Imagine if you had a smart A.I. assistant in your head, capable of silently feeding you external information whenever you required it, without you needing to say a single word? That’s exactly what MIT postdoctoral researcher Arnav Kapur has developed. Here’s how it works.
Category: robotics/AI – Page 2,106

Inside DeepMind’s epic mission to solve science’s trickiest problem
For DeepMind, the emergence of the new headquarters is symbolic of a new chapter for the company as it turns its research heft and compute power to try to understand, among other things, the building blocks of organic life. In so doing, the company hopes to make breakthroughs in medicine and other disciplines that will significantly impact progress in a number of fields. “Our mission should be one of the most fascinating journeys in science,” Hassabis says. “We’re trying to build a cathedral to scientific endeavour.”
DeepMind’s AI has beaten chess grandmasters and Go champions. But founder and CEO Demis Hassabis now has his sights set on bigger, real-world problems that could change lives. First up: protein folding.

Watch Live Tuesday: 2 Rocket Launches and a Space Station Cargo Ship’s Departure
Today (Aug. 6) is going to be a big day in space!
After a Cygnus cargo spacecraft departs the International Space Station this afternoon, SpaceX and Arianespace will be launching a total of three new communications satellites into orbit. You can watch all three events live here at Space.com.
First, the Cygnus cargo ship will undock from the space station at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT). NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the vessel into the vacuum of space. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the send-off beginning 15 minutes prior to its departure.

Sci-Fi From the Future
(repeat) Are you ready to defer all your personal decision-making to machines? Polls show that most Americans are uneasy about the unchecked growth of artificial intelligence. The possible misuse of genetic engineering also makes us anxious. We all have a stake in the responsible development of science and technology, but fortunately, science fiction films can help.
The movies Ex Machina and Jurassic Park suggest where A.I. and unfettered gene-tinkering could lead. But even less popular sci-fi movies can help us imagine unsettling scenarios regarding over-population, smart drugs, and human cloning.
And not all tales are grim. The 1951 film, The Man in the White Suit, weaves a humorous story of materials science run amok.


Robotics team from the Flathead wins regional competition
KALISPELL, Mont. — Two middle schoolers in the Flathead are making a name for themselves in the robotics world. Katie Eberhardy and Jessie Chadwick recently won the regional, NASA-sponsored Apollo Next Great Leap Student Challenge.
Eberhardy and Chadwick’s team—the Lunar Loonies—was the only all-girl team in the competition, and one of the smallest of the about 20 other teams.
“Some teams had six to eight people,” Chadwick said. “We’re just a team of two.”

PH robotics team wins gold in Denmark tourney
AARHUS, Denmark — The Philippine Robotics National Team bagged the gold medal award in the World Robot Olympiad Friendship Invitational (WROFIT) 2019 held here from August 1 to 4.
The delegation represented by Team NOUVUS from Dr. Yanga’s College Inc., (DYCI Bocaue, Bulacan) won gold in the competition’s Smart Cities project presentation in the Open Category–Smart Governance Theme.
The team’s work called Project ’ALAB’ (Anti-Adversity Link for Aid and Benefits) bested 149 teams from 32 countries (ages 16 to 19 years old).

Peter Thiel said that AI is a military technology that will primarily be used ‘by generals,’ but experts say that view is too pessimistic
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel painted a gloomy picture of artificial intelligence in his NYT’s op-ed on Thursday, detailing the technology’s real value and purpose as primarily a military one.
“The first users of the machine learning tools being created today will be generals,” Thiel declared in his 1,200-word piece. “A.I. is a military technology.”
Thiel’s portrayal is a far cry from the optimistic view that many in Silicon Valley have embraced. Artificial intelligence has promised to give us the next, best Netflix recommendations, let us search the internet using our voices, and do away with humans behind the wheel. It’s also expected to have a huge impact in medicine and agriculture. But instead, Thiel says that AI’s real home is on the battlefield — whether that be in the physical or cyber worlds.

AI and Bionic Eyes Are Helping to Contain Raging Wildfires
Only these eyes aren’t human. They don’t blink or take breaks, and guided by artificial intelligence they can tell the difference between a dust cloud, an insect swarm and a plume of smoke that demands quick attention. In Brazil, the devices help keep mining giant Vale SA working, and protect trees for pulp and paper producer Suzano SA.

Here’s how researchers are making machine learning more efficient and affordable for everyone
The research and development of neural networks is flourishing thanks to recent advancements in computational power, the discovery of new algorithms, and an increase in labelled data. Before the current explosion of activity in the space, the practical applications of neural networks were limited.
Much of the recent research has allowed for broad application, the heavy computational requirements for machine learning models still restrain it from truly entering the mainstream. Now, emerging algorithms are on the cusp of pushing neural networks into more conventional applications through exponentially increased efficiency.