We have just published an article (free online) on existential risks – with a NZ perspective. ¹ A blog version is hosted by SciBlogs . What follows is the introduction to that blog: Do we value future people? Do we care about the wellbeing of people who don’t yet exist?

Last week the AI forum New Zealand released its report ‘Artificial Intelligence: Shaping a future New Zealand’. I wish to commend the authors for an excellent piece of horizon scanning, which lays the foundation for a much-needed ongoing discussion about AI and New Zealand, because, like the Wild West there is much as yet unknown regarding AI. Microsoft was at pains to point this out in their ‘The Future Computed’ report published earlier

So you want to quit smoking. But you want to do it right, with expert advice and evidence-based information. Should you ask Siri? This week my co-author Nick Wilson and I published results of a pilot study reporting how effective personal digital assistants are at providing information or advice to help you quit smoking. As far as we are aware our study is the first study looking at whether Siri or Google Assistant can help you quit.

Everyone knows that socio-economic inequalities in health exist – in recent times. But one thing we do not know is whether they have always been there. Adapt Research Ltd contributed to a just published study that looks at two historical datasets – with one of these suggesting life span differences by occupational class as measured 100 years ago.

Falls are a major cause of injury and reduced quality of life for older people. Estimates suggest that more than a quarter of people over 65 years of age fall in any given year. Broken hips and head injuries are among the most serious complications of a fall. This is why the New Zealand Health Quality and Safety Commission has spent several years encouraging the health sector in New Zealand to implement programmes that reduce harm from falls.

Two recent articles in the media reminded me of a concern about AI. Firstly, the BBC asks us whether we would care if a feature article was, ‘written by a robot’? The implication is clear, it will soon be the norm for digital content to be created by intelligent systems.

To read a Radio New Zealand article citing Adapt Research Ltd’s research paper on AI in Policy Quarterly, click here: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/352044/govt-too-upbeat-about-ai-expert

The following introduction is an excerpt from a just published blog at Sciblogs that examines the role of AI in society and democracy. Read the full article here: Transformative advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have generated much hype and a burst of dialogue in New Zealand.

“Artificial Intelligence and Free Will: A 2017 Christmas Carol” (Talk presented by Matt Boyd at the NZAP Conference) https://adaptresearchwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/artificial-intelligence-and-freedom-nzap-talk.m4a

As we build our world we build our minds: reboot Six years ago, while I was writing my PhD on technology and human nature, I wrote a blog where I argued that: Context builds us – Our social and technological environments can hinder, but they can also drive psychological development. Technology drives human development – Physical and digital tools shape us and build our intelligence;

When deciding what medications to publicly fund PHARMAC uses multiple decision criteria, one of which is ‘health need’. So how can we establish who needs what in healthcare? Distributive Justice One approach is to take the perspective of justice. What factors do we need to consider to ensure a just distribution of resources?