Lifeboat Foundation

We welcome Sam Wallace’s contribution to the discussion on a proposed ban on offensive autonomous weapons. This is a complex issue and there are interesting arguments on both sides that need to be weighed up carefully.

His article, written as a response to an open letter signed by over 2500 AI and robotics researchers, begins with the claim that such a ban is as “unrealistic as the broad relinquishment of nuclear weapons would have been at the height of the cold war.”

This argument misses the mark. First, the letter proposes not unilateral relinquishment but an arms control treaty. Second, nuclear weapons were successfully curtailed by a series of arms-control treaties during the cold war, without which we might not have been here to have this conversation.

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Microsoft demos English-to-Chinese universal translator that keeps your voice and accent.

Alternative World News Network.

At an event in China, Microsoft Research chief Rick Rashid has demonstrated a real-time English-to-Mandarin speech-to-speech translation engine. Not only is the translation very accurate, but the software also preserves the user’s accent and intonation. We’re not just talking about a digitized, robotic translator here — this is firmly within the realms of Doctor Who or Star Trek universal translation.

Continue reading “Microsoft demos English-to-Chinese universal translator that keeps your voice and accent Alternative World News Network At an event in China” »

We believe in harnessing the power of biology to make transformative products that are good for business, people and the environment. By applying the latest in automation, data architecture and machine learning, we’re making better microbes for use in industrial fermentation.

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For starters, teach them to learn.

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The head of DeepMind says the rise of artificial intelligence could be as important as the industrial revolution – and it must put ethics at its heart.

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=erjo8yfyD9w

The self-driving vehicle revolution has gotten underway in the UK, with the first of a number of automated ‘pod’ trial vehicles unveiled to the public in Milton Keynes this week.

The LUTZ (Low-carbon Urban Transport Zone) Pathfinder is a diminutive electric-powered two-seater that’s about half the length of an ordinary car. If you feel the need for speed, however, you may want to look elsewhere for now. The Pathfinder is designed for use in pedestrianised areas, with a top speed of just 24 km/hr.

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The future of household robots owes a lot to 19th century American explorers Lewis and Clark.

At least, that’s what iRobot CEO Colin Angle told a crowd of reporters at a press event in New York on Sept. 16, introducing the Roomba 980, iRobot’s newest trashcan-lid-shaped vacuuming robot. It may look like every other Roomba the company has released over the past decade or so, but this one has a new trick: It knows how to map out its surroundings and find its way home.

“Roomba’s mission is to clean, which is not as exciting as Lewis and Clark,” Angle said, “But nonetheless very important.”

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CEO of parent company, Damiler, says Mercedes premium driverless cars are a ‘concrete development goal’.

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The Japanese humanoid robot Pepper, which sold out of its first 1,000 units in one minute in Japan this June, will get a personality makeover for the US market: it’ll go from cute and bubbly to snarky and sarcastic, MIT Technology Review reports.

Editor Will Knight met a Pepper unit in Boston this week, and reported back some very distinct changes in the robot’s personality designed to make it more appealing to Americans: High fives instead of bows; smartass swipes instead of songs. In the MIT report, Knight said he asked an Americanized Pepper if it’s like Terminator, to which it responded: “Do I really have to answer that?”

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