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Feb 16, 2016

New Strengthen America’s Commitment to the Next Generation of Researchers Clears Key Senate Hurdle

Posted by in category: health

Collins and Baldwin’s legislation would create the “Next Generation Researchers Initiative” within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director to coordinate all current and new…

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Feb 16, 2016

On Chatbots

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Chatbots are the “Swans of Bots”.


Chatbots, historically maligned as “weak AI,” are finally transforming from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. According to recent predictions, chatbots (#ConvComm) will be big. Like, Google-killing big, heralding the end of apps and search as we know it — or so proclaimed Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.

Much ink has been spilled. Startups are spawning and capital is flowing, even in these uncertain times. But what is a chatbot, and what can they actually do? Here are five myths debunked:

Myth No. 1: Chatbots and bots are the same thing!

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Feb 16, 2016

Cyber-criminals have evolved tactics, says ThreatMetrix report

Posted by in categories: drones, evolution, finance, law, robotics/AI

Why it is important to think like a criminal when developing AI as well as Cyber Defense. Recently, I shared some insights on how AI could be used by Criminals (not just hackers) and making it extremely hard for the existing legal system to catch criminals. Robots (just like drones recently have been used) could be used in many ways by cartels, robbers & burglars, killers, and even worse. This is why we have to have solid cyber defense plus stop gaps in place for the legal system to diffuse dangers that could be implemented.


ThreatMetrix’s new report has come up with several new insights from the last quarter including the evolution of bot tactics to avoid the traditional defences of lenders and banks.

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Feb 16, 2016

Could READING and learning stop AI robots from killing humans?

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

No is the answer to this question — example; lets say we have a drug cartel that has a front person by 10 robots at $10K each; then the cartel has on their payroll some hot shot robotic engineers who can reprogram their bots and teaches them to kill or push drugs, etc. Now, you see why the answer is “No”.


Called Quixote, the system teaches ‘value alignment’ to robots by training them to read stories, learn acceptable sequences of events and understand successful ways to behave in human societies.

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Feb 16, 2016

Trials moving ahead for treatment of most aggressive form of brain cancer

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Wonderful news for Glioblastoma patients; 2nd clinical trails is underway for the two drug combination that researchers are using to disrupt the cellular process cancer cells use to hide from the immune system and allow the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer.


The UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center has started phase 2 clinical trials, targeting glioblastoma patients.

Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer. Only about one fifth of adults diagnosed with it survive two years or more after their diagnosis, UNM researchers said.

Continue reading “Trials moving ahead for treatment of most aggressive form of brain cancer” »

Feb 16, 2016

How blockchain will save us from the perils of central bank price fixing

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, economics, finance, food

What will be interesting most about block chaining is when more countries drop their own traditional currency models & move to block chaining like one of the countries in Africa announced 2 weeks ago. I do know that many 2nd & 3rd world countries are finding electronic currency more appealing due to the Central Bank’s policies; however, what will be the impacts at the end of the day felt across the world as more and more 2nd & 3rd world markets switch their models. Immediately, we see risks with central banks; the question is where else (WBO, WTO, US, etc)


Many countries have experimented with price fixing and central planning over the last century. Right now, Venezuela’s government is fixing the prices of many products. This has resulted in widespread shortages of goods which we, as the lucky inhabitants of semi-free economies, take for granted.

Price fixing has failed in every area of the economy in which it has been tried. But while few serious economists would suggest that we have a team of bureaucrats set the price of rubber, wheat or coffee, we do have one sphere of the economy which is still centrally planned – our monetary system. This will fail just like all central planning fails. We are now moving into a dangerous new phase of price fixing by central banks. Having failed to stimulate economies with years of zero per cent interest rates, they are now discussing the prospect of negative interest rates (and some have even introduced them), the reductio ad absurdum of modern monetary economics.

Continue reading “How blockchain will save us from the perils of central bank price fixing” »

Feb 16, 2016

Online security? Just let me Google that, say puzzled bosses

Posted by in categories: business, cybercrime/malcode, economics, robotics/AI, security

Although this article highlights the lack of awareness by some CEOs and board members on all things around Cyber Security; I do see a larger gap and risk. I do believe if a fully funded and dedicated joint task force effort among Silicon Valley, US Government, and Wall Street are not in place tackling this jointly to help the country and economy to diffuse this situation within the next 14 to 18 months that AI could fail in its delivery due to public’s concerns around trust and security.

Therefore, tech spent millions if not billions on new AI technology that businesses and consumers see no value in due to risks.


Some board executives still need help from a search engine to explain cyber security issues, warns report.

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Feb 16, 2016

Bedtime stories for robots could teach them to be human

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

I must admit that this will be hard to do. Sure; I can code anything to come across as responding & interacting to questions, topics, etc. Granted logical/ pragmatic decision making is based on facts/ information that people have at a given point of time; being human isn’t only based on algorithms and prescript data it includes being spontaneous, and sometimes emotional thinking. Robots without the ability to be spontaneous, and have emotional thinking capabilities; will not be human and will lack the connection that humans need.


Some people worry that someday a robot – or a collective of robots – will turn on humans and physically hurt or plot against us.

The question, they say, is how can robots be taught morality?

Continue reading “Bedtime stories for robots could teach them to be human” »

Feb 16, 2016

Car cyber hijacking on the rise

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, security, sustainability, transportation

Cyber Carjacking the new way to steal someone’s auto.


Cyber security was one of the topics on the agenda at the recent CyberTech conference held in Tel Aviv.

Last year, hackers in the US managed to remotely access a Jeep Cherokee SUV through its on-board computer, taking control of its steering, transmission and brakes.

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Feb 16, 2016

Why the Most Famous CEOs Are Often Wrong About the Future

Posted by in categories: futurism, mobile phones

Interesting read — I must admit that today’s CEOs of large companies are not like the CEOs of my grandfather’s generation who were more like the mold of Sam Walton.


This habit for grandiose predictions seems to be contagious. Last fall, Miguel McKelvey, founder of shared office space giant We Work Cos. promised his company would be in a thousand locations “in the near future.” Given that the company at the time was present in just 52 places, this promised a growth rate north of 1500 percent—but probably had some intended influence on the company’s $10 billion valuation.

In 2013, before he left Blackberry under pressure, the company’s CEO Thorsten Heins declared that “in 5 years, I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore.”

Continue reading “Why the Most Famous CEOs Are Often Wrong About the Future” »