Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
Microsoft Takes Aim at Amazon with Push for Checkout-Free Retail
June 14th, 2018Via: Reuters: Microsoft Corp is working on technology that would eliminate cashiers and checkout lines from stores, in a nascent challenge to Amazon.com Inc’s automated grocery shop, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is developing systems that track what shoppers add to their carts, the people say. Microsoft […]
Inside Tesla’s Model 3 Factory
June 9th, 2018There are some interesting photos of the Model 3 assembly line in this piece. Via: Bloomberg: On the Model 3 body line on a Tuesday afternoon in early June, everything is still. Tesla Inc. is just coming off a week of downtime during which workers added a new production line, improved ventilation after a fire […]
Netherlands: 3D Printed Houses
June 9th, 2018Five. It would be much more interesting if the number was 5,000 or 50,000. Well, it’s early days. This reminds me… I recently read an interesting sci-fi/cyberpunk/dystopia novel called Voidstar by Zachary Mason. In the near future, the sprawling favelas that exist between San Francisco and Los Angeles have been 3D printed by autonomous machines. […]
A Mall in China Put in a Traffic Lane Just for People Staring at Their Phones
June 9th, 2018Reader DF sent in this video a few days ago. Via: FastCompany: According to the New York Times, the new lane of traffic was intended to address the needs of the so-called “heads down tribe,” people who find the world around them so dull that they can’t bear to look up from their phones, even […]
Deep in the Pentagon, a Secret AI Program to Anticipate the Launch of Nuclear Missiles
June 5th, 2018First, we take some W.O.P.R. Next, we stir in a pinch of SkyNet And then… Via: Reuters: The U.S. military is increasing spending on a secret research effort to use artificial intelligence to help anticipate the launch of a nuclear-capable missile, as well as track and target mobile launchers in North Korea and elsewhere. The […]
Amazon Using Over 100,000 Warehouse Robots
June 4th, 2018Warehouse robots to the horizon… Via: MIT Technology Review: Amazon’s fleet of automated warehouse robots, now more than 100,000 machines strong, is working alongside human employees to help meet the e-commerce giant’s massive fulfillment demand. The company’s robots carry inventory around massive warehouse floors, compiling all the items for a customer’s order and reducing the […]
McDonald’s to Add Self-Order Kiosks to 1,000 Stores Each Quarter
June 4th, 2018Via: CNBC: As McDonald’s seeks to modernize its business, the company is placing a big bet on mobile and other tech platforms. McDonald’s has been systematically adding self-service ordering kiosks and table service to stores as it works to “build a better McDonald’s.” “What we’re finding is when people dwell more, they select more,” CEO […]
Google Promises Ethical Principles to Guide Development of Military AI
May 31st, 2018Update: Leaked Emails Show Google Expected Lucrative Military Drone AI Work to Grow Exponentially Via: The Intercept: FOLLOWING THE REVELATION in March that Google had secretly signed an agreement with the Pentagon to provide cutting edge artificial intelligence technology for drone warfare, the company faced an internal revolt. About a dozen Google employees have resigned […]
Tesla Flies in New Battery Production Line for Gigafactory
May 25th, 2018Balls to the wall 24/7. Besides the normal Model S and X and energy products output, there’s the Model 3 ramp, the single 50,000 unit Powerwall order from Australia, an as yet undisclosed 1+GWH battery project and the looming Semi. I’ve been in the queue for a Powerwall 2 since December 2017. #learningpatiencewithtesla Via: Reuters: […]
Woman Says Her Amazon Device Recorded Private Conversation, Sent It Out to Random Contact
May 24th, 2018I can’t believe people pay to have these things in their homes. Via: KIRO 7: A Portland family contacted Amazon to investigate after they say a private conversation in their home was recorded by Amazon’s Alexa — the voice-controlled smart speaker — and that the recorded audio was sent to the phone of a random […]
