Technology Lab —
Google AI invents its own cryptographic algorithm; no one knows how it works.
Neural networks seem good at devising crypto methods; less good at codebreaking.
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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.
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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Within 20 years nearly all jobs will be automated and will lead to a human revolution, claims top futurist philosopher.
Futurist and architect Jacque Fresco speaks in parables. If he goes on too long with a story, his 40-year partner Roxanne Meadows interjects facts to keep him on track. Fresco recently turned 100 years old, and is the oldest celebrity futurist in the world. His magnum opus is The Venus Project, a 21-acre Central Florida Eden with white dome-shaped buildings that Meadows and he hand built over three and a half decades. The sanctuary and research center is where Fresco still leads weekly seminars, which includes a tour of 10 buildings—some filled with hundreds of future city models inside them—that highlight the promise of a future world where equality and technology abound.
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You may not typically be firing on all cylinders when your alarm clock goes off, but French startup Holi says it has created an alarm clock that will fire on all cylinders for you. The Bonjour is a voice-controlled, artificially intelligent device that learns about the user and acts as their personal assistant.
First things first – the Bonjour has a rather natty design that sits somewhere between contemporary cleanliness and retro stylishness. Its 5.3-in (13.5-cm) diameter circular body leans back on four short and stumpy legs, while a circular color HD screen is set into its center.
Like the Kello alarm clock, the Bonjour is aimed at enriching the user’s life beyond just waking them up. Whereas the Kello aims to improve the quality of the user’s sleep though, the Bonjour wants to improve their waking hours.
NEWS ANALYSIS: The confluence of big data, massively powerful computing resources and advanced algorithms is bringing new artificial intelligence capabilities to scientific research.
WASHINGTON, DC—Massively parallel supercomputing hardware along with advanced artificial intelligence algorithms are being harnessed to deliver powerful new research tools in science and medicine, according to Dr. France A. Córdova, Director of the National Science Foundation.
Córdova spoke Oct. 26 at GPU Technology Conference organized by Nvidia, a company that got its start making video cards for PCs and gaming systems, that now manufactures advanced graphics processor for high-performance servers and supercomputers.
“For researchers given the right guidance, the market for their skills is enormous. Deep learning is now technology that every big company needs. And there are only so many researchers to go around.”
