Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
Food Insecurity in Silicon Valley
December 12th, 2017Via: Guardian: In a region famed for its foodie culture, where the well-heeled can dine on gold-flecked steaks, $500 tasting menus and $29 loaves of bread, hunger is alarmingly widespread, according to a new study shared exclusively with the Guardian. One in four people in Silicon Valley are at risk of hunger, researchers at the […]
Inside the First Church of Artificial Intelligence
December 11th, 2017Via: Wired: Anthony Levandowski makes an unlikely prophet. Dressed Silicon Valley-casual in jeans and flanked by a PR rep rather than cloaked acolytes, the engineer known for self-driving cars—and triggering a notorious lawsuit—could be unveiling his latest startup instead of laying the foundations for a new religion. But he is doing just that. Artificial intelligence […]
Tesla Is Working on Its Own New AI Chip
December 8th, 2017Via: Electrek: There have been rumors that Tesla is developing its own chip optimized for self-driving applications ever since we reported on the automaker quietly hiring legendary chip architect Jim Keller from AMD last year. Now CEO Elon Musk finally confirmed the rumor – specifying that Tesla is working on its own new AI chip […]
Google AI Spawns Other AIs
December 5th, 2017Via: Independent: Google has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that has created its own “child”. What’s more, the original AI has trained its creation to such a high level that it outperforms every other human-built AI system like it. It’s an impressive achievement, but one that could also trigger fears about what else AI […]
Robots Are Coming for Jobs of as Many as 800 Million Worldwide
November 29th, 2017Via: Bloomberg: As many as 800 million workers worldwide may lose their jobs to robots and automation by 2030, equivalent to more than a fifth of today’s global labor force. That’s according to a new report covering 46 nations and more than 800 occupations by the research arm of McKinsey & Co. The consulting company […]
The Driverless Revolution May Exact a Political Price
November 21st, 2017Via: Los Angeles Times: In its race to embrace driverless vehicles, Washington has cleared away regulatory hurdles for auto companies and brushed aside consumer warnings about the risk of crashes and hacking. But at a recent hearing, lawmakers absorbed an economic argument that illustrated how the driverless revolution they are encouraging could backfire politically, particularly […]
Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot Does Backflip
November 17th, 2017Via: Boston Dynamics:
TSA Plans to Use Face Recognition to Track Americans Through Airports
November 13th, 2017Via: EFF: The “PreCheck” program is billed as a convenient service to allow U.S. travelers to “speed through security” at airports. However, the latest proposal released by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reveals the Department of Homeland Security’s greater underlying plan to collect face images and iris scans on a nationwide scale. DHS’s programs will […]
Big Data Meets Big Brother as China Moves to Rate Its Citizens
November 8th, 2017Behold, the biggest Magic 8 Ball ever. Via: Wired: On June 14, 2014, the State Council of China published an ominous-sounding document called “Planning Outline for the Construction of a Social Credit System”. In the way of Chinese policy documents, it was a lengthy and rather dry affair, but it contained a radical idea. What […]
Las Vegas: Self Driving Shuttle Crashes After Less Than Two Hours On Road
November 8th, 2017*chortle* Via: AP: A driverless shuttle bus has crashed less than two hours after it was launched in Las Vegas. Police say no injuries were reported in the Wednesday crash between the self-operating vehicle and a semi-truck. It’s not yet clear what caused the wreck. Officials had hosted an unveiling ceremony to promote what they […]
