News/Research

Ken Goldberg

11 Feb, 2015

Ken Goldberg

Multiplicity: Let's Move Beyond the 'Singularity'

As Picasso once observed, “Computers are useless, all they can do is answer questions” He was right. We need humans to ask timely and important questions like, “Will machines make better decisions than humans?” Lately it seems everyone from Stephen Hawking to Elon Musk is raising concerns about the “Singularity”: the point when machines will surpass us. But it’s not us versus the machines; it’s us and the machines. The best decisions will be made by diverse groups of humans working together with diverse groups of machines. Let’s call it the “Multiplicity”.

Robots Can't Dance

Can a robot be creative? Advances in cloud robotics—machines connected to supercomputers in the cloud—have given self-driving cars, surgical robots, and other “smart” devices tremendous powers of computation. But can a robot, even one supercharged with artificial intelligence, be creative? Will a mechanical Picasso paint among us?

About Ken

Ken Goldberg is an artist and UC Berkeley professor. He and his students investigate robotics, automation, art, and social media. Goldberg directs the Automation Sciences Research Lab, co-directs the Center for Automation and Learning for Medical Robotics, and is Faculty Director of the CITRIS Data and Democracy Initiative. Goldberg earned dual degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania (1984) and MS and PhD degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (1990). He joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1995 where he is Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR), with secondary appointments in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science (EECS), Art Practice, the School of Information, and in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the UCSF Medical School.

Goldberg has published over 200 peer-reviewed technical papers on algorithms for robotics, automation, and social information filtering; his inventions have been awarded eight US Patents. He is Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE), Co-Founder of the African Robotics Network (AFRON), Co-Founder of the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM), Co-Founder and CTO of Hybrid Wisdom Labs, Co-Founder of the Moxie Institute, and Founding Director of UC Berkeley's Art, Technology, and Culture Lecture Series.

Find out more at goldberg.berkeley.edu.