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Life is an integrated flow of quantum computational processes giving rise to our conscious experience. Based on the ontological model, the Cybernetic Theory of Mind by evolutionary cyberneticist Alex Vikoulov that he expands on in his magnum opus The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution, comes a new documentary ― Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind.

This film, hosted by the author of the book from which the narrative is derived, is now available for viewing on demand on Vimeo, Plex, Tubi, Social Club TV and other global networks with its worldwide premiere aired on June 8 2021. This is a futurist’s take on the nature of consciousness and reverse engineering of our thinking in order to implement it in cybernetics and AI systems.

Many definitions have been given to consciousness but we still don’t seem to have a widely accepted, uniform one. Part I, What is Consciousness? gives us the most comprehensive definition of consciousness, makes a clear distinction between ‘Mind’ and ‘Consciousness’, and sheds light on the fundamental physics of consciousness. Qualia, cognition and development of the human mind are addressed in this opening part of the documentary.

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I actually like this program.

“It watches what you’ve done in the past, what you’ve gotten right, and what you’ve gotten wrong,” he explained. “And then it tries to give you things that are not too easy or not too hard, but are sort of what educational psychologists would say are in your ‘zone of proximal development.’”.

In the wake of a noted IPO, EdTech player Duolingo showed off AI-infused updates to its language lesson platform.

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You’re working from home. Your colleagues are too. Facebook wants to bring you together — sort of — with virtual reality. The company is launching “Horizon Workrooms,” a VR app aimed at reinventing virtual office spaces.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated the product Thursday in an exclusive interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King. Both Zuckerberg and King wore headsets for what Zuckerberg said was his first interview in VR.

Zuckerberg said that as far back as middle school, he thought about how to create an immersive system where people could feel like they were together playing games or exploring – part of something called the “metaverse.”

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Inspiration4 is preparing for liftoff.

The all-civilian mission is not only the first of its kind in history. It also marks a milestone for Musk’s company, which hopes to one day help humans live across the galaxy.

This is a huge, fairly sci-fi goal, but the trailblazing Inspiration4 crew could help the general public believe in it. And a Netflix documentary certainly doesn’t hurt.

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This study illustrates how complex the relationship between genes and the environment is. Although our study uses genetic methods, it provides strong evidence that, as well as genetics, the environment really matters when we talk about education.

A child’s educational success depends on the genes that they haven’t inherited from their parents, as well as the genes they have, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the study confirms that genes a person inherits directly are most likely to contribute to their achievements in education. But parent genes that aren’t directly inherited, yet have still shaped ’ own education levels and subsequently influenced the lifestyle and family environment they provide for their children, are also important and can affect how well a person does at school and beyond.

The study, a and meta-analysis of prior evidence of genetic impacts on educational outcomes, is published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Continue reading “A parent’s genes can influence a child’s educational success, inherited or not” | >

“University Of The 3rd Age” — Seniors Staying Intellectually Challenged, Socially Engaged, And Physically And Mentally Healthy — Maya Abi Chahine, University for Seniors, American University of Beirut (AUB)

AUB (https://www.aub.edu.lb/seniors/Pages/default.aspx).

The University for Seniors is a new life-long learning initiative at AUB, the first of its kind in Lebanon and the Middle East. It gives older adults (who are 50 and above) the opportunity to share their wisdom and passion, to learn things they have always wanted to learn in a friendly academic environment and to interact socially with other seniors, AUB faculty and students.

Continue reading “Maya Abi Chahine, Program Manager, University for Seniors, American University of Beirut” | >

# On the Opportunities and.
Risks of Foundation Models.

AI is undergoing a paradigm shift with the rise of models (e.g., BERT, DALL-E, GPT-3) that are trained on broad data at scale and are adaptable to a wide range of downstream tasks. We call these models foundation models to underscore their critically central yet incomplete character.

This report provides a thorough account of the opportunities and risks of foundation models, ranging from their capabilities (e.g., language, vision, robotics, reasoning, human interaction) and technical principles (e.g., model architectures, training procedures, data, systems, security, evaluation, theory) to their applications (e.g., law, healthcare, education) and societal impact (e.g., inequity, misuse, economic and environmental impact, legal and ethical considerations).

Though foundation models are based on conventional deep learning and transfer learning, their scale results in new emergent capabilities, and their effectiveness across so many tasks incentivizes homogenization.

Homogenization provides powerful leverage but demands caution, as the defects of the foundation model are inherited by all the adapted models downstream.

Continue reading “## Center for Research on Foundation Models • Aug 16 2021” | >

🥲👍

Val Kilmer marked the release of his acclaimed documentary “Val” (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) in a milestone way: He recreated his old speaking voice by feeding hours of recorded audio of himself into an artificial intelligence algorithm. Kilmer lost the ability to speak after undergoing throat cancer treatment in 2014. Kilmer’s team recently joined forces with software company Sonantic and “Val” distributor Amazon to “create an emotional and lifelike model of his old speaking voice” (via The Wrap).

“I’m grateful to the entire team at Sonantic who masterfully restored my voice in a way I’ve never imagined possible,” Val Kilmer said in a statement. “As human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the side effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me. The chance to narrate my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift.”

Continue reading “Val Kilmer Recreated His Speaking Voice Using Artificial Intelligence and Hours of Old Audio” | >