Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
NSA Routinely Monitors Americans’ Communications Without Warrants
March 15th, 2017Are They building electronic dossiers on as many of us as they can? I don’t know, but it sure looks that way. —Cryptogon, 2007: NSA, AT&T and the NarusInsight Intercept Suite In Open Thread: Trump Wiretap Claims, I wrote: Where is the uproar over the spook’s data center in Utah? Man, if you think that […]
Google’s DeepMind Makes AI Program that Learns Sequentially
March 14th, 2017Via: Guardian: Researchers have overcome one of the major stumbling blocks in artificial intelligence with a program that can learn one task after another using skills it acquires on the way. Developed by Google’s AI company, DeepMind, the program has taken on a range of different tasks and performed almost as well as a human. […]
Intel Buying Mobileye for $15 Billion
March 13th, 2017Via: Recode: Cars coming off the assembly line in the next few years will have computing power to rival your cellphones, and they’ll get even more complex as automakers introduce more self-driving technology. That’s why Intel — known for its chips, data centers and computing capabilities — just bought self-driving tech supplier Mobileye for $15 […]
California: State DMV Backs Allowing Self-Driving Cars with No Human on Board
March 11th, 2017Via: San Francisco Chronicle: Self-driving cars with no human behind the wheel — or, for that matter, any steering wheel at all — may soon appear on California’s public roads, under regulations state officials proposed Friday. The rules represent a delicate balance, trying to ensure the safety of a new technology many people don’t trust […]
‘Crime-Fighting Robots Aid Police’
March 10th, 2017Via: Star Telegram: Maybe someday it will menacingly order citizens to drop their weapons — or else, a la Robocop. But for now, the Knightscope crime-fighting robots, demonstrated for the University of Texas at Arlington Police Department and the media on Thursday, are limited to less aggressive tasks like scanning license plates for unauthorized vehicles […]
Meet Flippy, a Burger-Grilling Robot
March 9th, 2017Via: Tech Crunch: Flipping burgers is a hot and greasy job. Slips, trips, burns and cuts are common hazards associated with the work. But global demand for burgers is tremendous. Top burger chains racked up more than $75.5 billion in annual sales in 2016. To help keep human cooks out of harm’s way while fulfilling […]
Automated Mining Will Cost Jobs and Tax Income
March 6th, 2017And the remaining employees, living in “company-run mining camps” are to be monitored by the same sensor technology used to monitor the machines: Thousands of Rio Tinto personnel live in company-run mining camps, spending not just work hours but leisure and home time in space controlled by their employer – which in this emerging era […]
Russia: Small House 3D Printed in Place in 24 Hours
March 6th, 2017Via: Mashable: Located in Russia, this 400-square-foot home (37 square meters) was built in just a day, at a cost of just over $10,000. 3D-printing company Apis Cor built the house using a mobile printer on-site. Company Website: ApisCor
Congress Told to Brace for ‘Robotic Soldiers’
March 1st, 2017In other news: Via: The Hill: House lawmakers were warned Wednesday that artificial intelligence could soon be used by potential adversaries in military operations. Jason Healey, a senior fellow on the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, told members of a House panel with oversight of the Pentagon that he expects the capabilities to be developed […]
‘Facebook Artificial Intelligence Spots Suicidal Users’
March 1st, 2017The Facebook bots will also be used to, “Identify posts by terrorists among other concerning content.” Mmm hmm. Via: BBC: Facebook has begun using artificial intelligence to identify members that may be at risk of killing themselves. The social network has developed algorithms that spot warning signs in users’ posts and the comments their friends […]
