Future Science: ‘Artificial Intelligence Everywhere’

December 4, 2020

Imagine a robot trained to think, respond, and behave using you as a model. Now imagine it assuming one of your roles in life, at home or perhaps at work. Would you trust it to do the right thing in a morally fraught situation?

That’s a question worth pondering as artificial intelligence increasingly becomes part of our everyday lives, from helping us navigate city streets to selecting a movie or song we might enjoy — services that have gotten more use in this era of social distancing. It’s playing an even larger cultural role with its use in systems for elections, policing, and health care.

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Morning News Podcast: Stimulus Bill, Chinese Exports & Vaccine Rollout

A.M. Edition for Dec. 7. What to expect from stimulus negotiations in Washington. China’s rising exports generate a record trade surplus. Rudy Giuliani tests positive for Covid-19. Plus, tips for staying safe in the break room. Marc Stewart hosts.

Walking Tour: Christmas Lights Up In Galeries Lafayette, Paris (Video)

Christmas lights in Paris 2020. Every year, Paris is covered in lights with beautiful Christmas lightings. In this video, A walking tour around Galeries Lafayette , Christmas lightings around this area despite coronavirus and lockdown. The Lafayette galleries are and always will be an emblem of Parisian shopping. With its large glass dome, beautiful decorations and toys, fashion accessories, luxury items of all kinds or a lot of clothing, this store has become a monument in its own right and continues to amaze and enchant its visitors.

Culture: Merchant Town Of Omi-Hachiman, Japan

Sail through the network of canals winding their way through Omi-hachiman, a once bustling castle town overlooking Lake Biwa. Retrace the steps of the past surrounded by a unique amalgamation of European and feudal Japanese architecture combined with carefully-preserved historic townscapes.

World News: Killing Coal, Biden & Iran And Taiwan’s Resilient Economy (Dec 6)

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: killing coalJoe Biden and Iran (10:30), and how Taiwan’s economy remains resilient (16:20)

Kayaking: The ‘Paddling Trails Of Texas’ (Video)

Program 2909, Air Dates December 6-12, 2020 & June 6-12, 2021 Texas Paddling Trails Paddling Trails of Texas.

There are new paddling trails popping up all over Texas. Grab your canoe and come along as we check out some of the state’s best river trips, on the coast, in Houston, and on the Guadalupe River. All you need is a paddle and an excuse to get wet.

Mission Reach Paddling Trail – When you think of a river adventure in San Antonio, the famous Riverwalk comes to mind. But there is a paddling trail of a different sort that’s worth checking out.

Dallas Trinity Paddling Trail – Grab a paddle and hit the river, wherever you live there is a paddling trail nearby. For folks in Dallas there’s one right in the heart of the city. The Dallas Trinity Paddling Trail is 10.2 miles of unexpected fun.

Caddo Lake Paddling Trails – Straddling the Texas-Louisiana border, swampy Caddo Lake in Northeast Texas has an enduring air of mystery. And the paddling trails is the ideal way to explore this fascinating lake.

Port O’Connor Paddling Trail – If you love to paddle and you want to get away there is no better paddling trail than the one in Port O’Connor. From paddling the bays, to sliding through a saltwater marsh, this one of the best coastal paddling trails in the state. Postcard From Texas Take a leisurely float down the San Antonio river on the Goliad Paddling Trail.

Literary Illustrators: ‘The Houses Of Sherlock Holmes’ By Matthew Rice

Dartmoor’s Baskerville Hall is one of the most famous country houses in English fiction. The arrival at its doors of Dr Watson, in the company of Sir Henry Baskerville, is a vivid piece of cinematic direction, artfully combining the Gothic horror tale with the more modern taste for detective thrillers.

Passing a ruined black-granite lodge, Watson and Baskerville go through the gates that are ‘a maze of fantastic tracery in wrought iron’ before reaching an avenue where ‘old trees shot their branches in a sombre tunnel’. The hall is a ‘heavy block’, with a projecting porch, its façade ‘draped in ivy’ within which the odd window or heraldic display can be seen.

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Art: Michelangelo’s Sculpture ‘David’ & The Republic Of Florence

Michelangelo, David, 1501–04, marble, 17 feet high (The Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence), a conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.

This astonishing Renaissance sculpture was created between 1501 and 1504. It is a 14.0 ft marble statue depicting the Biblical hero David, represented as a standing male nude. Originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence, it was meant to be one of a series of large statues to be positioned in the niches of the cathedral’s tribunes, way up at about 80mt from the ground. Michelangelo was asked by the consuls of the Board to complete an unfinished project begun in 1464 by Agostino di Duccio and later carried on by Antonio Rossellino in 1475. Both sculptors had in the end rejected an enormous block of marble due to the presence of too many “taroli”, or imperfections, which may have threatened the stability of such a huge statue. This block of marble of exceptional dimensions remained therefore neglected for 25 years, lying within the courtyard of the Opera del Duomo (Vestry Board).

Travel & Culture: The Friendly Citizens Of The Faroe Islands, Denmark

The first thing visitors notice in the Faroe Islands is the breathtaking nature. But soon after, tourists notice something even more special: the way people welcome them into their homes.

The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, connected by road tunnels, ferries, causeways and bridges. Hikers and bird-watchers are drawn to the islands’ mountains, valleys and grassy heathland, and steep coastal cliffs that harbor thousands of seabirds.

Walking Tours: ‘The White Cliffs Of Dover’, England

The White Cliffs of Dover, part of the North Downs formation, is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of 350 feet, owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint. 

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious