Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
White House Secret Meetings to Consider Unilateral Military Strikes in North Africa
October 2nd, 2012Via: Washington Post: The White House has held a series of secret meetings in recent months to examine the threat posed by al-Qaeda’s franchise in North Africa and consider for the first time whether to prepare for unilateral strikes, U.S. officials said.
Living Under Drones
September 26th, 2012Via: Guardian: The CIA’s programme of “targeted” drone killings in Pakistan’s tribal heartlands is politically counterproductive, kills large numbers of civilians and undermines respect for international law, according to a report by US academics. More: Living Under Drones
Autonomous Vehicles Coming to Callfornia
September 26th, 2012Via: Google: California Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. is visiting Google Headquarters today to sign SB1298, a bill that creates a legal framework and operational safety standards for the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles on state roads and highways.
For More And More Companies, The Hiring Boss Is An Algorithm
September 21st, 2012Via: Wall Street Journal: When looking for workers to staff its call centers, Xerox Corp. used to pay lots of attention to applicants who had done the job before. Then, a computer program told the printer and outsourcing company that experience doesn’t matter. The software said that what does matter in a good call-center worker—one […]
Rethink Robotics
September 20th, 2012Via: IEEE: Whereas traditional industrial robots perform one specific task with superhuman speed and precision, Baxter is neither particularly fast nor particularly precise. But it excels at just about any job that involves picking stuff up and putting it down somewhere else while simultaneously adapting to changes in its environment, like a misplaced part or […]
DARPA’s Mentats: EEG Data Used for Threat Detection
September 20th, 2012During a recent email conversation about a related technology with a friend of mine, who, shall we say, knows more than a little about this subject, he wrote something that you might find interesting: Interesting approach. It sounds like they’ve given up on computers processing images and instead they’re trying to create a mentat. Maybe […]
‘Britons must work harder if the country is to compete with China and India’
September 18th, 2012I didn’t watch the piece, but one of my filters found this comment by Guardian reader, DivineColours: Via: Guardian: Britons must work harder if the country is to compete with China and India. Oh my aching sides. Currently under development is a robot which can work a sewing machine. Pretty soon the garment industry will […]
New Cameras to Watch Cameras That Watch You
September 14th, 2012This practice is common in Britain. Via: WTOP: Many people find speed cameras frustrating, and some in the region are taking their rage out on the cameras themselves. But now there’s a new solution: cameras to watch the cameras. One is already in place, and Prince George’s County Police Maj. Robert V. Liberati hopes to […]
Army Wants Tiny Suicidal Drone to Kill From 6 Miles Away
September 11th, 2012Via: Danger Room: Killer drones just keep getting smaller. The Army wants to know how prepared its defense-industry partners are to build what it calls a “Lethal Miniature Aerial Munition System.” It’s for when the Army needs someone dead from up to six miles away in 30 minutes or less.
Step Right Up and Take a Ride on Thomas Friedman’s Hamster Wheel to the Good Life
September 10th, 2012The truth is, if you want a decent life, make sure that you’re engaged in lifelong learning about how to avoid the hellish circle jerk described in this New York Times piece. Check out the comments at the link if you need some comedy gold. Most people are telling Friedman where to insert it. Via: […]
