Slate summary of the debate on AI Safety:
Fears about A.I. take a very different form depending on whom you ask.
Some researchers think that the benefits of developing an A.G.I. far outweighv the risks, and the question of control is a moot point. Intelligent systems will be developed by humans and controlled by humans, so there is nothing to worry about.
A.I. safety researchers strongly disagree: There is no reason to believe that we will be able to control generally intelligent, let alone superintelligent, systems. In fact, we have no idea of what a world with (super)intelligent machines would be like. But we have at least a good idea of potentially harmful scenarios—like, say, an A.I. gaining unilateral control of all resources—so the earlier we start thinking about it, the better.
The SV trend.
Employees at San Francisco startup Nootrobox don’t eat on Tuesdays.
The weekly fast isn’t an extreme money-saving move by a scrappy, bootstrapping company. Instead, Nootrobox team members swear withholding food for 36 hours — they stop eating Monday night — improves their workplace focus and concentration.
“We’re actually super productive on Tuesdays,” co-founder and CEO Geoffrey Woo said. “It’s hard at first, but we literally adopted it as part of the company culture.”
Is it time for rehab for junk food junkies?
Apparently, all the burgers and smoothies you’re consuming cause your brain to forget to stop eating even when you’re full.
Can you relate to midnight cravings and the feeling of perpetual hunger? Do you resort to grabbing fast food on the fly or eating out of a tub of ice cream while you’re bored around the house?
New research reveals obesity may be a brain disease that worsens in people with a diet high in sugar and fat. People who are diet conscious and eat healthy are less likely to indulge in sweet cravings and unhealthy snacks, since their brain recalls a sense of fulfillment derived from watching what they eat. Consuming sugars and fats hinders the functioning of the hippocampus area of one’s brain, blocking from their mind the memories of when their stomach felt full.
Although this article is 1 month old; still is too interesting not to share.
SEATTLE — If you happen to see a driverless lawnmower on the side of the road, WSDOT would rather you keep your eyes on the road.
Crews now use a driverless slope mower to clear hard to reach areas that are too dangerous for an operator to sit on a riding mower. It’s proving to be an efficient, safe tool for WSDOT.
But operator Paul Julian says he’s seeing too many close calls by distracted drivers.
ON Semiconductor’s new 8 megapixel (MP) KAI-08052 image sensor enhances imaging performance in demanding industrial applications with technology that improves the near-infrared sensitivity of CCD image sensors.
The image sensor provides up to twice the sensitivity in near-infrared wavelengths as the company’s standard Interline Transfer CCD pixel design. This enhanced sensitivity can be critical in applications such as scientific and medical imaging, where samples emit or fluoresce in NIR wavelengths; or in machine vision and intelligent transportation systems (ITS), where NIR illumination is often used to better examine an object or to isolate a vehicle’s license plate.
The new CCD pixel design used extends the electron capture region deeper in the silicon to better capture electrons generated by long wavelength photons. This deeper pixel well improves detection of NIR wavelengths by up to a factor of two depending on the specific wavelength studied.
Pure Genius is an upcoming American medical drama television series created by Jason Katims starring Dermot Mulroney. A young Silicon Valley tech-titan enlists a veteran surgeon with a controversial past in starting a hospital with a cutting-edge, new school approach to medicine.
A young Silicon Valley tech-titan enlists a veteran surgeon with a controversial past in starting a hospital with a cutting-edge, new school approach to medicine.
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DNA codes for life as we know it, but in recent years, scientists have discovered more uses for the molecule. Because DNA is foldable and “sticky,” they’ve begun making microscopic shapes called DNA origami. Over the last decade or so, researchers have improved at this DNA art, and now, Caltech scientists say they used DNA to sketch a glowing masterpiece — a replica of Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting “The Starry Night”— on a canvas the size of a dime.
While the mini-van Gogh is neat — if a little fuzzy and monochromatic — the demonstration shows the technique may be approaching more practical uses. One of the difficulties of making technologies ever-smaller is figuring out how to precisely place components. As it turns out, our fingers are just a little too fat to build on scales far thinner than a human hair.
Researchers hope DNA origami can be like surrogate hands on the tiniest scales, and if successful, the technology may be used to build useful devices smaller than any yet in existence.
