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Jul 26, 2017

British billionaire Jim Mellon and high-profile partners roll the dice on an anti-aging upstart

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

When British billionaire Jim Mellon wants to map out an investment strategy, he likes to write a book first. Out of that process came his most recent work — Juvenescence: Investing in the Age of Longevity. Now he and some close associates with some of the best connections in biotech are using the book as inspiration to launch a new company — also named Juvenescence — with plans to make a big splash in anti-aging research.

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Jul 26, 2017

Google’s machine learning algorithm gets human help in quest for fusion power

Posted by in categories: information science, nuclear energy, robotics/AI

Hot on the heels of last month’s nuclear fusion breakthrough comes the first results from a multi-year partnership between Google and Tri Alpha Energy, the world’s largest private fusion company. The two organizations joined forces in 2014 in the hopes that Google’s machine learning algorithms could advance plasma research and bring us closer to the dream of fusion power.

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Jul 26, 2017

Inside Andy Rubin’s Quest to Create an OS for Everything

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

The Android mastermind is on a mission to connect our devices into a single consciousness. Ambitious? Absolutely. Possible? Maybe.

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Jul 25, 2017

Google enters race for nuclear fusion technology

Posted by in categories: computing, information science, nuclear energy

The tech giant and a leading US fusion company have developed a new computer algorithm that has significantly speeded up progress towards the goal of unlimited energy.

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Jul 25, 2017

This Map Predicts Who Will Die Next on ‘Game of Thrones’

Posted by in categories: entertainment, robotics/AI

A computer scientist uses a machine-learning program to predict who will die next on ‘Game of Thrones.’

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Jul 25, 2017

China’s “Minority Report” Style Plans Will Use AI to Predict Who Will Commit Crimes

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

Authorities in China are exploring predictive analytics, facial recognition, and other artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help prevent crime in advance. Based on behavior patterns, authorities will notify local police about potential offenders.

Cloud Walk, a company headquartered in Guangzhou, has been training its facial recognition and big data rating systems to track movements based on risk levels. Those who are frequent visitors to weapons shops or transportation hubs are likely to be flagged in the system, and even places like hardware stores have been deemed “high risk” by authorities.

A Cloud Walk spokesman told The Financial Times, “Of course, if someone buys a kitchen knife that’s OK, but if the person also buys a sack and a hammer later, that person is becoming suspicious.” Cloud Walk’s software is connected to the police database across more than 50 cities and provinces, and can flag suspicious characters in real time.

Continue reading “China’s ‘Minority Report’ Style Plans Will Use AI to Predict Who Will Commit Crimes” »

Jul 25, 2017

Wisconsin company to implant microchips in employees

Posted by in categories: computing, food

A Wisconsin company is offering to implant microchips in its employees that will allow them to scan into a building or buy food at work.

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Jul 25, 2017

‘Keys to kingdom’ leaked

Posted by in categories: government, military

Sweden’s government has exposed sensitive and personal data of millions, along with the nation’s military secrets, in what is now considered to be one of the worst government IT disasters ever. The leak, which occurred in 2015, saw the names, photos and home addresses of millions exposed. Those affected include fighter pilots of Swedish air force, police suspects, people under the witness relocation programme, members of the military’s most secretive units (equivalent to the SAS or SEAL teams) and more.

The leak occurred after the Swedish Transportation Agency (STA) decided to outsource its database management and other IT services to firms such as IBM and NCR. However, the STA uploaded its entire database onto cloud servers, which included details on every single vehicle in the country. The database was then emailed to marketers in clear text message. When the error was discovered, the STA merely sent another email asking the marketing subscribers to delete the previous list themselves.

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Jul 25, 2017

Here’s what NASA could accomplish if it had the US military’s $600 billion budget

Posted by in category: military

In 2016, the US military’s budget was about $580 billion more than NASA’s.

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Jul 25, 2017

Is anyone home? A way to find out if AI has become self-aware

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

(credit: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)

By Susan Schneider, PhD, and Edwin Turner, PhD

Every moment of your waking life and whenever you dream, you have the distinct inner feeling of being “you.” When you see the warm hues of a sunrise, smell the aroma of morning coffee or mull over a new idea, you are having conscious experience. But could an artificial intelligence (AI) ever have experience, like some of the androids depicted in Westworld or the synthetic beings in Blade Runner?

Continue reading “Is anyone home? A way to find out if AI has become self-aware” »