More Complex Than Chess, More Possible Combinations Than the Number of Particles in the Universe Supercomputer Beats Go Master: "During the Go Tournament in Paris, staged between 22 and 24 March 2008 by the French Go Federation (FFG), the MoGo artificial intelligence (IA) engine developed by INRIA -- the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control -- running on a Bull NovaScale supercomputer, won a 9x9 game of Go against professional 5th DAN Catalin Taranu. This was the first ever officially sanctioned 'non blitz' victory of a 'machine' over a Go Master."
It was just a 9x9 board, but still an impressive step for AI.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Web Mashups Made Easy
Technology Review: Web Mashups Made Easy: "Software being developed at Intel makes it easy for people with no programming experience to combine data from different Web pages.
"The Web, for all its usefulness, is still a fairly unorganized collection of information. For years, programmers have been connecting disparate bits of information by making "mashups," websites that combine information from two or more sources, such as Google maps and Craigslist rental listings. But mashup making has remained the domain of geeks who know how to program, or at least highly motivated novices who want to learn.
"A new research project from Intel Research, in Berkeley, CA, is trying to take some of the mystery out of crafting a mashup. Called Mash Maker, the project aims to let people use their ordinary Web browsers to combine information from different sites. If, for example, you are looking at apartments on Craigslist, you can easily add information about nearby restaurants from Yelp, a recommendation site, essentially augmenting the data on the Craigslist page. With another few clicks of a button, you can put the apartments and Yelp listings on a Google map, which will also appear within the Craigslist page. The next time you visit the Craigslist page, you can reopen the mashup, and it will automatically use new data from the site.
"The Web, for all its usefulness, is still a fairly unorganized collection of information. For years, programmers have been connecting disparate bits of information by making "mashups," websites that combine information from two or more sources, such as Google maps and Craigslist rental listings. But mashup making has remained the domain of geeks who know how to program, or at least highly motivated novices who want to learn.
"A new research project from Intel Research, in Berkeley, CA, is trying to take some of the mystery out of crafting a mashup. Called Mash Maker, the project aims to let people use their ordinary Web browsers to combine information from different sites. If, for example, you are looking at apartments on Craigslist, you can easily add information about nearby restaurants from Yelp, a recommendation site, essentially augmenting the data on the Craigslist page. With another few clicks of a button, you can put the apartments and Yelp listings on a Google map, which will also appear within the Craigslist page. The next time you visit the Craigslist page, you can reopen the mashup, and it will automatically use new data from the site.
AI researchers think 'Rascals' can pass Turing test
EETimes.com AI researchers think 'Rascals' can pass Turing test: "Passing the Turing test--the holy grail of artificial intelligence (AI), whereby a human conversing with a computer can't tell it's not human--may now be possible in a limited way with the world's fastest supercomputer (IBM's Blue Gene), according to AI experts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. RPI is aiming to pass AI's final exam this fall, by pairing the most powerful university-based supercomputing system in the world with a new multimedia group designing a holodeck, a la Star Trek.
'We are building a knowledge base that corresponds to all of the relevant background for our synthetic character--where he went to school, what his family is like, and so on,' said Selmer Bringsjord, head of Rensselaer's Cognitive Science Department and leader of the research project. 'We want to engineer, from the start, a full-blown intelligent character and converse with him in an interactive environment like the holodeck from Star Trek.'"
'We are building a knowledge base that corresponds to all of the relevant background for our synthetic character--where he went to school, what his family is like, and so on,' said Selmer Bringsjord, head of Rensselaer's Cognitive Science Department and leader of the research project. 'We want to engineer, from the start, a full-blown intelligent character and converse with him in an interactive environment like the holodeck from Star Trek.'"
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Robot rights - a poser for the 21st century
Science | The Guardian Robot rights - a poser for the 21st century: "The fight against discrimination based on race, gender, class and sexuality may not yet be won, but experts in artificial intelligence are warning that this century societies will have to tackle a new prejudice - against individuals with brains made of silicon.
Even the most enthusiastic promoters of robot rights admit that it is likely to be mid-century before humanity has to grant legal rights to our creations, but they say we should start considering the problems now."
Even the most enthusiastic promoters of robot rights admit that it is likely to be mid-century before humanity has to grant legal rights to our creations, but they say we should start considering the problems now."
Shape-shifting magnetic bots take a page out of the Dharma playbook
Engadget Shape-shifting magnetic bots take a page out of the Dharma playbook: "Research is still in the early stages, but the concept renders are straight out of science fiction. Some friendly folks at Carnegie Mellon University are working towards electromagnetic microscopic bots that cling together and can assume virtually any shape."
Friday, January 18, 2008
Week in video: Robots of the future
CNET News.com Week in video: Robots of the future, technology today: "At the RoboDevelopment Conference and Exposition in San Jose, Calif., we get a look at some robotics that could make their way to the market in the next few years. Also, we have a special look at Tokyo, a city well-known for its efficiency and as an epicenter for technology."
Contact lenses with circuits, lights a possible platform for superhuman vision
University of Washington News and Information Contact lenses with circuits, lights a possible platform for superhuman vision: "Engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights.
'Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside,' said Babak Parviz, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering. 'This is a very small step toward that goal, but I think it's extremely promising.'"
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