Lifeboat Foundation

Driven by a declining population, a trend for developing robotic babies has emerged in Japan as a means of encouraging couples to become “parents”. The approaches taken vary widely and are driven by different philosophical approaches that also beg a number of questions, not least whether these robo-tots will achieve the aim of their creators.

To understand all of this it is worth exploring the reasons behind the need to promote population growth in Japan. The issue stems from the disproportionate number of older people. Predictions from the UN suggest that by 2050 there will be about double the number of people living in Japan in the 70-plus age range compared to those aged 15–30. This is blamed on a number of factors including so-called “parasite singles”, more unmarried women and a lack of immigration.

Continue reading “Robot Babies From Japan Raise Questions About How Parents Bond With AI” »

Artificial intelligence and increasing automation is going to decimate middle class jobs, worsening inequality and risking significant political upheaval, Stephen Hawking has warned.

In a column in The Guardian, the world-famous physicist wrote that “the automation of factories has already decimated jobs in traditional manufacturing, and the rise of artificial intelligence is likely to extend this job destruction deep into the middle classes, with only the most caring, creative or supervisory roles remaining.”

He adds his voice to a growing chorus of experts concerned about the effects that technology will have on workforce in the coming years and decades. The fear is that while artificial intelligence will bring radical increases in efficiency in industry, for ordinary people this will translate into unemployment and uncertainty, as their human jobs are replaced by machines.

Continue reading “Stephen Hawking: Automation and AI Are Going to Decimate Middle Class Jobs” »

Google’s Deep Brain team watched neural nets learn to develop their own encryption.

Researchers are also working on making sure that if and when the robot does take a tumble, it falls safely and doesn’t fracture its… er, circuit boards.

What is the potential of machine art, and can it truly be described as creative or imaginative?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ySsv5-jSqss

A researcher is experimenting with an artificial hippocampus to learn how to strengthen and store memories.l

http://www.thelastofus.playstation.com/index.html

From the developers at Naughty Dog comes the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed games of the generation. Watch the world reveal trailer that made its debut at PlayStation Experience 2016.

Continue reading “The Last of Us Part II — PSX 2016: Reveal Trailer” »

Continue reading “Space Warp Dynamics: The startup that's working on sending humans to Proxima Centauri” »

PD Aerospace, a Japanese company that’s similar to Virgin Galactic in its commercial spaceflight aspirations, has picked up two high-profile investors: ANA Holdings and the H.I.S. travel agency.

In a joint statement issued Thursday, the three Japanese companies said that they agreed in October to work together on space commercialization efforts, including space travel.