How Wolfram Alpha could change software | Developer World - InfoWorld: "In other words, Wolfram Research is claiming that each page of results returned by the Wolfram Alpha engine is a unique, copyrightable work, like a report or term paper. That makes Wolfram Alpha different not just from classic search engines, but from most software. While software companies routinely retain sole ownership of their software and license it to users, Wolfram Research has taken the additional step of claiming ownership of the output of the software itself. It's a bold assertion, and one that could have significant ramifications for the software industry as a whole."
InfoWorld (07/30/09) McAllister, Neil: "Works produced by machines are copyrightable, at least in theory."
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
'Doctor' particle decides when to release drug payload - tech - 28 July 2009 - New Scientist
'Doctor' particle decides when to release drug payload - tech - 28 July 2009 - New Scientist: "Nanoparticles able to make basic decisions about whether to release their contents offer the prospect of delivering drugs exactly when and where they are needed, say chemists."
""Our dream is to be able to use our mechanised nanoparticles for anti-cancer drug delivery," lead researcher Jeffrey Zink at the University of California, Los Angeles, told New Scientist.
""Our dream is to be able to use our mechanised nanoparticles for anti-cancer drug delivery," lead researcher Jeffrey Zink at the University of California, Los Angeles, told New Scientist.
: Trust me, I'm a robot | The Economist
: Trust me, I'm a robot | The Economist:
"Indeed, despite the introduction of improved safety mechanisms, robots have claimed many more victims since 1981. Over the years people have been crushed, hit on the head, welded and even had molten aluminium poured over them by robots. Last year there were 77 robot-related accidents in Britain alone, according to the Health and Safety Executive.
"With robots now poised to emerge from their industrial cages and to move into homes and workplaces, roboticists are concerned about the safety implications beyond the factory floor. To address these concerns, leading robot experts have come together to try to find ways to prevent robots from harming people. Inspired by the Pugwash Conferences—an international group of scientists, academics and activists founded in 1957 to campaign for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons—the new group of robo-ethicists met earlier this year in Genoa, Italy, and announced their initial findings in March at the European Robotics Symposium in Palermo, Sicily.
"Regulating the behaviour of robots is going to become more difficult in the future, since they will increasingly have self-learning mechanisms built into them, says Gianmarco Veruggio, a roboticist at the Institute of Intelligent Systems for Automation in Genoa, Italy. As a result, their behaviour will become impossible to predict fully, he says, since they will not be behaving in predefined ways but will learn new behaviour as they go."
"Indeed, despite the introduction of improved safety mechanisms, robots have claimed many more victims since 1981. Over the years people have been crushed, hit on the head, welded and even had molten aluminium poured over them by robots. Last year there were 77 robot-related accidents in Britain alone, according to the Health and Safety Executive.
"With robots now poised to emerge from their industrial cages and to move into homes and workplaces, roboticists are concerned about the safety implications beyond the factory floor. To address these concerns, leading robot experts have come together to try to find ways to prevent robots from harming people. Inspired by the Pugwash Conferences—an international group of scientists, academics and activists founded in 1957 to campaign for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons—the new group of robo-ethicists met earlier this year in Genoa, Italy, and announced their initial findings in March at the European Robotics Symposium in Palermo, Sicily.
"Regulating the behaviour of robots is going to become more difficult in the future, since they will increasingly have self-learning mechanisms built into them, says Gianmarco Veruggio, a roboticist at the Institute of Intelligent Systems for Automation in Genoa, Italy. As a result, their behaviour will become impossible to predict fully, he says, since they will not be behaving in predefined ways but will learn new behaviour as they go."
Monday, July 27, 2009
Remote controlled learning: MSU computer engineering labs going online as part of pilot program
Remote controlled learning: MSU computer engineering labs going online as part of pilot program: "Montana State University computer engineering students will soon have the ability to control real laboratory equipment from the convenience and comfort of their home computers, thanks to a $148,000 grant from the National Science Foundation."
"Online courses tend to be more convenient for students, more popular and less expensive to operate, LaMeres said. But engineering has struggled to deliver online offerings because so much of the field requires hands-on work with machines and other instruments.
"Engineering programs across the country have tried to overcome this difficulty by distributing "lab kits" or making computer simulations available for online courses. MSU is one of the first universities in the country to make it possible for students to control real equipment remotely using their computers, LaMeres said.
"Online courses tend to be more convenient for students, more popular and less expensive to operate, LaMeres said. But engineering has struggled to deliver online offerings because so much of the field requires hands-on work with machines and other instruments.
"Engineering programs across the country have tried to overcome this difficulty by distributing "lab kits" or making computer simulations available for online courses. MSU is one of the first universities in the country to make it possible for students to control real equipment remotely using their computers, LaMeres said.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Artificial brain '10 years away'
BBC NEWS | Technology | Artificial brain '10 years away': "A detailed, functional artificial human brain can be built within the next 10 years, a leading scientist has claimed. Henry Markram, director of the Blue Brain Project, has already simulated elements of a rat brain. He told the TED Global conference in Oxford that a synthetic human brain would be of particular use finding treatments for mental illnesses. Around two billion people are thought to suffer some kind of brain impairment, he said. 'It is not impossible to build a human brain and we can do it in 10 years,' he said."
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man - NYTimes.com
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man - NYTimes.com: "Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone."
"The researchers — leading computer scientists, artificial intelligence researchers and roboticists who met at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Monterey Bay in California — generally discounted the possibility of highly centralized superintelligences and the idea that intelligence might spring spontaneously from the Internet. But they agreed that robots that can kill autonomously are either already here or will be soon."
"The researchers — leading computer scientists, artificial intelligence researchers and roboticists who met at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Monterey Bay in California — generally discounted the possibility of highly centralized superintelligences and the idea that intelligence might spring spontaneously from the Internet. But they agreed that robots that can kill autonomously are either already here or will be soon."
Smart machines: What's the worst that could happen? - tech - 27 July 2009 - New Scientist
Smart machines: What's the worst that could happen? - tech - 27 July 2009 - New Scientist: "An invasion led by artificially intelligent machines. Conscious computers. A smartphone virus so smart that it can start mimicking you. You might think that such scenarios are laughably futuristic, but some of the world's leading artificial intelligence (AI) researchers are concerned enough about the potential impact of advances in AI that they have been discussing the risks over the past year. Now they have revealed their conclusions."
Friday, July 24, 2009
Brain Develops Motor Memory For Prosthetics
Brain Develops Motor Memory For Prosthetics: "Stunning new research now reveals that the brain can also achieve this motor memory with a prosthetic device, providing hope that physically disabled people can one day master control of artificial limbs with greater ease."
"In this study, macaque monkeys using brain signals learned how to move a computer cursor to various targets. What the researchers learned was that the brain could develop a mental map of a solution to achieve the task with high proficiency, and that it adhered to that neural pattern without deviation, much like a driver sticks to a given route commuting to work.
"In this study, macaque monkeys using brain signals learned how to move a computer cursor to various targets. What the researchers learned was that the brain could develop a mental map of a solution to achieve the task with high proficiency, and that it adhered to that neural pattern without deviation, much like a driver sticks to a given route commuting to work.
Robo-Ethicists Want to Revamp Asimov’s 3 Laws | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
Robo-Ethicists Want to Revamp Asimov’s 3 Laws | Gadget Lab | Wired.com: "Two years ago, a military robot used in the South African army killed nine soldiers after a malfunction. Earlier this year, a Swedish factory was fined after a robot machine injured one of the workers (though part of the blame was assigned to the worker). Robots have been found guilty of other smaller offenses such as an incorrectly responding to a request."
"“If you build artificial intelligence but don’t think about its moral sense or create a conscious sense that feels regret for doing something wrong, then technically it is a psychopath,” says Josh Hall, a scientist who wrote the book Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of a Machine.
"Accordingly, robo-ethicists want to develop a set of guidelines that could outline how to punish a robot, decide who regulates them and even create a ”legal machine language” that could help police the next generation of intelligent automated devices."
"“If you build artificial intelligence but don’t think about its moral sense or create a conscious sense that feels regret for doing something wrong, then technically it is a psychopath,” says Josh Hall, a scientist who wrote the book Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of a Machine.
"Accordingly, robo-ethicists want to develop a set of guidelines that could outline how to punish a robot, decide who regulates them and even create a ”legal machine language” that could help police the next generation of intelligent automated devices."
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