As one of the most visible 2016 presidential candidates—and now as a leading 2018 contender for Governor in California—Zoltan Istvan has been the “Science Candidate,” traveling around America to discuss the issues of transhumanism and radical longevity that are transforming humanity. Soon the issues of AI, genetic editing, designer babies, bionic organs, automation, and neural prosthetics will challenge and dominate political discourse. America must embrace radical science with bold polices.
Category: robotics/AI – Page 2,368
The Israeli Military is Buying Copter Drones With Machine Guns
A breakthrough in drone design gives a glimpse into the future of urban warfare.
The Israeli military is buying small multi–rotor drones modified to carry a machine gun, a grenade launcher and variety of other weapons to fight tomorrow’s urban warfare battles. Their maker, Florida startup Duke Robotics, is pitching the TIKAD drone to the U.S military as well.
Lt. Col. Raziel “Razi” Atuar, a 20-year veteran of the Israeli military and a reservist in the Israeli Special Forces, co-founded the company in 2014 along with a paratrooper-turned-robotic engineer and another IDF buddy. He says he was tired of watching his comrades die in chaotic street battles that also, sometimes, took the lives of civilians.
The Self Drive Act, Bit Coin Clone, NASA Hiring Someone To Protect The Earth From Aliens & The Hive Mind
Last week, a U.S. House Committee gave its approval for the SELF DRIVE Act, a bill that introduces breakthrough legislation in favor of autonomous vehicles. The bill could pass Congress before the end of 2017, ushering in a new era in self-driving tech.
In a report published in 2016, the White House estimated that nearly 3.1 million drivers working today could have their jobs automated by autonomous vehicles.
From the same article.
Chinese Chatbots Apparently Re-educated After Political Faux Pas
A pair of ‘chatbots’ in China have been taken offline after appearing to stray off-script. In response to users’ questions, one said its dream was to travel to the United States, while the other said it wasn’t a huge fan of the Chinese Communist Party. From a report: The two chatbots, BabyQ and XiaoBing, are designed to use machine learning artificial intelligence (AI) to carry out conversations with humans online. Both had been installed onto Tencent Holdings Ltd’s popular messaging service QQ. The indiscretions are similar to ones suffered by Facebook and Twitter, where chatbots used expletives and even created their own language. But they also highlight the pitfalls for nascent AI in China, where censors control online content seen as politically incorrect or harmful. Tencent confirmed it had taken the two robots offline from its QQ messaging service, but declined to elaborate on reasons.
3 Exponential Techs to Watch | Future of Everything with Jason Silva | Singularity University
“Pay attention to the the trends in exponential technologies, particularly to “the big three.” GNR: Genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics.”
Do Driverless Cars Need Their Own Roads Around Manhattan? — By Benjamin Schneider | CityLab
“A concept for AV expressways promises to reduce travel times, but falls into an old trap of car-centric planning.”
Why driverless cars might not hit the road so fast — By Scott Nyquist | LinkedIn
“In May, GM spent $1 billion to buy Cruise Automation, a small startup with promising self-driving software.”
The Wizards of Armageddon set up shop in Silicon Valley
Ready and waiting at an arms reach from the government, the Research and Development Corporation (RAND) has helped the U.S. think through some of the toughest scientific and regulatory challenges since the 1940s. This year, the think tank is opening its first office in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its positioning itself to weigh in on some of Silicon Valleys largest research projects, like autonomous vehicles, drones, AI, cybersecurity and telemedicine.
But unlike the RAND of the past, this new version embodies the scrappiness of startup culture. Formally based out of a WeWork space, office director Nidhi Kalra and the rest of her SF team largely work decentralized from homes and coffee shops around the Bay Area.
The team of a dozen researchers is here to study the development of new technologies and the way in which state and local authorities are working side-by-side with startups to keep everyone safe without sundering innovation.
Synthetic Genomics Make Biotech Breakthrough With Genomic 3D Printer
SGI-DNA has launched the world’s first DNA printer. The BioXp 3200 system is an automated personal genomic workstation that builds and clones DNA fragments virtually hands-free. Source: SGI-DNA. A Synthetic Genomics Inc. Company.