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Archive for the ‘computing’ category: Page 719

Oct 28, 2016

How Economists View the Rise of Artificial Intelligence

Posted by in categories: computing, economics, robotics/AI

Machine learning will drop the cost of making predictions, but raise the value of human judgement.

To really understand the impact of artificial intelligence in the modern world, it’s best to think beyond the mega-research projects like those that helped Google recognize cats in photos.

According to professor Ajay Agrawal of the University of Toronto, humanity should be pondering how the ability of cutting edge A.I. techniques like deep learning —which has boosted the ability for computers to recognize patterns in enormous loads of data—could reshape the global economy.

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Oct 28, 2016

Ultra-low-power transistors could function for years without a battery

Posted by in category: computing

“If we were to draw energy from a typical AA battery based on this design, it would last for a billion years.” — Sungsik Lee, PhD, in the journal Science.


Schematic cross-section of an Indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor [inset: schematic illustrations of atomic structures for less compensated (left) and more compensated (right) IGZO films, respectively] (credit: Sungsik Lee and Arokia Nathan/Science)

The transistors can be produced at low temperatures and can be printed on almost any material, such as glass, plastic, polyester fabrics, and paper.

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Oct 27, 2016

Wiring the brain with artificial senses and limb control

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, cyborgs, robotics/AI

There have been significant advances in developing new prostheses with a simple sense of touch, but researchers are looking to go further. Scientists and engineers are working on a way to provide prosthetic users and those suffering from spinal cord injuries with the ability to both feel and control their limbs or robotic replacements by means of directly stimulating the cortex of the brain.

For decades, a major goal of neuroscientists has been to develop new technologies to create more advanced prostheses or ways to help people who have suffered spinal cord injuries to regain the use of their limbs. Part of this has involved creating a means of sending brain signals to disconnected nerves in damaged limbs or to robotic prostheses, so they can be moved by thought, so control is simple and natural.

However, all this had only limited application because as well as being able to tell a robotic or natural limb to move, a sense of touch was also required, so the patient would know if something has been grasped properly or if the hand or arm is in the right position. Without this feedback, it’s very difficult to control an artificial limb properly even with constant concentration or computer assistance.

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Oct 27, 2016

Experts State Robots Will Take Over Additional 850,000 Jobs By 2030

Posted by in categories: business, computing, employment, government, policy, robotics/AI, transportation

Tough times lay ahead for human workers. With the advent of automation comes a much smaller job market and an ever-shrinking work force. Jobs traditionally held by humans are now being taken over by robots and computer software. Now, another job sector is being threatened by automation: the public sector.

A study conducted by Oxford University and Deloitte, a business advisory firm, found that 850,000 public sector jobs in the UK are at risk of being lost by 2030 due to automation. The report also mentions how more than 1.3 million administrative jobs in the public sector have a 77% probability of being automated. These jobs include highly repetitive jobs like clerical work and transportation work.

–This report comes as good news to fiscal policy makers who wish to cut costs. It shows the government can save up to £12 billion in public sector wages by 2030.

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Oct 26, 2016

Quantum Bit MRI Machine to See Shapes of Individual Biomolecules for Drug Research

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, particle physics, quantum physics

Drug discovery is a long and difficult process that requires a comprehensive understanding of the molecular structures of compounds under investigation. It’s difficult to have an idea of the precise shape of complex molecules such as proteins, but researchers at University of Melbourne in Australia have come up with a way of seeing the location of individual atoms within biomolecules.

Using quantum bits, most notably utilized in quantum computer research, the investigators offer a way of producing a magnetic resonance sensor and a magnetic field gradient that can work as a tiny MRI machine. The machine would have the resolution capable of seeing single atoms components of larger molecules. This MRI machine has yet to be actually built, but the steps have been laid out based on comprehensive theoretical work. If it proves successful in practice, the technology may overcome current imaging techniques that rely on statistical averages and don’t work well on molecules that don’t crystallize well.

“In a conventional MRI machine large magnets set up a field gradient in all three directions to create 3D images; in our system we use the natural magnetic properties of a single atomic qubit,” said lead author of the research Viktor Perunicic. “The system would be fabricated on-chip, and by carefully controlling the quantum state of the qubit probe as it interacts with the atoms in the target molecule, we can extract information about the positions of atoms by periodically measuring the qubit probe and thus create an image of the molecule’s structure.”

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Oct 26, 2016

Introducing Microsoft Surface Studio — All In One Touchscreen PC

Posted by in category: computing

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Oct 26, 2016

Microsoft’s New Surface Studio PC

Posted by in category: computing

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Oct 26, 2016

Google’s neural networks invent their own encryption

Posted by in categories: computing, encryption, robotics/AI

Using machine learning, computers have come up with codes that let them send secret messages to each other – but they’re still a long way off humans.

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Oct 25, 2016

Can A Brain Computer Interface Convert Your Thoughts to Text?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, neuroscience

Summary: Brain-to-text system could help people with speech difficulties to communicate, researchers report.

Source: Frontiers.

Recent research shows brain-to-text device capable of decoding speech from brain signals.

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Oct 25, 2016

Soon, print your own smart tattoos, wearable fitness trackers

Posted by in categories: computing, wearables

Nice.


Scientists have created an inexpensive technique to print “data skin” — soft wearable electronics — paving way for smart tattoos that can be customised and printed at home.

Researchers created a fully functional “data skin” in under an hour. Since the method is based on inexpensive processing tools and materials, the circuits can be produced for less than a dollar.

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