Transcript 0:00 [upbeat music] Welcome back to The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. Hello, listeners, and welcome back to The Peggy Smedley Show. 0:14 We've had a great show today, and my next guest is a regular on the show, and he conducts research in the field of study called human infrastructure interaction, which focuses on understanding the design of co-evolving smart infrastructure systems. 0:30 So please welcome Joshua Peschel, Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University. Josh, welcome to the show. Hey, Peggy. 0:43 It's good to be with you, and I, I think I'm gonna start introducing myself as your roving technical reporter because I'm actually calling in today from a field robotics demonstration at a large agricultural research site in Fort Valley, Georgia, where we're demonstrating some robots and artificial intelligence for smart agriculture. 0:59 I think that would be good because you've been all over the world every time you call in lately. [laughs] It's been awesome. I love it. I love it. That's the way we've got to... 1:07 And today we are gonna talk a little bit... You know, when you think about robotics and you think about what we've been talking about, today's show is all about AI and ethics. 1:17 And when we talk about robotics, we're right in the thick of that. And if anybody knows about this subject, you do. So let's really talk a little bit about the ethics as it relates to AI. 1:27 And I-I'm kind of curious, what would you say is the gen-general sentiment in this area today? Well, I'd say, as with most things, as they relate to technology or politics there, you have your camps. 1:42 And you-- I would say those camps exist on a spectrum like they do for many other things. 1:47 So you have those who wish to push AI forward, and that might be because of a, a business model or some marketing of some added value to some, some product or services that's being sold. 1:58 And then you have the other end of the spectrum w-who say-- or folks who say, "This is not what we want to be doing. Maybe we're replacing people or replacing jobs, or it's something that we really can't trust." 2:10 And there's any number of reasons why someone might feel that way. And then, of course, as with all things, you have everybody that exists in the middle. 2:16 And so I think there are different, uh, levels of perception and experience that people might have with AI and ethics, and so, uh, y-you have real, real mixed bag right now. 2:29 So it's hard to say there's a general sentiment. I think what do we see more than anything is a spectrum. So what generally then, if you think about it, do people trust AI? Is, is that what you're saying? 2:41 You know, my first reaction, and I'll just tell you, I think as we get younger, it's just a natural part. They, they don't even think about it. It's just what they, they see every day, and it's part of their lives. 2:52 When you get older, the sentiment might be different. But horizontally, the majority, how, how, how do you think overall, do people generally trust AI? 3:03 Well, you know, that's a great follow-up from our last conversation where we talked about younger people having expectations that this technology would be there and it w-will work. 3:12 But to your, to your question about wh-where people sort of on the whole fall, I, I think there's probably two ways to answer that question. 3:18 I think that you have people who are, who are novices with technology that are, are probably more likely to trust it because perhaps it's been repeatedly shown to work. 3:30 And I think on the perhaps people with more expertise, those maybe who are in the business like I am or those who work in computer science, maybe perhaps less so because, uh, w-we, we know all the skeletons in the closet as it relates to, you know, how, how artificial intelligence might really work. 3:48 So then you have the other way to answer that question is, is looking at non-experts. 3:55 Quite honestly, they, they might not know where AI might intersect in their life, and so unfortunately, they may or may not know how to really make an informed decision. 4:05 And I think those who have become accustomed, who have grown up with it, uh, and expect it to be there and it to, to work and be good, uh, it's perhaps something like what you're saying people don't really think about. 4:16 Uh, somebody who may be a little bit older, um, m-might, you know, kind of fall in the category of, "Okay, show me. Show me that this is something that, that would actually work." 4:28 And, and, and we're seeing it a lot ar-around us, whether it's, uh, Tesla vehicles driving independently. 4:35 Uh, but the truth is, is we've had automation and a lot of decision-making happening in vehicles for a number of years. 4:42 Uh, it's just getting to different and higher levels, and I think the younger the people, the more likely are to accept it. The older, mm, maybe not so much. But even if we go, it's not even just about accepting it now. 4:55 Let's talk about the biases and when we talk about the ethics of AI, let alone just accepting it. Do we have some biases when we talk about the, uh, AI in general? 5:08 Because the-- what we're doing with it, do we have to be concerned about who's doing what when we talk about artificial intelligence? 5:18 Well, if we put it in the context of who's actually using it, uh, to integrate in other people's lives, it's probably more of the perception of that brand or that entity than, than anything else and perhaps the public perception of what that AI have been-- may have been used for, either, either real or imaginary. 5:35 A lot of what we are informed by is our experiences seeing, uh, movies and televisions and news reports and something. 5:44 And so for a lot of people who have perceptions about AI and ethics, I'd say that, uh, with many things, it, it is probably informed more by the culture and our perception. 5:53 And that's why I said, you know, not-- experts might have a very different view because, uh, you know, if I'm out here with this robot and I know all the things that aren't working really great with it, then, then I would perhaps have a little bit more critical perception than myA person here who manages the farm, who uses it, but never sees anything wrong with it. 6:12 And so I think that there's some bias that can creep in with that, uh, as it just relates to perception or preconceived notot-no-notions or something like that. So I think that's where we're at, um, with, with people. 6:25 So, so looking at the bigger picture, how do we then address to make AI more trustworthy overall? Because we all know AI is going to be a major part of our lives in everything. 6:38 But, you know, we have all kinds of governments getting involved in AI and, and, and there's a lot of, you know... in every part of our lives. 6:46 So it's whether it's government, whether it's business, whether it's, it's communities, AI is going to be in every part of our lives. 6:53 How do we then make it so it's more trustworthy that it's just part of it where we don't even think about it anymore? So I think there's two piec-pieces of that. 7:04 I think that in, in terms of the, uh, trust and confidence and confidence and comfort, there needs to be consistency. It has to consistently work. 7:13 My vehicle has to perform in some way consistently as if I were driving it. But on the other side, with regard to who's using it, I think awareness. 7:21 I, I do think that it's within the public's, public's interest to know when, uh, artificial intelligence is being used so that they can make an informed decision. 7:31 I would absolutely wanna know if there were Teslas on the road that were on autopilot around me. I... That is something that I feel like I deserve to know, whether or not I might wanna take a certain route. 7:42 Because that's a freeway likely to be traveled by autonomous vehicles, maybe I'm not comfortable with it. I think that as a person in the public space, 7:50 I, I should know about that, and I think you could extrapolate that to lots of different technologies. So I think just awareness on the other side. 7:56 So that whole idea of knowing whether it's AI-operated kind of concept, the human versus AI, that knowledge that you have so that you can make that informed decision about what you wanna do. 8:09 Above a certain level of autonomy, yes. If it's something like cruise control, I don't care. If it's something like assistive brakes, obviously I don't care. That stuff's been around forever. 8:19 But there was this video that popped up of this couple asleep in a Tesla on the Massachusetts Turnpike about three weeks ago. They, they were asleep in the vehicle, but the vehicle was just driving. 8:29 So I would wanna know if the Mass Turnpike is allowing vehicles that are capable of autopilot out there in the public. 8:36 That, that would, uh, affect my personal perception of safety of myself and my family and those around me. And so maybe if I know that there's autonomous vehicles out there, maybe I wanna pick a different route. 8:47 Well, the other day I saw someone watching a video with a headset on. They weren't even... They were driving, but it was... They could've been sleeping for all they were doing. But it's crazy times we live in. 8:56 Joshua Peschel, Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, as always, thank you for being with us. 9:03 Our roving reporter, you're gonna have to give us an update on what you're doing in some of the next projects. Hey, where can our listeners go to keep up to date on all the amazing things you're doing? What's your URL? 9:14 URL is peschelgroup.org. Twitter handle is @Peschel, and if you wanna see the great things happening at Iowa State, it's abe.iastate.edu. All right, Josh. Keep up the great work. We look forward to talking to you again. 9:27 Thanks a lot. All right, listeners, we are out of time for this segment. Remember, we are broadcast live every Tuesday at 12:00 PM Central. 9:34 Check out our new article at connectedworld.com or our show at thepeggySmedleyShow.com. Tweet at me at @ConnectedWMag. This is The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. 9:46 And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. Have an awesome week. [upbeat music] Constructek TV, your fierce advocates for construction. 10:03 Constructek TV digs into infrastructure, drills into global economic conditions. 10:09 It is changing the talent gap narrative, adopting a new vision and a voice to the new skilled worker in construction, all with the help of technology. 10:19 Constructek TV, everything you need for infrastructure, labor, and technology. Like, share, and subscribe to Constructek TV at youtube.com/constructektv. 10:33 [upbeat music] Besides the hard work of our incredible WS Radio staff that has decades of experience in the broadcast industry, one of the reasons WS Radio sounds so good is we use Orban technology. We are not alone. 10:46 Over 50,000 professional broadcasters can't be wrong. From radio, TV, streaming, to hardware and software, Orban has been supplying the broadcast industry for nearly 30 years. 10:57 Great customer service and continued R&D separates Orban from the rest. Learn more at orban.com. I've heard this is, like, one of the best pizza spots in town. Yes, it is. 11:08 I'll do a slice of pepperoni, slice of vegetarian. You got it. And I will pay for all of that in three days. In three days? [laughs] What's that mean? Well, wait, you accept credit cards. 11:17 That money's not gonna hit your account for three days anyway. I need my money quicker. At Chase, we hear you. With Express Funding, card payments are in your Chase account the next business day. 11:25 Go to chase.com/expressfunding. Chase for Business, so you can. Compensated participation. All businesses are subject to credit approval. 11:31 Not all clients are eligible for next business day funding and additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply. [upbeat music] IoT is here. 11:38 AI and machine learning are catching on, and they are all changing our world. But what's next? How will you be impacted? Let The Peggy Smedley Show keep you up to date and looking ahead for your business. 11:51 Tune in every Tuesday at noon Central Time at peggysmedleyshow.com. 11:56 [gentle music] If you heard that sound, you probably are eligible for insurance from Navy Mutual, insuring the men and women of the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. 12:06 Here's what one policyholder, retired Navy commander Thomas Dane, had to say. "Navy Mutual is the best insurance decision I ever made. 12:14 I wish you had a savings plan available that earned the rates my Navy Mutual insurance has been earning." 12:19 Navy Mutual Aid Association, started by military members in 1879, serves active, reserve, and retired military today. 12:27 Navy Mutual honors our military by providing them affordable life insurance with the features they need without fine print, sales fees, or military service restrictions. 12:36 Value, integrity, trust, and stability are the cornerstones in which our commitment to you and your loved ones are built. 12:43 Call Navy Mutual at 1-800-628-6011 or navymutual.org for your personal life insurance plan consultation. 1-800-628-6011 or navymutual.org. Navy Mutual, ensuring those who serve.
