Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
Jobs ‘Being Obliterated by Technology’
January 24th, 2013Via: AP: Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over. And the situation is even worse than it appears. Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as well, say […]
Momentum Machines Robots Will Prepare Hamburgers, Eliminate Fast Food Jobs
January 23rd, 2013Via: The National: Funded by San Francisco’s Lemnos Labs, it has developed a robot designed to take the place of humans in burger restaurants. Its creators believe their patty-flipping Alpha robot could save the fast-food industry in the United States about US$9 billion a year. Designed to entirely replace two to three full-time kitchen staff, […]
Senator Asks CIA Nominee When Drones Can Kill Americans
January 22nd, 2013Via: Wired: The man in charge of America’s drone wars will face Senate questioning about perhaps their most controversial aspect: when the president can target American citizens for death. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) sent a letter on Monday to John Brennan, the White House’s counterterrorism adviser and nominee to be head of the CIA, asking […]
And Now… Bookless Libraries
January 14th, 2013Via: My San Antonio: Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff is an unabashed book lover with 1,000 first editions in his private collection, but even he sees the writing on the wall. Paper books have lost their allure, and future generations may have little use for them, Wolff contends. So when he embarked on a mission […]
Hackers Say Coming Air Traffic Control System Lets Them Hijack Planes
January 14th, 2013What could possibly go wrong? *chortle* Via: Network World: An ongoing multibillion-dollar overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system is designed to make commercial aviation more efficient, more environmentally friendly and safer by 2025. But some white-hat hackers are questioning the safety part. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) will rely on […]
Florida: Sheriff’s Office Wants to Fly Drones Over Orange County Skies
January 13th, 2013Via: Orlando Sentinel: The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is experimenting with two surveillance drones that it hopes to turn loose over Metro Orlando skies this summer. Sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Williamson would not reveal specific uses for the drones, larger versions of which are known for flying over tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan to drop […]
Stephen Hawking ‘More Machine Now Than Man’
January 9th, 2013This article is great for those considering enrolling in Ph.D. programs. While the example of Hawking twitching his eyebrow to set swarms of minions aflutter with activity might seem extreme, this is actually the essence of the graduate school experience for many. Your adviser probably won’t be a cyborg, but my guess is that this […]
Write Gambling Software, Go to Prison
January 3rd, 2013Via: Wired: In a criminal case sure to make programmers nervous, a software maker who licenses a program used by online casinos and bookmakers overseas is being charged with promoting gambling in New York because authorities say his software was used by others for illegal betting in that state. New York authorities say that about […]
Military Must Prep Now for ‘Mutant’ Future
January 3rd, 2013Via: Wired: The U.S. military is already using, or fast developing, a wide range of technologies meant to give troops what California Polytechnic State University researcher Patrick Lin calls “mutant powers.” Greater strength and endurance. Superior cognition. Better teamwork. Fearlessness. But the risk, ethics and policy issues arising out of these so-called “military human enhancements” […]
DHS VIPR Team and Possible DHS Drone at Football Game
December 31st, 2012Via: HongPong: Things are a little strange at the Vikings/Packers Game today. A drone has been photographed hovering around the Metrodome fan plaza on the west side, and a Homeland Security / TSA “VIPR” team has been hanging around as well, indicating the federal government is shifting into “protecting” the major Spectacles at taxpayer expense. […]
