Lifeboat Foundation

Could this Quantum Technology inertial sensors be utilized to provide more reliable navigation to driverless autos? Quantum again proves to serve multiple usages.

Advances in laser cooling of atoms have produced a new generation of inertial sensors based on matter-wave interferometers, which are becoming an essential technology for accurate positioning or geodesy.

Very glad to see this article released. When I look at technology I have to look at their value (short & long term), cost & time to develop, usability and adoption potential, and risks & liability as well as their revenue potential & longevity in the market. In order for robots to have broader adoption by consumers and longevity in the future; development groups will need to design & develop robots that are more personable & multi-functional for consumers and companies. We still have a long ways to go.

What role does a philosopher play in building robots? If you’re Lisa Miracchi, an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy in the School of Arts & Sciences, more than you might think.

When scholars began studying human intelligence, Miracchi says two schools of thought emerged: One group said human beings are simply computers, with mental states and actions explained in computational terms. The other camp believed that intelligence and the ability to think makes humans more than just computers.

Continue reading “Penn philosopher sheds new light on robots, artificial intelligence” »

SANTA ROSA, Calif., March 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Dr. Joanne Pransky, recognized for 30 years as the “World’s First Robotic Psychiatrist,” just launched a new Website and YouTube Channel at www.robot.md.

The day after actor Carrie Fisher captivated Oscar viewers in an IBM Watson commercial where she holds group therapy for robots, “Dr. Joanne” brought her new website to life. “Carrie Fisher deserves an honorary diploma of robotic psychiatry!” Dr. Joanne exclaimed.

Continue reading “World’s First Robotic Psychiatrist® Applauds Actor’s Skill in Robot Therapy Ad, Launches New ‘Dr. Joanne’ Website” »

A realistic article on AI — especially around AI being manipulated by others for their own gain which I have also identified as the real risks with AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI), once the seeming red-headed stepchild of the scientific community, has come a long way in the past two decades. Most of us have reconciled with the fact that we can’t live without our smartphones and Siri, and AI’s seemingly omnipotent nature has infiltrated the nearest and farthest corners of our lives, from robo-advisors on Wall Street and crime-spotting security cameras, to big data analysis by Google’s BigQuery and Watson’s entry into diagnostics in the medical field.

In many unforeseen ways, AI is helping to improve and make our lives more efficient, though the reverse degeneration of human economic and cultural structures is also a potential reality. The Future of Life Institute’s tagline sums it up in succinct fashion: “Technology is giving life the potential to flourish like never before…or to self-destruct.” Humans are the creators, but will we always have control of our revolutionary inventions?

To much of the general public, AI is AI is AI, but this is only part truth. Today, there are two primary strands of AI development — ANI (Artificial Narrow Intelligence) and AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). ANI is often termed “weak AI” and is “the expert” of the pair, using its intelligence to perform specific functions. Most of the technology with which we surround ourselves (including Siri) falls into the ANI bucket. AGI is the next generation of ANI, and it’s the type of AI behind dreams of building a machine that achieves human levels of consciousness.

Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence Risk — 12 Researchers Weigh in on the Danger’s of Smarter Machines” »

Driverless cars, like the one Google launched in 2012, are touted for their potential energy savings, but engineers say we should consider the possibility that the technology will intensify car use.

If people can work, relax, and even hold meetings in their cars, they may drive more.

Matt O’Brien argues that we should look more carefully at the economy before panicking about robots taking our jobs.

We may be on the verge of creating a new life form, one that could mark not only an evolutionary breakthrough, but a potential threat to our survival as a species.

Driven by a need for convenience, an IT specialist from Sweden just opened the country’s first unstaffed store, which uses an app for access and scanning technology to make purchases.

After dropping what turned out to be his last jar of baby food on the floor, Robert Ilijason, who was then home alone with his son, had no choice but to make a drive to find a supermarket that was open and buy a new one.

This was no easy task, as shops close early in many rural areas, leaving individuals with nowhere to go to get any last minute necessities late at night.

Continue reading “The Store With No Employees: Sweden Opens The First Unstaffed Store” »

In SELF/LESS, a dying old man (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley) transfers his consciousness to the body of a healthy young man (Ryan Reynolds). If you’re into immortality, that’s pretty good product packaging, no?

But this thought-provoking psychological thriller also raises fundamental and felicitous ethical questions about extending life beyond its natural boundaries. Postulating the moral and ethical issues that surround mortality have long been defining characteristics of many notable stories within the sci-fi genre. In fact, the Mary Shelley’s age-old novel, Frankenstein, while having little to no direct plot overlaps [with SELF/LESS], it is considered by many to be among the first examples of the science fiction genre.

Continue reading “Never Say Die – SELF/LESS from Science-Fiction to -Fact” »