The First Church of Robotics

See original at NYTimes.com

Not everyone is enamored with the search for Artificial Intelligence. Does AI devalue humans?

"THE news of the day often includes an item about some development in artificial intelligence: a machine that smiles, a program that can predict human tastes in mates or music, a robot that teaches foreign languages to children. This constant stream of stories suggests that machines are becoming smart and autonomous, a new form of life, and that we should think of them as fellow creatures instead of as tools. But such conclusions aren’t just changing how we think about computers — they are reshaping the basic assumptions of our lives in misguided and ultimately damaging ways."

GPUs Threaten Password Security

See original at Georgia Tech Research Institute

Earlier this year I saw a story about how the US Air Force used PlayStation 3 consoles to build a supercomputer "100,000 times faster than high-end computer processors sold today." The power comes from the PlayStations' graphics processing units.

"It's been called revolutionary - technology that lends supercomputer-level power to any desktop. What's more, this new capability comes in the form of a readily available piece of hardware, a graphics processing unit (GPU) costing only a few hundred dollars.

Georgia Tech researchers are investigating whether this new calculating power might change the security landscape worldwide. They're concerned that these desktop marvels might soon compromise a critical part of the world's cyber-security infrastructure - password protection."

First robot able to develop and show emotions is unveiled

See original at The Guardian

We've all gotten mad at our computer, but what if your computer could get mad at you?

"When Nao is sad, he hunches his shoulders forward and looks down. When he's happy, he raises his arms, angling for a hug. When frightened, Naohe cowers, and he stays like that until he is soothed with some gentle strokes on his head.

Nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps, except that Nao is a robot — the world's first that can develop and display emotions. He can form bonds with the people he meets depending on how he is treated. The more he interacts with someone, the more Nao learns a person's moods and the stronger the bonds become."

Phone Calls Not Efficient

See original article on Techdirt

Is texting better than voice communication?

"The telephone, in other words, doesn't provide any information about status, so we are constantly interrupting one another. The other tools at our disposal are more polite. Instant messaging lets us detect whether our friends are busy without our bugging them, and texting lets us ping one another asynchronously. (Plus, we can spend more time thinking about what we want to say.) For all the hue and cry about becoming an 'always on' society, we’re actually moving away from the demand that everyone be available immediately."

Gaming for a cure

See original article at University of Washington News and Information

A nice example of a GWAP ("Game with a Purpose").

"Biochemists and computer scientists at the University of Washington two years ago launched an ambitious project harnessing the brainpower of computer gamers to solve medical problems.

The game, Foldit, turns one of the hardest problems in molecular biology into a game a bit reminiscent of Tetris. Thousands of people have now played a game that asks them to fold a protein rather than stack colored blocks or rescue a princess."

First Human Testing of Mind-Controlled Artificial Arm

See original at Singularity Hub

A next step in the integration of human with technology.

"The world’s first human testing of a mind-controlled artificial limb is ready to begin. A joint project between the Pentagon and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Modular Prosthetic Limb will be fully controlled by sensors implanted in the brain, and will even restore the sense of touch by sending electrical impulses from the limb back to the sensory cortex. Last week APL announced it was awarded a $34.5 million contract with DARPA, which will allow researchers to test the neural prosthetic in five individuals over the next two years."

The Fantastic Voyage?

Robot Pills: Scientific American

I remember seeing The Fantastic Voyage as a kid on TV -- scientists shrink a submarine and its crew and inject it into a person. Coming soon! :-)

• "Active pill-size robotic capsules are being developed for use in screening, diagnosis and therapeutic procedures.


• "Miniaturizing robotic components to perform tasks inside the body poses novel engineering challenges. Those challenges are giving rise to creative solutions that will influence robotics and other medical technologies in general."