Archive for the 'Technology' Category
The Internet Is No Place for Public Elections
September 26th, 2016Via: MIT Technology Review: Despite what your local election officials may tell you, you can’t trust the Internet with your vote. This election year we’ve seen foreign hackers infiltrate the Democratic National Committee’s e-mail system as well as voter databases in Arizona and Illinois. These attacks have reinforced what political scientists and technical experts alike […]
Self-Driving Trucks Threaten One of America’s Top Blue-Collar Jobs
September 25th, 2016Via: Los Angeles Times: Carmaking giants and ride-sharing upstarts racing to put autonomous vehicles on the road are dead set on replacing drivers, and that includes truckers. Trucks without human hands at the wheel could be on American roads within a decade, say analysts and industry executives. At risk is one of the most common […]
Monkeys to Operate Robots
September 24th, 2016Via: IEEE: As if quantum computing wasn’t mind-bending enough, one of D-Wave Systems’ founders is now pursuing another futuristic idea: using artificial intelligence and high-tech exoskeleton suits to allow humans—and, at least according to one description of the technology, monkeys, too—to control and train an army of intelligent robots. Geordie Rose is a co-founder and […]
Real Headline: “Get Ready for Freeways That Ban Human Drivers”
September 22nd, 2016Sure, they lead with the safety argument, but what you’re going to wind up with is something like this: Didn’t pay taxes? “Driving disabled. Would you like to pay overdue taxes, penalties, fees and interest now?” Didn’t pay parking fine? “Driving disabled. Would you like to pay your fine now?” Children not vaccinated? “Limited destinations. […]
Researchers Hack Tesla Model S with Remote Attack
September 20th, 2016Via: PC World: Tesla Motors is considered one of the most cybersecurity-conscious car manufacturers in the world—among other things, it has a bug bounty program. But that doesn’t mean the software in its cars is free of security flaws. Researchers from Chinese technology company Tencent found a series of vulnerabilities that, when combined, allowed them […]
Abu Dhabi: Solar Power at 2.42 Cents a Kilowatt-Hour
September 20th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. Via: Bloomberg: Two companies offered to build the cheapest solar power plant on record in Abu Dhabi, reflecting declining costs for photovoltaic cells and cheaper financing for clean-energy projects. Government-owned Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority received a record-low bid of 2.42 cents a kilowatt-hour for […]
U.S. Government Will Release Policy on Autonomous Vehicles Today
September 20th, 2016Via: Cnet: On Tuesday, the government will issue federal policy, comprising a four-section package to help facilitate the “responsible” testing and deployment of self-driving vehicles. The policy will include a 15-point “Safety Assessment,” which the government has asked automakers to sign and submit when an autonomous car is believed to be ready for public roads. […]
ALTA 8 – Moving Pictures
September 19th, 2016When I was in photography school more than a couple of decades ago, I used to hang out with the extreme slow mo and bullet-slicing-playing-cards-in-half weirdos. We used to wonder what tech would exist in 20 years along these lines, and we all chuckled and agreed that film would mostly be gone… Nobody guessed that […]
“Disruptive Tidal Wave”: Robots Will Eliminate 6% of All U.S. Jobs by 2021
September 19th, 2016Via: Guardian: By 2021, robots will have eliminated 6% of all jobs in the US, starting with customer service representatives and eventually truck and taxi drivers. That’s just one cheery takeaway from a report released by market research company Forrester this week. These robots, or intelligent agents, represent a set of AI-powered systems that can […]
‘The Going Rate for Self-Driving Talent Is $10 Million Per Person’
September 17th, 2016The business of eliminating millions of jobs is today’s version of the moonshot or the Manhattan Project. Via: Recode: “Uber has just bought a half-a-year-old company [Otto] with 70 employees for almost $700 million,” Thrun said. “If you look at GM, they spent $1 billion on its acquisition of Cruise. These are mostly talent acquisitions. […]
