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May 2, 2018
Scientists create ultra-thin membrane that turns eyes into lasers
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, security, wearables
It will still be a while before scientists are able to harness Superman-like laser vision, but the technology is now closer than ever before thanks to a new development from the University of St Andrews. The team there have created an ultra-thin membrane laser using organic semiconductors, which is for the first time compatible with the requirements for safe operation in the human eye. Even though the membrane is super thin and flexible, it’s durable, and will retain its optical properties even after several months spent attached to another object, such as a bank note or, more excitingly, a contact lens.
The ocular laser, which has so far been tested on cow eyes, is able to identify sharp lines on a flat background — the ones and zeros of a digital barcode — and could be harnessed for new applications in security, biophotonics and photomedicine. Team member Professor Malte Gather said: “Our work represents a new milestone in laser development and, in particular, points the way to how lasers can be used in inherently soft and ductile environments, be it in wearable sensors or as an authentication feature on bank notes.”
May 2, 2018
The universe is an egg and the moon isn’t real: notes from a Flat Earth conference
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
Michael Marshall attended the UK’s annual gathering of people who share the unshakeable belief that the Earth is flat.
May 2, 2018
This Artificial Eye Uses ‘Muscles’ To See Better Than Humans
Posted by Shane Hinshaw in category: futurism
May 2, 2018
Can We Train a Computer to Read Your Mind?
Posted by Shane Hinshaw in categories: computing, transportation
May 2, 2018
Elon Musk: Automation Will Force Governments to Introduce Universal Basic Income
Posted by Shane Hinshaw in categories: economics, Elon Musk, government, robotics/AI
Recently, Elon Musk had the chance to share his thoughts on universal basic income (UBI) at the World Government Summit in Dubai. At the Summit, Musk had the opportunity to talk about the future, and the challenges the world will face in the next hundred years – including artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and the job displacement expected to come with it.
When asked about the challenges civilization is set to face in the near future, Musk began by noting the threat of artificial intelligences that surpass humanity.
May 2, 2018
AI can predict your personality just by how your eyes move
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: robotics/AI
By Alice Klein
The eyes really are a window to the soul. The way they move can reveal your personality type – a finding that could help robots better understand and interact with humans.
Psychologists have long believed that personality influences the way we visually take in the world. Curious people tend to look around more and open-minded people gaze longer at abstract images, for example.
Continue reading “AI can predict your personality just by how your eyes move” »
May 2, 2018
Aging is no laughing matter
Posted by Nicola Bagalà in categories: biotech/medical, life extension
Sometimes, people laugh imagining themselves as elderly people. Would they laugh imagining themselves as diseased?
If you watched a TV show, or read a comic book, where the difficulties and suffering of an oncological patient were portrayed in a disrespectful, humorous way, you would likely be outraged; at the very least, you would think that the show or comic book was in seriously bad taste. You’d probably think the same about similar material involving a disabled person or anyone who, because of an incurable disease, had only a short time to live spent in increasing misery—for example, a child affected by progeria, a disease that may best be described as a sort of accelerated aging syndrome that kills off its victims in their mid-twenties at the very latest.
Yet, it is not uncommon to see the diseases of old age, and even elderly people in general, being laughed at in just such a way without causing much outrage at all. Why is there a difference?
May 2, 2018
Nobody knows how far off useful quantum computers are: Here’s why
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: computing, quantum physics
The recent breakthroughs in quantum physics expand on work down nearly two decades ago. So how far away are useful quantum computers?
May 2, 2018
Could Artificial Intelligence Solve The Problems Einstein Couldn’t?
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: robotics/AI
With huge suites of data, we can extract plenty of signals where we know to look for them. Everything else? That’s where AI comes in.