Archive for the 'Technology' Category
A Team of AI Algorithms Just Crushed Humans in a Complex Computer Game
June 25th, 2018Via: MIT Technology Review: Five different AI algorithms have teamed up to kick human butt in Dota 2, a popular strategy computer game. Researchers at OpenAI, a nonprofit based in California, developed the algorithmic A team, which they call the OpenAI Five. Each algorithm uses a neural network to learn not only how to play […]
NSA’s Wiretap Rooms in Eight U.S. Cities
June 25th, 2018Via: The Intercept: THE SECRETS ARE hidden behind fortified walls in cities across the United States, inside towering, windowless skyscrapers and fortress-like concrete structures that were built to withstand earthquakes and even nuclear attack. Thousands of people pass by the buildings each day and rarely give them a second glance, because their function is not […]
Researchers Fish Yellowcake Uranium from the Sea With Acrylic Fibers
June 23rd, 2018Via: IEEE: Researchers at the U.S. Energy Department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and LCW Supercritical Technologies made use of readily available acrylic fibers to pull five grams of yellowcake—a powdered form of uranium used to produce fuel for nuclear power reactors—from seawater. The milestone, announced in mid-June, follows seven years of work and a […]
Flying Dragon Robot Transforms Itself to Squeeze Through Gaps
June 23rd, 2018Via: IEEE: It’s a modular flying robot powered by ducted fans that can transform literally on the fly, from a square to a snake to anything in between, allowing it to stretch out to pass through small holes and then make whatever other shape you want once it’s on the other side.
The World’s First Robot-Made Burger Is About to Hit the Bay Area
June 21st, 2018Via: Bloomberg: On June 27, the world’s first robot-crafted burger will roll off a conveyor belt in San Francisco and into the hands of the public. You could call it the freshest burger on Earth. The product, from Bay Area-based Creator, a culinary robotics company, is assembled and cooked in a machine that contains 20 […]
We Are All Prisoners of the Surveillance State
June 20th, 2018Via: The Rutherford Institute: We now find ourselves in the unenviable position of being monitored, managed and controlled by our technology, which answers not to us but to our government and corporate rulers. Consider that on any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked […]
U.S. Army: Robots for Ground Combat by 2028
June 20th, 2018Via: FCW: Robotics is crucial to Army Secretary Mark Esper’s strategic vision, and he wants to have unmanned vehicles on the battlefield by 2028. Esper previewed the Army’s soon-to-be-released strategic vision calling for unmanned vehicles as an integral part of the force at a Brookings Institute event June 5. “I think robotics has the potential […]
General Electric Loses Place in Elite Dow Jones Industrial Average
June 19th, 2018Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: Reuters: General Electric Co has lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after over a century in the blue chip stock index, a new blow to a company that once towered over the American business landscape but is now struggling to retain […]
Tesla Model 3: Musk Claims ‘Extensive and Damaging Sabotage’ by Employee
June 18th, 2018Via: CNBC: Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent an email to all employees on Monday morning about a factory fire, and seemed to reference possible sabotage. Now, CNBC has learned that Musk also sent an e-mail to all employees at Tesla late on Sunday night alleging that he has discovered a saboteur in the company’s ranks. […]
Trump Orders Creation of Space-Focused U.S. Military Branch
June 18th, 2018Oh sure, it’ll make the Pentagon more efficient: At incinerating trillions of taxpayer dollars. Also, there’s Carol Rosin’s account of her time with Wernher Von Braun, which might finally be coming into play: The strategy that Wernher Von Braun taught me was that first the Russians are going to be considered to be the enemy. […]
