Hi Reddit! I really do build intelligent systems. I worked as a programmer in the 1980s but got three graduate degrees (in AI & Psychology from Edinburgh and MIT) in the 1990s. I myself mostly use AI to build models for understanding human behavior, but my students use it for building robots and game AI and I’ve done that myself in the past. But while I was doing my PhD I noticed people were way too eager to say that a robot – just because it was shaped like a human – must be owed human obligations. This is basically nuts; people think it’s about the intelligence, but smart phones are smarter than the vast majority of robots and no one thinks they are people. I am now consulting for IEEE, the European Parliament and the OECD about AI and human society, particularly the economy. I’m happy to talk to you about anything to do with the science, (systems) engineering (not the math :-), and especially the ethics of AI. I’m a professor, I like to teach. But even more importantly I need to learn from you want your concerns are and which of my arguments make any sense to you. And of course I love learning anything I don’t already know about AI and society! So let’s talk… I will be back at 3 pm ET to answer your questions, ask me anything!