Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
California Bans Drones from Delivering Marijuana
September 11th, 2017Via: The Verge: Drones delivering hamburgers, beer, and Amazon products might be right around the corner, but don’t get your hopes up if you want your weed sent to you via robot. That’s because California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control has recently unveiled new regulatory rules that will ban drones from delivering marijuana, as spotted by […]
U.S. House Unanimously Approves Sweeping Self-Driving Car Measure
September 6th, 2017Via: Reuters: The U.S. House on Wednesday unanimously approved a sweeping proposal to speed the deployment of self-driving cars without human controls by putting federal regulators in the driver’s seat and barring states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The House measure, the first significant federal legislation aimed at speeding self-driving cars to market, would allow automakers […]
German ‘Flying Taxi’ Firm Lilium Raises $90 Million
September 5th, 2017Via: Reuters: Lilium, a German start-up with Silicon Valley-scale ambitions to develop a 5-passenger “flying taxi”, has raised a second, $90 million round of financing from top tech investors, making it one of the best-funded electric aircraft projects to date. The company, which took in $11.4 million only last year, has emerged as one of […]
‘The Story of Replika, the AI App that Becomes You’
August 30th, 2017Oh sure, share your most personal information with this Magic 8 Ball. In other news: On Internet Privacy, Be Very Afraid. Via: Quartz: Research Credit: GB
Killer Robots: Experts Warn of ‘Third Revolution in Warfare’
August 21st, 2017I was warning about this 15 years ago. Nowadays, I’m more into yawning and wondering why the mushroom clouds haven’t gone up yet. Via: BBC: More than 100 leading robotics experts are urging the United Nations to take action in order to prevent the development of “killer robots”. In a letter to the organisation, artificial […]
“Is Alexa Spying On Us? We’re Too Busy to Care”
August 12th, 2017Oblivion. Via: McClatchy: It’s an experience every computer or smart phone user has had. After downloading new software or an app, a window pops up with a legal agreement. At the bottom is an “I agree” button. One click, and it’s gone. Most users have no clue what they’ve agreed to. That single action can […]
Audits Show Lax Oversight by Wisconsin Agency Counting Foxconn Jobs
August 11th, 2017From, Taiwan’s Foxconn, Assembler of iPhones, Considering Wisconsin Plant: My guess is that the plant will be centered around robotic manufacturing and the thousands of workers thing is being thrown out there for political fodder to secure corporate welfare from the state. And now… Via: Reuters: The Wisconsin agency tasked with holding Foxconn accountable for […]
Tesla Is Looking to Test Self-Driving, Electric Trucks With No Driver On Board
August 10th, 2017Via: Reuters: Tesla Inc is developing a long-haul, electric semi-truck that can drive itself and move in “platoons” that automatically follow a lead vehicle, and is getting closer to testing a prototype, according to an email discussion of potential road tests between the car company and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), seen by […]
Smartphones and Social Media Causing Mental Health Disaster with Children
August 4th, 2017Via: The Atlantic: Even when a seismic event—a war, a technological leap, a free concert in the mud—plays an outsize role in shaping a group of young people, no single factor ever defines a generation. Parenting styles continue to change, as do school curricula and culture, and these things matter. But the twin rise of […]
‘Apple’s Silence in China Sets a Dangerous Precedent’
July 31st, 2017Dangerous precedent? I think it’s more of a dangerous precedent du jour. Apple blocks apps for the Chinese regime. Yes, that’s bad. But Cisco built China’s god damned Great Firewall in the first place! In mentioning Apple’s, “Dangerous Precedent,” this New York Times article doesn’t mention Cisco at all. I’m definitely not defending Apple—their manufacturing […]
