Andrés del Campo Novales
Andrés del Campo Novales’ motivational/inspirational speech in General A.I. Challenge Round 1 (Gradual Learning) awards ceremony, on October 3rd, 2017 in the GoodAI offices (Prague, Czech Republic).
https://www.general-ai-challenge.org/…
https://www.general-ai-challenge.org/…
https://twitter.com/AdelCampoNov
Speech transcript (as intended):
We are living an AMAZING ERA of computing.
No matter when you were born, I am sure you have seen TREMENDOUS TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES.
In their early days, the computers were mostly used for calculations and simple games. Following MOORE’S LAW, they were doubling their capacity every second year. Many of us have seen how INTERNET changed our lives marking a before and an after. How before we were sending letters across the globe taking days and weeks; nowadays it is a matter of an instant with an email or videoconference, as we are seeing today. So, think for example of how ENCYCLOPEDIAS and whole libraries that used to take complete rooms full of books, now can fit into a tiny card, just the size of a fingernail, and that all is available in the network as well.
Nowadays, it’s hard to think about living without computers. I am quite sure that pretty much everybody here has ONE IN THEIR POCKET, that they are carrying the whole day, and probably very close at night too. So, whether it’s a phone, tablet, a laptop or another device, it’s amazing that we can READ, LISTEN TO MUSIC, COMMUNICATE with other people / our loved ones, do amazing things like, well, nowadays even having our own digital ASSISTANT.
So, over the years they LEARNED TO PLAY (better than humans) checkers, chess, or even games that required deeper understanding like Go or maybe beat humans at contests like Jeopardy! -that also required a deeper understanding. They have LEARNED TO RECOGNIZE our voice, our fingerprints, our faces… So, they are still even learning to read the traffic signs, learning where they are, and learning to drive.
And, this is just the BEGINING.
A 10-YEAR-OLD boy can still SOLVE MORE problems than the smartest computers in the planet.
We are here today in front of you as winners… even though, we have FAILED to reach 25% of the curriculum. Our agents failed to reach 25% of the curriculum.
And about that, let me tell you a very short STORY that, I think that, it’s very much on point and also captured all my passion and interest a decade ago.
Back in 2004, DARPA, (that is, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States) created a contest called the DARPA Grand Challenge. On March 13, 2004, fully autonomous vehicles created by private companies, Universities and researchers in general, worldwide, were competing to have their cars autonomously drive a route through the Mojave Desert of 240 km (that’s 150 miles) completely unaided. No communications with any human. NONE of them finished that first challenge. And the farthest distance reached was less than 12 km -less than 7 miles -that’s less than 5% of the course. One year later, the challenge was held again. On October 8, 2005, ALL but one of the 23 finalists surpassed that record distance of the previous year, and FIVE of them completed the whole 240 (km) or 150 miles. It was THRILLING to live those moments, that challenge as it was happening, and their videos are still worth watching and a great source of inspiration. In the same way, I am confident that we will be WITNESSING SOMETHING AMAZING within the next 1 or 2 years.
I would like to close by THANKING MAREK and OLGA; and the GoodAI team for making this challenge possible. Also, thanks to my wife CSILLA, for her continuous support during the 7 marathonian weeks, last weeks of the challenge. Thanks to all the RESEARCHERS worldwide that fearlessly and tirelessly are working every day of their lives to discover and advance technology for all of us, not knowing whether or when they will be able to reach their destination. Lastly, thanks to my FAMILY, my FRIENDS from Córdoba and Málaga in Spain, and from Microsoft in Denmark and U.S.
I think that the pursuit of a general AI should be for the GREATER GOOD OF HUMANKIND, and not for any single person or companies’ agenda, which I also believe are the grounds on which Marek founded GoodAI, and on which the team created this challenge. So, when it comes to me, with the same goals in mind, MY PRIZE will be entirely dedicated to MANKIND’S GREATEST NEEDS (victims of natural disasters, victims of armed conflicts, hunger, etc).
THANK YOU for your attention
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