“More than ever, we face the risk of losing many good jobs. But we’re seeing many good jobs being created, too.” —GEORGE K. THIRUVATHUKAL
the ability to realistically mimic physiology is a key component of building the next Terminator. But should the idea of AI in
the workplace be as frightening as the Terminator? Thiruvathukal isn’t so sure. “The workforce will need to adapt to the latest inno- vations in computing technolo- gy,” he says. “More than ever, we face the risk of losing many good jobs. But we’re seeing many good jobs being created, too.” The “holy grail” for AI research,
as he puts it, is for computer algorithms to do the work with little or no human supervision. “At first blush, this may sound like we have no need for humans,” he says. “But it is the contrary: We’d like human brainpower to be focused on the overall tasks, as humans are needed to adjust what the robots are doing.” That means the skillset need-
and Thiruvathukal expects to see robots play a larger role in the future in fields such as medicine, pharmacy, space exploration, and the military. Even some of the seemingly
far-fetched AI seen in Hollywood may not be that far off. Computer vision, for example, has seen great strides with advances in autono- mous vehicles like self-driving cars, bringing us closer to robots having an intelligent pair of eyes. Robotic hands, including prosthet- ics, are also now being developed for amputees. While this is not exactly creating full androids yet,
ed for some jobs will change. Human workers will at minimum need to know how to write a bit of code to be able to manage their robot workers, Thiruvathu- kal says. In his classes at Loyola, he’s trying to ensure that future generations of workers will have the technological literacy to keep up with the changes ahead. “There has never been a bet-
ter time or place to learn about computing,” Thiruvathukal says, “at least to make sure you’ll know something about your next co-worker—a robot—and how it gets its work done.” L
STRITCH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
WORKING OUT MAY NOT HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT
An international study led by Loyola faculty is providing compelling new evidence that exercise may not be the key to controlling weight. “Our study results indicate that physical activity may not protect you from gaining weight,” says lead author Lara R. Dugas, an assistant profes- sor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Stritch School of Medicine. Physical activity has many
proven health benefits, from reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer to improving mental health and mood. But while physical activity burns calories, it also increases appetite, and people may compensate by eating more or by being less active the rest of the day. Some experts have
suggested that a decline in physical activity, especially in the workplace, has been a key contributor to the obesity epidemic. But research such as the new Loyola study, in which physical activity is objectively measured and participants are followed over time, has not found a meaningful relationship between weight gain and physical activity. The study is one of the primary outcomes
of the Modeling the Epide- miologic Transition Study (METS). In METS, researchers fol-
lowed adults aged 25 to 40 living in the United States and four other countries. Pre- vious research has found that when people are asked about their physical activity, they tend to overstate the amount they do. For a more objective measure, participants wore tracking devices on their waists for a week to measure their energy expenditure and step count. After an initial exam, participants were asked to return one year and two years later. Only 44 percent of Ameri-
can men and 20 percent of American women met the U.S. Surgeon General physical activity guidelines, which recommend doing at least two-and-a-half hours of mod- erate-intensity aerobic exer- cise (such as brisk walking) per week. Surprisingly, total weight gain in every country was greater among partici- pants who met the physical activity guidelines. American men who met the guidelines gained a half pound per year, while American men who did not meet the guideline lost 0.6 pounds. —Jim Ritter
SPRING 2017 31
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