H+ Weekly - Issue #266
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This week - how to share the benefits of AI; Florida enacts DNA privacy law; a bionic bird; why it is still early days for AI; and more!
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The Cost of AI Training is Improving at 50x the Speed of Moore’s Law: Why It’s Still Early Days for AI
According to research done by ARK, the cost of training and using AI in production has fallen dramatically over the last few years. For example, during the past two years, the cost to classify one billion images has fallen from $10,000 to just $0.03. The research concludes that AI is in very early days and with costs dropping so much, by 2037 AI will become "the first foundational technology to dwarf the internet".
► Sharing the Benefits of AI: The Windfall Clause (11:43)
Robert Miles explains the Windfall Clause - an idea for a contract between AI companies and the society to share the benefits of AI and making sure the benefits from the technology are equally distributed.
► Deep face faking Linus Sebastian (11:44)
In this video, guys from Linus Tech Tips show how they deep faked Linus into a video. They show the entire process and share what worked and what did not work.
ROBOTICS
I have published the next story in the Dead Robots series. This one is about Anki - a company that brought adorable Cozmo and Vector robots and dreamed of a world where everyone has a friendly robot in their home. Let me know what do you think about it and leave a like if you liked it!
► Bionic bird from Festo (1:45)
Every year, engineers from Festo show a new bionic robot. This year, it is a bionic bird and it looks amazing.
The five: robots helping to tackle coronavirus
During the ongoing pandemic and global lockdown, robots have been disinfecting hospitals, delivering groceries, making sure people keep their distance and even allow quarantined students to attend graduation ceremonies.
Meet the socially distant robot scientist
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have deployed a robotic scientist that can do experiments in the lab while the human scientists are forced to work from home. The robot can also automate repetitive tasks, freeing scientists time and leaving them with what humans do the best - be creative.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
In the Future, Lab Mice Will Live in Computer Chips, Not Cages
Testing new drugs is instrumental in today's medical research. But some scientists try to find new ways to run experiments without animal tests - using computational models to simulate the effects of drugs or replicating. animal physiology in test-tube style experiments.
Florida becomes first state to enact DNA privacy law, blocking insurers from genetic data
Florida became the first US state to enact a DNA privacy law, prohibiting life, disability and long-term care insurance companies from using genetic tests for coverage purposes.
CLOSING NOTES
The videos from the Humanity+ Summit (which I have somehow completely missed) are available on YouTube - day 1 and day 2 (here is the list of speakers).
FUTURES Podcast conversation with Lord Martin Rees on ensuring humanity's survival is also on YouTube and you can watch it here.
On Monday, 13th July, London Futurists is hosting a webinar with Jenny Kleeman, Rohit Talwar and Gemma Milne. Topic- Adventures at the Frontier of Birth, Food, Sex & Death. The webinar is free to attend and will start from 6pm UK time on Monday 13th July. You can register for free here.
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Conrad Gray (@conradthegray)
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