Abstract
As human/artificial intelligence teams become more common and long lasting, the problem of training comes to the fore. Both AI and humans need a lot of training. If the AI of a team sees a need for people with specific training in the future, how much effort should it be allowed to put into the trainee's careers and life? If the AI controls substantial resources, should it be allowed to favor one child over another for training? In the story for this chapter, “The Girl at the Pump,” an AI has supported the education of a child for years so that the child can do a specific job the AI needs done.
TopIntroduction
Compared to the end of the nineteenth century, the Earth is now warmer by about 0.7 C degrees [ 1.26 F]. Never, at least in recent times, such a change has not taken place in such a short time. None of the natural mechanisms seem able to explain such warming. At current rates, the growth of temperatures in the coming years could be 0.2 C degrees per decade [0.36 F], and perhaps more, and reach between 1.8 C and 4 C degrees [3.24 F and 7.2 F] of global increase at the end of the twenty-first century. Such a heating would result in the extinction of many animal and plant species and the disruption of the climatic order as society now knows it (Powell, 2007). .
The International Center for Climate Governance [ICCG] classifies the best organizations that are distinguished for their research activities and scientific support to combat climate change. The outcomes of the fifth edition of ICCG Climate Think Tank Rankings 2016 identifies 244 research centers that have dealt with these issues.
Two different types of rankings were then drawn up (Savory&Butterfield, 2016):
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The ranking of the US assessing the efficiency of think tanks in per capita terms, considering the productivity of think tanks for the number of researchers of each institution.
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The Absolute ranking that considers the productivity of the year 2016 of each think tank in absolute terms.
The top three of the 2016 standard ranking is the following:
- 1.
Woods Hole Research Center [WHRC]: The Woods Hole Research Center assesses threats to a climate and works with individuals, communities, governments, and NGOs to identify and implement the global and regional climate.WHRC was founded in 1985 by renowned ecologist George Woodwell to take the insights of science beyond the walls of academia. WHRC is focused on climate change because it is the single biggest threat to human and natural systems (WHRC, 2018).
- 2.
Union of Concerned Scientists [UCS]: UCS was founded in 1969 by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That year, the Vietnam War was at its height and Cleveland’s heavily polluted Cuyahoga River had caught fire. Appalled at how the U.S. government was misusing science, the UCS founders drafted a statement for scientific research to be directed away from military technologies and toward solving pressing environmental and social problems (UCS, 2018).
- 3.
Centre for International Forestry Research [CIFOR]: The Center for International Forestry Research [CIFOR] is committed to advancing human well-being, equity and environmental integrity by conducting innovative research, developing partners’ capacity and actively engaging in dialogue with all stakeholders to inform policies and practices that affect forests and people. CIFOR intends to see additional and increased risks to humanity, but also new opportunities for improved livelihoods. CIFOR’s response to these challenges and opportunities is captured in the 2016-2025 strata (CIFOR, 2018).
The top three of the 2016 Absolute Ranking is as follows:
Key Terms in this Chapter
NGO: Non-governmental organization. The NGOs in all these stories are the major source of funds for efforts to address the great problems of the 21 st century particularly those that effect large numbers of people. The Janet series of AIs in these stories were developed to help organize and manage this effort. Their lead financial officer, JanetM, has an interface avatar that is markedly Latina in skin color and dress, while JanetA in both personal appearance and dress is an African woman.
Corporate Person: A series of powers and responsibilities that are given to corporations that allow them many of the rights of a real person.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): The intelligence shown by machines or computer software. An AI in some ways can mimic human intelligence but does not have to match it feature for feature. The interface avatars of these AI are important characters in these stories.