Toggle light / dark theme

In Texas, driverless trucks are set to take over roads

A giant 18-wheel transport truck is barreling down a multi-lane Texas highway, and there is no one behind the wheel.

The futuristic idea may seem surreal, but it is being tested in this vast southern US state, which has become the epicenter of a rapidly developing self-driving vehicle industry.

Before driverless trucks are allowed onto roads and highways, however, multiple tests must still be conducted to ensure they are safe.

Samsung becomes the world’s first brand to demonstrate MRAM technology for in-memory computing

Samsung, the world’s biggest memory chip maker, has announced that it has become the first in the world to demonstrate the MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) technology for in-memory computing. The company’s paper on its innovation, titled ‘A crossbar array of magnetoresistive memory devices for in-memory computing,’ was published by Nature on its website, and its print edition is coming next.

The research was a collaboration between SAIT (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology), Samsung Foundry, and Samsung Semiconductor R&D. Dr. Seungchul Jung (Staff Researcher at SAIT), Dr. Donhee Ham (Fellow of SAIT and Professor of Harvard University), and Dr. Sang Joon Kim (Vice President of Technology at SAIT) worked on the research.

Usually, data is stored in memory chips (DRAM) and processed by a CPU or an AP (Application Processor). However, data storage and computing happen on the same chip with in-memory computing. Since there is no need to transfer data from memory to the processor and vice versa, a lot of time is saved. Data processing inside the memory happens in a highly parallel manner, resulting in substantial power savings. Samsung claims that MRAM technology will be great for things like AI processing.

Harnessing noise in optical computing for AI

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are currently affecting our lives in many small but impactful ways. For example, AI and machine learning applications recommend entertainment we might enjoy through streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify.

In the near future, it’s predicted that these technologies will have an even larger impact on society through activities such as driving fully autonomous vehicles, enabling complex scientific research and facilitating medical discoveries.

But the computers used for AI and machine learning demand a lot of energy. Currently, the need for computing power related to these technologies is doubling roughly every three to four months. And cloud computing data centers used by AI and machine learning applications worldwide are already devouring more electrical power per year than some small countries. It’s easy to see that this level of energy consumption is unsustainable.

What Artificial Intelligence is Missing

I propose an underlying process which constitutes our intelligence as human beings, and argue that our current AI systems fundamentally lack it.

Sources:
John Vervaeke, Timothy P. Lillicrap, Blake A. Richards — Relevance Realization and the Emerging Framework in Cognitive Science http://www.ipsi.utoronto.ca/sdis/Relevance-Published.pdf.
Daniel Dennnett — Cognitive Wheels: The Frame Problem of AI https://folk.idi.ntnu.no/gamback/teaching/TDT4138/dennett84.pdf.
Francisco J. Varela, Eleanor Rosch and Evan Thompson — The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience.

Chapters:
0:00 — Introduction.
0:28 — What is intelligence?
1:05 — Problem Solving.
4:17 — Categorization.
5:33 — Communication.
6:47 — The Importance of Relevance Realization.
7:22 — The Frame Problem.
8:48 — A Science of Relevance?
9:52 — A Theory of How We Realize Relevance.
12:31 — Can AI do any of this?
14:09 — End Screen

The Cyborg Revolution: Are They Here Yet?

They are.

The cyborgs are upon us. Turns out, they’re more ‘enhanced reality’ and less ‘science fiction.’

In 1998, Professor of Cybernetics Kevin Warwick had a chip implanted in his body that would open electronic doors and turn on lights as he passed. In 2002, he had a 100 electrode array wired into the nervous system of his arm to allow him to remotely control an artificial hand. Today, he’s working on using animal brain cells as a control system for robots.

Performance artist Stelios Arcadiou (whose has changed his name to Stelarc) has spent 10 years growing an artificially-created ear that is surgically attached to his left arm. In 2009, Jerry Jalava, a Finnish computer engineer who lost part of a finger in a motorcycle accident, turned his prosthetic finger into a USB drive. Colorblind artist Neil Harbisson has an antenna that helps him to ‘hear’ colors. Avant-garde artist Moon Ribas had seismic sensors implanted in her feet that detect the vibrations caused by earthquakes, and records the data online. She then transforms that data into dance.

Full Story:


Cyborgs are already here. Ranging from a chip, to antenna and seismic sensors, humans have implanted them and iden.

China’s New Electric Quadruped Robot Could Be the Largest in the World

And it looks like a big yak.

China’s state media, the Global Times, claims the country has developed the world’s largest electric-powered quadruped bionic robot. And to be honest, that thing looks just like a yak.

Bizarre appearances aside, this comes as the latest in China’s push to become a global leader in robotics by 2025. And also, of course, in military tech.… See more.


China claims that it has developed the largest electric-powered quadruped robot in the world! And the nation is rapidly approaching its 2025 goal.

China Unveils ‘World’s Largest’ Quadruped Military Robot

China has introduced what it claims to be the world’s largest electrically-powered quadruped robot to assist the military on logistics and reconnaissance missions.

With a “yak-like appearance,” the four-legged robot can reportedly carry up to 352 pounds (160 kilograms) of payload and run at six miles (10 kilometers) per hour.

The platform’s structure is designed to withstand challenging off-grid military missions and conquer a wide variety of terrain, including cliffs, trenches, grasslands, fields, deserts, snow, and muddy roads.