Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
China’s “Democracy” Includes Mandatory Apps, Mass Chat Surveillance
March 7th, 2019Change the proper nouns and it would read like the situation in Europe or the U.S. Via: ArsTechnica: As the National People’s Congress gathers in Beijing for the beginning of China’s “Two Sessions” political season, state media is making an international propaganda push on social media—including on platforms blocked by China’s “Great Firewall”—to promote China’s […]
Trump Cancels U.S. Report on Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes
March 7th, 2019Via: Fortune: President Donald Trump revoked a requirement that U.S. intelligence officials publicly report the number of civilians killed in drone strikes and other attacks on terrorist targets outside of war zones. Trump formally ended the requirement with an executive order on Wednesday, months after signaling such a move. The administration last year ignored a […]
FedEx Package-Delivering Robot Can Climb Stairs, Carry Hot Food, and Replace Human Workers
March 7th, 2019Via: Business Insider: FedEx revealed a cutting-edge robot on Wednesday that can deliver packages and hot food from stores and restaurants to customers’ homes. The FedEx Same-Day Bot will be hitting the streets this summer in select markets, including Memphis, Tennessee, the company said. FedEx said it collaborated with retailers including Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, Pizza […]
Backflipping MIT Mini Cheetah
March 5th, 2019Via: Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT’S new mini cheetah robot is the first four-legged robot to do a backflip. At only 20 pounds the limber quadruped can bend and swing its legs wide, enabling it to walk either right side up or upside down. The robot can also trot over uneven terrain about twice as […]
U.S. Companies Put Record Number of Robots to Work in 2018
February 28th, 2019Via: Reuters: U.S. companies installed more robots last year than ever before, as cheaper and more flexible machines put them within reach of businesses of all sizes and in more corners of the economy beyond their traditional foothold in car plants. Shipments hit 28,478, nearly 16 percent more than in 2017, according to data seen […]
Dr. Martin Pall: “The 5G Rollout Is Absolutely Insane.”
February 25th, 2019Via: Nick Pineault: More: 5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health! Compelling Evidence for Eight Distinct Types of Great Harm Caused by Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposures and the Mechanism that Causes Them by Martin L. Pall, PhD
U.S. Navy Buying Autonomous Submarines
February 24th, 2019Via: U.S. Naval Institute: The Navy awarded Boeing a $43-million contract to build four Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs) that will become multi-mission for the service, according to a Wednesday Pentagon contract announcement. Boeing based its winning Orca XLUUV design on its Echo Voyager unmanned diesel-electric submersible. The 51-foot-long submersible is launched from […]
China’s Powerful Surveillance State Has Created at Least Four Billionaires
February 23rd, 2019Via: Bloomberg: Before he became a billionaire, Dai Lin would ride his bike to work, pedaling through the streets of Tianjin to the headquarters of Tiandy Technologies Co., the camera maker he built with support from China’s government. When Dai started his company in 1994, roadside surveillance cameras were rare in China. Now they’re everywhere […]
AI Taking Fast Food Orders
February 22nd, 2019Via: San Francisco Chronicle: “The system takes a lot of friction out of interactions between customers and employees,” Carpenter said, noting that the AI was designed to sound like an amiable woman’s voice. “The AI never gets offended and it will just keep talking to you in a very calm and friendly voice.” There’s an […]
China’s Social Credit System: Millions Banned from Taking Flights, Trains
February 20th, 2019Via: South China Morning Post: Millions of Chinese individuals and businesses have been labelled as untrustworthy on an official blacklist banning them from any number of activities, including accessing financial markets or travelling by air or train, as the use of the government’s social credit system accelerates. The annual blacklist is part of a broader […]
