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Oct 28, 2021

Facebook changes its corporate branding to Meta

Posted by in categories: augmented reality, virtual reality

Well, it’s official. After 17 years of being called Facebook, the social networking parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus has a new name.

Facebook’s corporate entity is now **Meta**.

Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg announced the change at the company’s AR/VR-focused Connect event, sharing that the new title captured more of the company’s core ambition: to build the metaverse.

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Oct 28, 2021

McDonald’s Partners With IBM to Replace Drive-Thru Employees With AI

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Exactly what we needed: more automated systems replacing human workers.

Oct 28, 2021

L+600 and counting: ESA astronaut to be 600th person in space on SpaceX Crew-3 launch

Posted by in category: space travel

I was the lucky one to get the round number.


A German astronaut is set to become the 600th person to enter space and he will do so flying with a U.S. astronaut who once came close to being number 500.

Matthias Maurer with the European Space Agency (ESA) will gain the distinction of being the sexcentenarian space traveler when he launches to the International Space Station as a member of SpaceX’s Crew-3 mission, currently scheduled for early Sunday morning (Oct. 31). Maurer is one of three first-time fliers on the four-person crew, including NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, but he was identified by NASA as the designated milestone maker.

Oct 28, 2021

Elon Musk announces Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta 10.4 update as rollout slows down

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, transportation

Elon Musk has announced the upcoming release of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta 10.4 update as Tesla slows down the rollout.

Earlier this week, Tesla started rolling out Full Self-Driving Beta 10.3.

The update came after a false start last weekend when Tesla pushed the update with some problems and ended up reverting back to 10.2.

Oct 28, 2021

Brain Implant Gives Blind Woman Artificial Vision in Scientific First

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs

A ‘visual prosthesis’ implanted directly into the brain has allowed a blind woman to perceive two-dimensional shapes and letters for the first time in 16 years.

The US researchers behind this phenomenal advance in optical prostheses have recently published the results of their experiments, presenting findings that could help revolutionize the way we help those without sight see again.

At age 42 Berna Gomez developed toxic optic neuropathy, a deleterious medical condition that rapidly destroyed the optic nerves connecting her eyes to her brain.

Oct 28, 2021

Prof Goya & Dr Katcher Lifespan Experiment Update Oct 2021 | Modern Healthspan

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health

The non-E5 made rats healthier with a small increase in lifespan. The E5 part 2 is still ongoing with rats at 31 months that generally at most live 36 months.


In this video we give a brief update on the parallel experiments being conducted by Dr Katcher and Professor Goya. In these studies they are injecting E5 and young blood plasma into rats in repeatedly to see if the maximum lifespan can be extended.

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Oct 28, 2021

China’s New Quantum Computer Has 1 Million Times the Power of Google’s

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

And they say it’s the world’s fastest.

It appears a quantum computer rivalry is growing between the U.S. and China.

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Oct 28, 2021

A DIY Man Has Launched a Water Rocket With a Functional Parachute

Posted by in categories: education, engineering, space

Creating the most reusable launch vehicle, ever.

Far from the Space Race where billionaires are outwitting one another to build colonies and private stations in space, a quiet YouTuber has built a water rocket that uses a parachute to gently return to Earth.

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Oct 28, 2021

Spooky Or Plain Creepy: Using AI Self-Driving Cars As Stalkerware To Sneakily Stalk Someone

Posted by in categories: ethics, robotics/AI, transportation

Thankfully, there is a growing effort toward AI For Good.

This latest mantra entails ways to try and make sure that the advances in AI are being applied for the overall betterment of mankind. These are assuredly laudable endeavors and reassuringly crucial that the technology underlying AI is aimed and deployed in an appropriate and assuredly positive fashion (for my coverage on the burgeoning realm of AI Ethics, see the link here).

Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, there is the ugly side of the coin too, namely the despicable AI For Bad.

Oct 28, 2021

“Living With Robots” — An Excellent Non-Technical Overview Of Robotics

Posted by in categories: business, robotics/AI

The final humorous argument I have is if one example is really a robot. Aylett and Vargas describe a “robot” as a humanoid machine that doesn’t manipulate anything. It just provides information at a shopping center. How does that fit into their own definition of a robot? It sounds more like an overgrown tablet computer with wheels. However, that’s a fun argument having nothing to do with the business value of whatever you want to call it.

Full Story:


This is a review of the third book sent to me recently by MIT Press, and the book is the best of the bunch. “Living With Robots,” by Ruth Aylett and Patricia A. Vargas is a good, non-technical book that discusses a number of issues with robots in human society. This is excellent for both business managers and those more generally interested in both the promise and reality of robots in society.

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