattern is seen with tool use.

Here’s a pessimistic piece at MSN.com about robots getting our human jobs (which you’ll recall is the topic of our first little assignment, due 1/26/16). To make yourself feel better at that glum prospect, here is a video of robots falling down:

Check this space often for updates, links to relevant news items, little assignments, etc.