Lifeboat Foundation

Hot damn, our Ghost in the Shell future is getting closer by the day. DARPA announced on Tuesday that it is interested in developing wetware — implantable brain-machine interfaces (BMI) that will allow their users to control computers with their thoughts. The device, developed as part of the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program, would essentially translate the chemical signals in our neurons into digital code. What’s more, DARPA expects this interface to be no larger than two nickels stacked atop one another.

“Today’s best brain-computer interface systems are like two supercomputers trying to talk to each other using an old 300-baud modem,” Phillip Alvelda, the NESD program manager, said in a statement. “Imagine what will become possible when we upgrade our tools to really open the channel between the human brain and modern electronics.”

The advanced research agency hopes the device to make an immediate impact — you know, once it’s actually invented — in the medical field. Since the proposed BMI would connect to as many as a million individual neurons (a few magnitudes more than the 100 or so that current devices can link with), patients suffering from vision or hearing loss would see an unprecedented gain in the fidelity of their assistive devices. Patients who have lost limbs would similarly see a massive boost in the responsiveness and capabilities of their prosthetics.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQYkRmQZ6jY

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Narrated by Gabriel Byrne, Flight from Death, is a seven-time Best Documentary award-winning film which uncovers death anxiety as a possible root cause of many of our behaviors on a psychological, spiritual, and cultural level.

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Google is shifting employee responsibilities and forming its own dedicated division for virtual reality computing.

Google is forming its own dedicated division for virtual reality computing, promising some intense competition for Facebook and Microsoft.

Not only has CEO Sundar Pichai moved over a key deputy to run it, but the move also signals Google’s intent to build a viable enterprise business. Because with the executive shift, Google’s massive consumer Web applications now fall under incoming SVP Diane Greene.

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When AI and particularly a Quantum AI society takes hold; we may see another huge shift in the balance of economic power again. For the past 20+ years, we have seen the trade and economic power shift to emerging markets across Asia. What type of a shift may we see when AI and particularly Robots on Quantum are in place? Could we see a complete reversal of markets and growth shift away from Asia back to Europe and the US/ Canada? Or, even no shift at all, etc.? Key questions that we need to be ready to address especially as more sophisticated AI is introduced over the next 3 to 5 years.

DAVOS: Invoking the famous Star Wars series, top industrialist Anand Mahindra today said technology is like the Force and everything depends on how we use it, as business leaders from across the world began debating here the challenges and benefits from the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Speaking here at the first official session of the World Economic Forum’s five-day annual meet, which started last night, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also said the world cannot afford another digital divide and the key question was how to ensure that the fourth industrial revolution leads to digital dividends.

Continue reading “World Economic Forum 2016: Technology is like Force, depends how you use it, says Anand Mahindra” »

And, no! Even Football is no longer sacred from the AI invasion. Can you imagine see the Football coach and managers as robots making better game plays and books for their teams. Actually, if we could replace the refs. with robots that may be a good thing.

The application of artificial intelligence to play-calling is already upon us. Last spring, two students at North Carolina State built a model to predict whether an NFL team would pass or run, information that would hugely benefit defensive coordinators.

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Justin Smith’s body temperature was under 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

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New researcher suggests engineered neural networks have the ability to replace and repair lost axonal tracks in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and those with brain injuries.

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Scientists have developed a computer system that predicts the reprogramming factors necessary to convert human cells from one type to another, without the need for trial and error.

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