Restless Minds resumes discussions

Bill Gates

The Restless Minds discussion group begins its 2017-18 season at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 12, in the sewing room of Oakwood’s Arts and Crafts Center.

The group meets on the second Tuesday of each month, September through May, to discuss topics of general interest. Each session focuses on one topic. All people with open, inquisitive minds are invited to attend. There are no dues or advance signups; just show up and participate.

Arthur Fink will lead the September 12 discussion on “Artificial Intelligence.” He wonders how rapid advances in the field will change things for humans in the not-too-distant future.

He looks around and sees people talking to machines seemingly more than they are talking to other people. “Is this the direction we’re going?” he wonders.

In Chandler, driverless cars already are being tested on the city streets. In factories throughout the nation, robots are doing work that once, in the recent past, required human hands. In homes, little devices, such as Amazon’s Alexa, are silently poised to act on commands and listen to everything that is going on.

It should be a lively discussion as Restless Minds’ participants explore the implications of this brave new world of technology on humans.

For more information on Restless Minds, call Bill Gates or Bobbie Reed at 480-883-7410.