Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
Sentry System Combines a Human Brain with Computer Vision
November 30th, 2012I’ve posted this one at least a couple of time over the years, but in case you missed it… Via: MIT Technology Review: Sentry duty is a tough assignment. Most of the time there’s nothing to see, and when a threat does pop up, it can be hard to spot. In some military studies, humans […]
Cambridge University Center Will Study Technologies that Pose ‘Extinction-Level’ Risks to Humanity
November 26th, 2012Flashback 2000: Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us Via: Cambridge University: A philosopher, a scientist and a software engineer have come together to propose a new centre at Cambridge to address developments in human technologies that might pose “extinction-level” risks to our species, from biotechnology to artificial intelligence. … While few would deny the benefits […]
A Dangerous Future of Killer Robots
November 26th, 2012Via: Washington Post: The use of drones to kill suspected terrorists is controversial, but so long as a human being decides whether to fire the missile, it is not a radical shift in how humanity wages war. Since the first archer fired the first arrow, warriors have been inventing ways to strike their enemies while […]
U.N. Wants Drones
November 24th, 2012Via: AFP: The United Nations wants to use drones for the first time to monitor fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rwanda has been accused of aiding rebels, officials said Friday.
Losing Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots
November 19th, 2012Via: Human Rights Watch: Governments should pre-emptively ban fully autonomous weapons because of the danger they pose to civilians in armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. These future weapons, sometimes called “killer robots,” would be able to choose and fire on targets without human intervention. The 50-page report, “Losing Humanity: […]
Foxconn Begins Deploying Robots
November 14th, 2012Via: Singularity Hub: It appears as if Gou has started the ball in motion. Since the announcement, a first batch of 10,000 robots — aptly named Foxbots — appear to have made its way into at least one factory, and by the end of 2012, another 20,000 more will be installed.
Mind-Controlled Robot Avatars Inch Towards Reality
November 14th, 2012Life imitating art: Sleep Dealer Avatar Surrogates Via: Gizmag: Researchers at the CNRS-AIST Joint Robotics Laboratory (a collaboration between France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) are developing software that allows a person to drive a robot with their thoughts alone. The technology could one […]
Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes
November 9th, 2012Via: Wired: It seemed like a simple enough idea for an iPhone app: Send users a pop-up notice whenever a flying robots kills someone in one of America’s many undeclared wars. But Apple keeps blocking the Drones+ program from its App Store — and therefore, from iPhones everywhere. The Cupertino company says the content is […]
7 Technologies That Will Make It Easier for the Next President to Hunt and Kill You
November 6th, 2012Via: Wired: Robotic assassination campaigns directed from the Oval Office. Cyber espionage programs launched at the president’s behest. Surveillance on an industrial scale. The White House already has an incredible amount of power to monitor and take out individuals around the globe. But a new wave of technologies, just coming online, could give those powers […]
‘Given Tablets but No Teachers, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves’
November 2nd, 2012“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” —Sun Tzu, The Art o War Update: Nicholas Negroponte Is the Brother of John Negroponte Reader DW tipped me off to something pretty remarkable that I hadn’t noticed […]
