Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
Facebook Lobbies to Prevent State Limits on Facial Recognition
July 31st, 2017Via: The Center for Public Integrity: When Chicago resident Carlo Licata joined Facebook in 2009, he did what the 390 million other users of the world’s largest social network had already done: He posted photos of himself and friends, tagging the images with names. But what Licata, now 34, didn’t know was that every time […]
Your Banker Is Always In: Sweden Rolls Out the Robots
July 31st, 2017Via: Bloomberg: Aida is the perfect employee: always courteous, always learning and, as she says, “always at work, 24/7, 365 days a year.” Aida, of course, is not a person but a virtual customer-service representative that SEB AB, one of Sweden’s biggest banks, is rolling out. The goal is to give the actual humans more […]
Tech May Replace Half of All Low-Skilled Jobs in the U.S.
July 17th, 2017Via: CBS: Ball State University sits in Muncie, Indiana, at the heart the “Rust Belt,” so educators there have the right to be pessimistic about the drift of the U.S. economy. But a report by the school’s Center for Business and Economic Research goes even further. “We found a toxic brew,” said CBER Director Michael […]
Facial Recognition Coming to Police Body Cameras
July 17th, 2017Via: Defense One: Even if the cop who pulls you over doesn’t recognize you, the body camera on his chest just might in the future. Device-maker Motorola announced Monday that would partner with artificial intelligence software startup Neurala to build “real-time learning for a person of interest search” on Motorola products such as the Si500 […]
Genetically-Modified Cyborg Dragonfly Drone
July 10th, 2017Via: Popular Mechanics: DragonflEye was created by genetically modifying regular dragonflies with “steering neurons” in the insect’s spinal cord, which are light sensitive. Tiny, fiber-optic-like structures in the dragonfly’s eyes send pulses of light to their brains, functionally controlling where the insect flies via remote control. The dragonfly also carries a miniature “backpack” with sensors […]
Tertill: Solar Powered Weeding Robot
July 8th, 2017Via: IEEE: Tertill is a solar-powered, weed-destroying, fully autonomous and completely self-contained robot designed for your garden. Put it out there, forget about it (mostly), and it will brutally exterminate any weeds that it can find, as long as they’re short.
Volkswagen Partners with Nvidia to Expand Its Use of AI Beyond Autonomous Vehicles
June 27th, 2017Use AI to fire workers, in other words. Via: TechCrunch: Volkswagen is working with Nvidia to expand its usage of its artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies beyond autonomous vehicles and into other areas of business, the two companies revealed today. VW set up its Munich-based data lab in 2014. Last year it pushed on […]
Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Can Play a Role that Churches and Little League Once Filled
June 27th, 2017I’ll see you down at Reverend Wayne’s Pearly Gates. Via: CNBC: Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook groups to play an important role that community groups like churches and Little League teams used to perform: Bringing communities together. And with nearly 2 billion people around the world on Facebook today, he might have a chance to make […]
Amazon Robots Poised to Revamp How Whole Foods Runs Warehouses
June 26th, 2017Via: Bloomberg: In negotiations, Amazon spent a lot of time analyzing Whole Foods’ distribution technology, pointing to a possible way in which the company sees the most immediate opportunities to reduce costs, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the issue was private. Amazon, through a spokesman, declined […]
Amazon: Delivery Drone ‘Beehives’?
June 23rd, 2017Via: The Verge: Amazon’s drone delivery program stopped being a joke a while ago, but the company still has to overcome serious challenges to make the technology actually work. One of these is getting drones near enough to large populations so they’re more efficient than regular road delivery. Amazon has an idea for that though: […]
