H+ Weekly - Issue #46
ISSUE #46
Ray Kurzweil in Playboy predicts the future, Magic Leap's new demo, OpenAI as Xerox PARC of AI, why shooting down drones is a bad idea, robots, AI and more!
More than a human
Control DIY Projects With Your Mind
Something for all of you makers here. OpenBCI is an open source electroencephalogram (EEG) headset, which you can either buy or 3D print it and build yourself, and then you can start controlling various things using just your mind.
Reinvent Yourself: The Playboy Interview with Ray Kurzweil
The day has come when Playboy made an interview with Ray Kurzweil about nanobots, augmenting humans, Singularity and beating death.
SRI International spins off robotics project as Superflex, aiming at human augmentation
SRI, the company that created Siri, is spinning off part of its robotics division into a new company called Superflex. The aim of the new company is to create an exo-suit that will make you a superhuman.
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI Cofounder Greg Brockman Is Building The Xerox PARC Of AI
Greg Brockman on OpenAI's goal and opportunity that AI represents. It is a long read, but after reading it you will know the motivation behind making an non-profit company focused on AI research.
AI²: an AI-driven predictive cybersecurity platform
In a new paper, researchers from CSAIL and the machine-learning start-up PatternEx have demonstrated an artificial intelligence platform called “AI²” that can predict 85% of cyber-attacks, by continuously incorporating input from human experts. This video explains the system in an easy to understand way.
Deep Learning - Computerphile
Computerphille asked Brais Martinez, a deep learning expert, to explain what deep learning is and why are they called "deep". Good explanation for everyone who just wants to know the basics and have an idea how deep learning works.
Be kind to artificial intelligence
Another article that falls into "hey, AI is not so bad as you think" category, which might give an idea why people are afraid of AI and technology in general and what to do if you don't want to be left behind (hint: learn fast and be adaptive).
Artificial intelligence and racism
Can an AI be racist? For a computer system, such thing like "race" doesn't exist. It is just yet another way we humans describe the world. But, if you take the "garbage in, garbage out" rule and remind yourself that humans gave data for the machines to crunch, you might see the AI as the humanity's mirror. Microsoft's Tay bot is a good example of it.
Microsoft research chief: AI is still too stupid to wipe us out (and will be for decades)
As Chris Bishop, Microsoft's director of research at Cambridge says: "What about Terminator and the rise of the machines and so on? Utter nonsense, yes. At best, such discussions are decades away.".
Quantum Computing – Artificial Intelligence Is Here
Geordie Rose, Founder of D-Wave talks about quantum computing and how it will play a crucial role in AI development.
Robotics
It Is A Federal Crime To Shoot Down A Drone, Says FAA
If you live in the USA and your neighbour has an annoying drone, shooting it down might not be the best idea. According to FAA, it will be treated like shooting down an aircraft.
China's First Ultra Realistic Robot
Researchers from China had revealed their newest creation - a humanoid robot named Jia Jia. It is an interactive robot, which can speak, show micro-expressions, move its lips, and move its body. And is creepy.
Autonomous Weapons "Could Be Developed for Use Within Years," Says Arms-Control Group
IEEE Spectrum spoke with Mary Wareham, advocacy director of the arms division of Human Rights Watch, in Washington, D.C., and the global coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, about autonomous killer robots and what to do with them before someone uses them in a battle.
The Scary Efficiency of Autonomous Intersections
Researchers from MIT showed how efficient can an intersection be if you replace all cars with autonomous cars. This intersection is so efficient it doesn't even need the traffic light and the cars barely slow down.
Who's Responsible When a Self-Driving Car Crashes?
The law is now one of the biggest obstacles for self-driving cars. Especially the question who's to blame if something goes wrong? According to this article, it should be the car manufacturer.
Self-Driving Car Completes 1,200-Mile Roadtrip Across China
Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ford Motor Co.’s partner in China, said it completed a 1,200-mile road trip to test a self-driving car as part of its ambitions to produce highly automated vehicles by 2020.
Virtual Worlds
A New Morning
Magic Leap, one of the most secretive startups in the Silicon Valley, showed a new demo of their augmented reality technology. They say that it was "shot directly through Magic Leap technology on April 8, 2016 without use of special effects or compositing".
Wear it
E-skin 'can monitor body's oxygen level'
Scientists say they have developed ultra-thin electronic "skin" that can measure oxygen levels when stuck to the body. The goal is to develop such "skin" to monitor oxygen levels in organs during surgery, say researchers in Japan.
Nootrobox To Launch Its First App To Monitor Your Brain-hacking Attempts
Nootrobox is a startup that aims to simplify nootropics and make them more accessible, is planning to release an app to monitor how the nootropics you take affect your brain. As they say, they want to build "a Fitbit for the brain".
Outro
First Look: 'Ghost In The Shell' With Scarlett Johansson
We saw the first photo of Scarlett Johansson as Major Matoko Kusanagi from live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. What do you think about it?
The Modular Body
Dutch filmmaker and visual artist Floris Kaayk created a series of 56 interconnected videos that constitute an over-arching online science fiction storytelling project of Oscar - an artificially created life form which looks somehow like a facehugger from Alien. Right now Oscar is a science fiction, but maybe in 20, 30 or 40 years from now people will be creating new life forms just like they build robots and drones today.
Ray Kurzweil Predicts Three Technologies Will Define Our Future
Ray Kurzweil names genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics as the technologies that will define our future, gives a quick explanation why he thinks this way and shows where these technologies are right now.
Singularity
From xkcd.
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