Quantum Computing Is the Next Big Security Risk
December 9th, 2017Disclosure: I have invested in technology related to quantum computing.
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Via: Wired:
The consequences of mastering quantum computing, while not as visual or visceral as a mushroom cloud, are no less significant than those faced by the scientists who lit up the New Mexico sky with the detonation at the Trinity test site 72 years ago. In the same way that atomic weaponry symbolized power throughout the Cold War, quantum capability is likely to define hegemony in today’s increasingly digital, interconnected global economy.
One-Third of All Americans Killed by Strangers Are Killed by Police
December 9th, 2017Via: Granta:
Americans are afraid of many threats to their lives – serial killers, crazed gunmen, gang bangers, and above all terrorists – but these threats are surprisingly unlikely. Approximately three-quarters of all homicide victims in America are killed by someone they know. And the real threat from strangers is quite different from what most fear: one-third of all Americans killed by strangers are killed by police.
This is the story of the hidden numbers of police homicides in the United States. The killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Walter Scott have increased the world’s attention to US police violence, yet most Americans underestimate the threat posed by the people charged with keeping them safe.
America’s Farmers Killing Themselves in Record Numbers
December 8th, 2017Via: Guardian:
Last year, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people working in agriculture – including farmers, farm laborers, ranchers, fishers, and lumber harvesters – take their lives at a rate higher than any other occupation. The data suggested that the suicide rate for agricultural workers in 17 states was nearly five times higher compared with that in the general population.
After the study was released, Newsweek reported that the suicide death rate for farmers was more than double that of military veterans. This, however, could be an underestimate, as the data collected skipped several major agricultural states, including Iowa. Rosmann and other experts add that the farmer suicide rate might be higher, because an unknown number of farmers disguise their suicides as farm accidents.
The US farmer suicide crisis echoes a much larger farmer suicide crisis happening globally: an Australian farmer dies by suicide every four days; in the UK, one farmer a week takes his or her own life; in France, one farmer dies by suicide every two days; in India, more than 270,000 farmers have died by suicide since 1995.
Lincoln Partners with CLEAR for Biometric Security Service
December 8th, 2017Via: The News Wheel:
Lincoln announced a new collaboration with CLEAR, provider of a means to bypass long lines for airport security by way of biometric information. The partnership will see Lincoln customers on the receiving end of complimentary CLEAR membership, which will enable them to skip the line at more than 30 airports and arenas throughout the country.
“Our clients tell us time is their ultimate luxury,” said Lincoln President Kumar Galhotra. “So we’ve paired our exceptional vehicles with world-class services in collaboration with CLEAR to enable them to travel along their journey even more effortlessly and efficiently.”
Police Officer Who Executed Unarmed Father of Two Found Not Guilty of Murder
December 8th, 2017Via: Daily Mail:
A former Arizona police officer was found not guilty of murder Thursday of in the 2016 fatal shooting of an unarmed man outside his hotel room, as video of the shocking moment is finally released by officials.
Philip Mitchell Brailsford, 27, was found not guilty in the 2016 death of 26-year-old father-of-two Daniel Shaver, from Granbury, Texas.
The shooting, which Shaver’s family has referred to as an ‘execution,’ occurred in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa when officers were responding to a call that someone was pointing a gun out a window at the La Quinta Hotel.
Police told Shaver to exit his hotel room, lay face-down in a hallway and refrain from making sudden movements – or he risked being shot.
New disturbing footage of the encounter shows the moment Shaver, sobbing and crawling towards the officer, audibly begs ‘please don’t kill me,’ before Brailsford opens fire and shoots him dead.
Related: One-Third of All Americans Killed by Strangers Are Killed by Police
Tesla Is Working on Its Own New AI Chip
December 8th, 2017Via: Electrek:
There have been rumors that Tesla is developing its own chip optimized for self-driving applications ever since we reported on the automaker quietly hiring legendary chip architect Jim Keller from AMD last year.
Now CEO Elon Musk finally confirmed the rumor – specifying that Tesla is working on its own new AI chip and that the effort is led by Keller.
General Electric to Cut 12,000 Jobs in Power Business Revamp
December 7th, 2017Via: Reuters:
General Electric Co (GE.N) is axing 12,000 jobs at its global power business, the struggling industrial conglomerate’s latest effort to shrink itself into a more focused company.
The U.S. company launched the cuts to save $1 billion in 2018, saying it expected dwindling demand for fossil fuel power plants to continue.
“Traditional power markets including gas and coal have softened,” GE said.
TRUMP WHITE HOUSE WEIGHING PLANS FOR PRIVATE SPIES TO COUNTER “DEEP STATE” ENEMIES
December 5th, 2017Via: The Intercept:
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION is considering a set of proposals developed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer — with assistance from Oliver North, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal — to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy network that would circumvent official U.S. intelligence agencies, according to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials and others familiar with the proposals. The sources say the plans have been pitched to the White House as a means of countering “deep state” enemies in the intelligence community seeking to undermine Trump’s presidency.
The creation of such a program raises the possibility that the effort would be used to create an intelligence apparatus to justify the Trump administration’s political agenda.
“Pompeo can’t trust the CIA bureaucracy, so we need to create this thing that reports just directly to him,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official with firsthand knowledge of the proposals, in describing White House discussions. “It is a direct-action arm, totally off the books,” this person said, meaning the intelligence collected would not be shared with the rest of the CIA or the larger intelligence community. “The whole point is this is supposed to report to the president and Pompeo directly.”
Google AI Spawns Other AIs
December 5th, 2017Via: Independent:
Google has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that has created its own “child”.
What’s more, the original AI has trained its creation to such a high level that it outperforms every other human-built AI system like it.
It’s an impressive achievement, but one that could also trigger fears about what else AI could create without human involvement.
Google unveiled its AutoML project in May, with the aim of making it easier to design machine learning models by automating the process.
“In our approach…, a controller neural net can propose a ‘child’ model architecture, which can then be trained and evaluated for quality on a particular task,” the company said at the time.
“That feedback is then used to inform the controller how to improve its proposals for the next round. We repeat this process thousands of times — generating new architectures, testing them, and giving that feedback to the controller to learn from.”
In November, the AutoML plans were used to create NASNet, a “child” AI designed for object detection, which outperformed state-of-the-art machine-learning architectures built for academic competitions by humans.
Philippines Orders Probe Into Sanofi Dengue Vaccine for 730,000 Children
December 4th, 2017Via: Reuters:
The Philippines ordered an investigation on Monday into the immunization of more than 730,000 children with a vaccine for dengue that has been suspended following an announcement by French drug company Sanofi (SASY.PA) that it could worsen the disease in some cases.
