Robotics/AI – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Aug 7
2019

IBM just made its cancer-fighting AI projects open-source

IBM recently developed three artificial intelligence tools that could help medical researchers fight cancer.

Now, the company has decided to make all three tools open-source, meaning scientists will be able to use them in their research whenever they please, according to ZDNet. The tools are designed to streamline the cancer drug development process and help scientists stay on top of newly-published research — so, if they prove useful, it could mean more cancer treatments coming through the pipeline more rapidly than before.

Aug 7
2019

Sony is using AI to replace drummers, one beat at a time

Sony developed an AI system that can generate kickdrum beats based on other instruments used in a song.

Aug 7
2019

DARPA Is Taking On the Deepfake Problem

The Defense Department is looking to build tools that can quickly detect deepfakes and other manipulated media amid the growing threat of “large-scale, automated disinformation attacks.”

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on Tuesday announced it would host a proposers day for an upcoming initiative focused on curbing the spread of malicious deepfakes, shockingly realistic but forged images, audio and videos generated by artificial intelligence. Under the Semantic Forensics program, or SemaFor, researchers aim to help computers use common sense and logical reasoning to detect manipulated media.

As global adversaries enhance their technological capabilities, deepfakes and other advanced disinformation tactics are becoming a top concern for the national security community. Russia already showed the potential of fake media to sway public opinion during the 2016 election, and as deepfake tools become more advanced and readily available, experts worry bad actors will use the tech to fuel increasingly powerful influence campaigns.

Aug 7
2019

MIT breaks new ground in AI with ‘deep’ knitting, yes, knitting

What’s the point of teaching a computer how to knit? MIT researchers found it goes beyond just some nice gloves and scarves, to a window into deep learning forms of artificial intelligence.

Aug 7
2019

MIT’s AlterEgo system gives wearers an A.I. assistant in their heads

Imagine if you had a smart A.I. assistant in your head, capable of silently feeding you external information whenever you required it, without you needing to say a single word? That’s exactly what MIT postdoctoral researcher Arnav Kapur has developed. Here’s how it works.

Aug 7
2019

Inside DeepMind’s epic mission to solve science’s trickiest problem

For DeepMind, the emergence of the new headquarters is symbolic of a new chapter for the company as it turns its research heft and compute power to try to understand, among other things, the building blocks of organic life. In so doing, the company hopes to make breakthroughs in medicine and other disciplines that will significantly impact progress in a number of fields. “Our mission should be one of the most fascinating journeys in science,” Hassabis says. “We’re trying to build a cathedral to scientific endeavour.”

DeepMind’s AI has beaten chess grandmasters and Go champions. But founder and CEO Demis Hassabis now has his sights set on bigger, real-world problems that could change lives. First up: protein folding.

Aug 6
2019

Watch Live Tuesday: 2 Rocket Launches and a Space Station Cargo Ship’s Departure

Today (Aug. 6) is going to be a big day in space!

After a Cygnus cargo spacecraft departs the International Space Station this afternoon, SpaceX and Arianespace will be launching a total of three new communications satellites into orbit. You can watch all three events live here at Space.com.

First, the Cygnus cargo ship will undock from the space station at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT). NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the vessel into the vacuum of space. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the send-off beginning 15 minutes prior to its departure.

Aug 5
2019

Sci-Fi From the Future

(repeat) Are you ready to defer all your personal decision-making to machines? Polls show that most Americans are uneasy about the unchecked growth of artificial intelligence. The possible misuse of genetic engineering also makes us anxious. We all have a stake in the responsible development of science and technology, but fortunately, science fiction films can help.

The movies Ex Machina and Jurassic Park suggest where A.I. and unfettered gene-tinkering could lead. But even less popular sci-fi movies can help us imagine unsettling scenarios regarding over-population, smart drugs, and human cloning.

And not all tales are grim. The 1951 film, The Man in the White Suit, weaves a humorous story of materials science run amok.

Aug 5
2019

Could Rat Brains Hold the Secret to Robots with Better Navigational Skills?

BU researchers have discovered specialized brain cells that provide rats—and most likely, humans— with personalized maps of their surroundings, helping them navigate through obstacles. The findings could lead to improved autonomous vehicles that can navigate unpredictable and dynamic terrain.

Aug 5
2019

Robotics team from the Flathead wins regional competition

KALISPELL, Mont. — Two middle schoolers in the Flathead are making a name for themselves in the robotics world. Katie Eberhardy and Jessie Chadwick recently won the regional, NASA-sponsored Apollo Next Great Leap Student Challenge.

Eberhardy and Chadwick’s team—the Lunar Loonies—was the only all-girl team in the competition, and one of the smallest of the about 20 other teams.

“Some teams had six to eight people,” Chadwick said. “We’re just a team of two.”