Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
Our Minds Can Be Hijacked: The Tech Insiders Who Fear a Smartphone Dystopia
October 6th, 2017Via: Guardian: There is growing concern that as well as addicting users, technology is contributing toward so-called “continuous partial attention”, severely limiting people’s ability to focus, and possibly lowering IQ. One recent study showed that the mere presence of smartphones damages cognitive capacity – even when the device is turned off. “Everyone is distracted,” Rosenstein […]
Japan Trials Driverless Cars with Rural Elderly
September 12th, 2017Via: Reuters: As the annual rice harvest begins this month in the Japanese town of Nishikata, the combines that usually putter along the sleepy roads lining its rice fields are giving way to a vehicle residents have never before seen, a driverless shuttle bus. Japan is starting to experiment with self-driving buses in rural communities […]
Cruise Automation/GM: “How We Built the First Real Self-Driving Car (Really)”
September 12th, 2017Via: Medium: The car we’re unveiling today is actually our 3rd generation self-driving car, but it’s the first that meets the redundancy and safety requirements we believe are necessary to operate without a driver. There’s no other car like this in existence. In a few weeks, these cars will be a part of the fleet […]
California Bans Drones from Delivering Marijuana
September 11th, 2017Via: The Verge: Drones delivering hamburgers, beer, and Amazon products might be right around the corner, but don’t get your hopes up if you want your weed sent to you via robot. That’s because California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control has recently unveiled new regulatory rules that will ban drones from delivering marijuana, as spotted by […]
U.S. House Unanimously Approves Sweeping Self-Driving Car Measure
September 6th, 2017Via: Reuters: The U.S. House on Wednesday unanimously approved a sweeping proposal to speed the deployment of self-driving cars without human controls by putting federal regulators in the driver’s seat and barring states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The House measure, the first significant federal legislation aimed at speeding self-driving cars to market, would allow automakers […]
German ‘Flying Taxi’ Firm Lilium Raises $90 Million
September 5th, 2017Via: Reuters: Lilium, a German start-up with Silicon Valley-scale ambitions to develop a 5-passenger “flying taxi”, has raised a second, $90 million round of financing from top tech investors, making it one of the best-funded electric aircraft projects to date. The company, which took in $11.4 million only last year, has emerged as one of […]
‘The Story of Replika, the AI App that Becomes You’
August 30th, 2017Oh sure, share your most personal information with this Magic 8 Ball. In other news: On Internet Privacy, Be Very Afraid. Via: Quartz: Research Credit: GB
Killer Robots: Experts Warn of ‘Third Revolution in Warfare’
August 21st, 2017I was warning about this 15 years ago. Nowadays, I’m more into yawning and wondering why the mushroom clouds haven’t gone up yet. Via: BBC: More than 100 leading robotics experts are urging the United Nations to take action in order to prevent the development of “killer robots”. In a letter to the organisation, artificial […]
“Is Alexa Spying On Us? We’re Too Busy to Care”
August 12th, 2017Oblivion. Via: McClatchy: It’s an experience every computer or smart phone user has had. After downloading new software or an app, a window pops up with a legal agreement. At the bottom is an “I agree” button. One click, and it’s gone. Most users have no clue what they’ve agreed to. That single action can […]
Audits Show Lax Oversight by Wisconsin Agency Counting Foxconn Jobs
August 11th, 2017From, Taiwan’s Foxconn, Assembler of iPhones, Considering Wisconsin Plant: My guess is that the plant will be centered around robotic manufacturing and the thousands of workers thing is being thrown out there for political fodder to secure corporate welfare from the state. And now… Via: Reuters: The Wisconsin agency tasked with holding Foxconn accountable for […]
