Archive for June, 2018
A Team of AI Algorithms Just Crushed Humans in a Complex Computer Game
June 25th, 2018Via: MIT Technology Review: Five different AI algorithms have teamed up to kick human butt in Dota 2, a popular strategy computer game. Researchers at OpenAI, a nonprofit based in California, developed the algorithmic A team, which they call the OpenAI Five. Each algorithm uses a neural network to learn not only how to play […]
NSA’s Wiretap Rooms in Eight U.S. Cities
June 25th, 2018Via: The Intercept: THE SECRETS ARE hidden behind fortified walls in cities across the United States, inside towering, windowless skyscrapers and fortress-like concrete structures that were built to withstand earthquakes and even nuclear attack. Thousands of people pass by the buildings each day and rarely give them a second glance, because their function is not […]
Pentagon Prepares to Create Temporary Camps for Illegal Immigrants at Two Bases
June 24th, 2018Via: Reuters: The U.S. military is preparing to build temporary camps at two military bases to house immigrants, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday, in the latest sign of a growing U.S. military support role for President Donald Trump’s politically charged immigration policies. Mattis, speaking to reporters during a flight to Alaska, did not […]
Did Stonehenge Builders Use Pythagoras’ Theorem 2,000 Years Before the Greek Philosopher Was Born?
June 23rd, 2018Via: National Post: THE builders of Britain’s ancient stone circles such as Stonehenge used Pythagoras’s theorem 2,000 years before the Greek philosopher was born, experts have claimed. A new book, Megalith, has re-examined the geometry of Neolithic monuments and concluded they were constructed by sophisticated astronomers who understood lunar, solar and eclipse cycles and built […]
Researchers Fish Yellowcake Uranium from the Sea With Acrylic Fibers
June 23rd, 2018Via: IEEE: Researchers at the U.S. Energy Department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and LCW Supercritical Technologies made use of readily available acrylic fibers to pull five grams of yellowcake—a powdered form of uranium used to produce fuel for nuclear power reactors—from seawater. The milestone, announced in mid-June, follows seven years of work and a […]
Flying Dragon Robot Transforms Itself to Squeeze Through Gaps
June 23rd, 2018Via: IEEE: It’s a modular flying robot powered by ducted fans that can transform literally on the fly, from a square to a snake to anything in between, allowing it to stretch out to pass through small holes and then make whatever other shape you want once it’s on the other side.
Supreme Court Says Warrant Necessary for Phone Location Data
June 22nd, 2018Via: Cnet: The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of digital privacy. In a 5-4 decision on Friday the justices said that police need warrants to gather phone location data as evidence for trials. That reversed and remanded a decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Carpenter v. United States is the first […]
Big Pharma Vaccine Billionaire Just Bought the LA Times
June 21st, 2018I remember the operation the LA Times carried out on Gary Webb back in the 1990s, so… Yeah. Via: Natural News: The latest example of Big Pharma taking over the media is the purchase of the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Tribune for $500 million by Big Pharma billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Instead […]
The World’s First Robot-Made Burger Is About to Hit the Bay Area
June 21st, 2018Via: Bloomberg: On June 27, the world’s first robot-crafted burger will roll off a conveyor belt in San Francisco and into the hands of the public. You could call it the freshest burger on Earth. The product, from Bay Area-based Creator, a culinary robotics company, is assembled and cooked in a machine that contains 20 […]
U.S. Releases Report Showing Elevated Health Risks from Nonstick Chemicals
June 21st, 2018Hair on fire lunatic fringe people who have assumed this for decades: Right again. Via: Science Magazine: President Donald Trump’s administration has released a politically charged toxicology report about nonstick chemicals showing they can endanger human health at significantly lower levels than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has previously called safe. The draft report from […]
