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Archive for the ‘government’ category: Page 183

Dec 21, 2016

China Trumps NASA With Working “StarTrek” EM Propulsion Drive –“Testing Now Aboard the Tiangong-2 Space Laboratory”

Posted by in categories: energy, government, satellites

Scientists with the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) claim NASA’s results ‘re-confirm’ what they’d already achieved, and have plans to implement it in satellites ‘as quickly as possible.’ China claims they’ve created a working prototype of the ‘impossible’ reactionless engine – and they say they’re already testing it in orbit aboard the Tiangong-2 space laboratory. The radical, fuel-free EmDrive recently stirred up controversy after a paper published by a team of NASA researchers appeared to show they’d successfully built the technology.

The implications for this could be huge. For instance, current satellites could be half the size they are today without the need to carry fuel.

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Dec 13, 2016

IEEE publishes draft report on ‘ethically aligned’ AI design

Posted by in categories: ethics, government, law, robotics/AI

IEEE’s new standards for ethically aligned AI — it’s a start focuses a lot on building ethics/ Morales into AI and not promote the building of autonomous AI Weapons, etc. However, without government & laws on the books this set of standards are a feel good document at best. When it gets into morals, values, not breaking laws, etc. this is when the standard really must come from social and cultural order/ practices, government, and most importantly laws to ensure the standards have the buy in and impact you need. My suggestion to IEEE, please work with gov, tech, legal sys. on this one.


More than 100 experts in artificial intelligence and ethics are attempting to advance public discussion surrounding the ethical considerations of AI.

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Dec 13, 2016

Genetic Editing Could Cause the Next Cold War

Posted by in categories: genetics, government, transhumanism

My new article on the future geopolitical challenges of genetic editing: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/genetic-editing-could-cause-the-next-cold-war #transhumanism


If China pursues human genetic enhancement and the US retreats under a conservative government, it could create a divide between the modified and the not, sewing the seeds of global conflict.

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Dec 10, 2016

Quantum leaps needed for new computer approach

Posted by in categories: computing, finance, government, military, quantum physics

Glad that the author is highlighting the need for investment; however, the US government has had a quantum network since 1991. Wall Street, various overseas banks, ISPs, etc. well over a year to 2 years ago. And, tech has invested in QC for a decade or longer. So, the article raises the need for investing in QC; however, the investing is no longer experimental as it is now about the daily usage of this technology as well as planning for technical transformation that is coming in the next 5 to 7 years.


Researchers led by Lockheed Martin and IBM are pushing quantum computing prototypes and military applications.

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Dec 6, 2016

DARPA Creating Industry/Government Group for Safe Operation of Space Robotics

Posted by in categories: government, robotics/AI

Starting to think that I need to be at DARPA.


Consortium For Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) envisions consensus-based technical standards that would encourage responsible on-orbit commercial servicing operations.

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Dec 6, 2016

Conroy’s quantum warning: be ready

Posted by in categories: computing, economics, government, quantum physics, security

More folks warning others that you better be planning for a QC transformation as it is coming and is going to be probably the largest scale transformation the we have seen in the history of technology.


Former communications minister, Stephen Conroy has warned that Australian government technology decision makers need to start preparing for the development of quantum computing.

The former senator made the warning during a panel session at the Australian Computer Society’s Reimagination conference late last week. While still in its nascent development stages, the former minister for broadband communications and the digital economy said that it could have major national security implications.

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Dec 3, 2016

Should tech grads pick defense over Silicon Valley?

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, drones, engineering, government, military, neuroscience

Hmmmm.


Sam Gussman arrived four years ago at Stanford University hoping to eventually parlay an engineering degree into a product manager job at Google or Facebook.

Working for the National Security Agency or other intelligence bureaus never crossed his mind. For Gussman, the government didn’t seem like the place for the most exciting, cutting-edge research in human computer interaction — his area of interest. Plus, it did no on-campus recruiting, unlike the many tech startups that e-mailed him daily about job opportunities and happy hours.

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Dec 3, 2016

The Dawn of AI: Congress Is Discussing What We’ll Do in a World Run by Robots

Posted by in categories: government, robotics/AI, space

In Brief

  • Last week’s US Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness focused on the impact AI has in various sectors of US society.
  • Scientists predict that investments in AI will increase by more than 300 percent over the next few years, meaning AI will have a more prominent role in society.

Senator Ted Cruz opened up last Wednesday’s hearing by the US Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness with a description of the changing landscape of technology: “Whether we recognize it or not, artificial intelligence is already seeping into our daily lives.”

Senator Cruz explained that scientists are predicting how investments in AI will increase by more than 300 percent in the next few years, which means AI will have a more prominent role in society. With that in mind, the subcommittee’s hearing focused on the impact AI has in various sectors of US society, and how to best ensure US leadership in AI development.

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Dec 1, 2016

To fix its failing veteran healthcare system, the US Dept. of Veteran Affairs looks to AI

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government, health, robotics/AI

AI (someday once things are more secured) is going to drastically reduce our cost of government. At least the VA believes AI is going to make them better at treating folks; my guess it’s a mix of cost saving potential via automation and improving diagnosis.


Flow Health and the VA are building a medical knowledge graph with deep learning to inform medical decision-making and train AI to personalize care plans.

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Dec 1, 2016

Artificial Intelligence Invades the Home … In Toys

Posted by in categories: government, habitats, robotics/AI

The first thing I learned about Cozmo is that it doesn’t like to stay put very long. Roused from slumber, the little robot’s face illuminates, and it begins zooming around the table in front of me. A moment later, it notices I’m watching and turns to greet me, saying my name with a computerized chirp.

Cozmo, which came out on Oct. 17, is the latest toy from six-year-old San Francisco startup Anki. It’s also an attempt to bring the burgeoning fields of robotics and artificial intelligence to consumers. While companies large and small work on both, applications tend to be in high-end computing, defense and government. Anki is betting toys will give the technologies a foothold at home. And Gartner predicts sales of such smart toys will grow, globally, from 8 million units this year to 421 million by 2020.

Toymakers have been cramming circuit boards and wireless chips into their products for years. Mattel and Hasbro, for example, sell high-tech versions of classics Barbie and Furby. But toys like Cozmo differ in the way they interact with the people and objects around them, changing their behavior over time as their software “learns.” Right out of the box, cameras and sensors allow Cozmo to recognize individuals, avoid falls or bumping into obstacles and play simple games like keep-away. But Anki says it will evolve; in December it will be able to recognize pets and learn new words. “Every input trigger, no matter what happens to him, will influence his future behavior,” says Hanns Tappeiner, Anki’s president.

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