Tag Archives: Technology

Debates: “AI Will Bring More Harm Than Good” (Cambridge Video)

MOTION:

“This House Believes AI Will Bring More Harm Than Good”

This debate was run in association with IBM Research.

AI Will Bring More Harm Than Good Cambridge Union Debate 2019

Proposition:

Project Debater Project Debater is designed by IBM research. It will deliver a speech based on over 1,100 arguments collected from Union members and others over the past week. It will not be taking points of information.

Sharmila Parmanand

Sharmila Parmanand is a PhD Candidate in Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Gates Scholar. She has served as a debate trainer or chief judge in debating events in 45 countries. She served as a chief judge for most major global debating competitions (World Universities, World Schools, European Universities, Asian Universities, Austral-Asian Universities, North American Universities, and PanAmerican Universities).

Professor Neil Lawrence

Neil Lawrence is the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and the co-host of Talking Machines. Neil’s main research interest is machine learning through probabilistic models. He focuses on both the algorithmic side of these models and their application. His recent focus has been on the deployment of machine learning technology in practice, particularly under the banner of data science.

Opposition

Project Debater

Project Debater is designed by IBM research. It will deliver a speech based on over 1,100 arguments collected from Union members and others over the past week. It will not be taking points of information.

Harish Natarajan

Harish Natarajan is a graduate of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. He was a grand fnalist and 2nd best speaker at the 2016 World Debating Championships and won the European Debating Championship in 2012. Harish holds the record for most competition victories. He currently works as the Head of Economic Risk Analysis at AKE International in London.

Professor Sylvie Delacroix

Sylvie Delacroix is professor in Law and Ethics at the University of Birmingham. Her work has notably been funded by the Wellcome Trust, the NHS and the Leverhulme Trust, from whom she received the Leverhulme Prize. She has recently been appointed to the Public Policy Commission on the use of algorithms in the justice system.

Website: https://www.cus.org/

Brain Science Podcasts: MRI Scans Now Reveal “Thoughts And Feelings” (60 Minutes)

60 Minutes logoWho among us hasn’t wished we could read someone else’s mind, know exactly what they’re thinking? Well that’s impossible, of course, since our thoughts are, more than anything else, our own. Private, personal, unreachable. Or at least that’s what we’ve always, well, thought. 

Advances in neuroscience have shown that, on a physical level, our thoughts are actually a vast network of neurons firing all across our brains. So if that brain activity could be identified and analyzed, could our thoughts be decoded? Could our minds be read? Well, a team of scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has spent more than a decade trying to do just that. We started our reporting on their work 10 years ago, and what they’ve discovered since, has drawn us back.

To read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging-computer-analysis-read-thoughts-60-minutes-2019-11-24/

Retrofuturism: Past Visions Of The Future Are Now Very “Prescient”

From an Interesting Engineering online article:

Retrofuturism is the curious eye of the past upon us. This era’s rosy predictions about the future seem laughable from the perspective of the present; however, it seems that they got some things exceptionally right. Their ideas ranged from child-like and pridefully ambitious and inspired a movement upon the artists, designers, musicians, and filmmakers who channeled the technological fantasies of a lost age.

  • Instant Messaging (1964 Prediction)

  • 1964 Prediction of Instant Messaging
  • This technology has actually become a reality. Many smartphones have this feature, or at least something similar to it. It doesn’t look like this of course, but the main idea is still there: you write it with your smartpen and the device makes your illegible handwriting into a text that is actually readable! However, it is not widely used; nobody could predict that typing would be superior to actual handwriting.

  • Personal Transportation (1950s Vision)

  • 1950s-vision-of-personal-transportation.jpgIt is unclear why people in the 1950s thought this was a practical way to travel; not only it looks like it is impossible to breathe in there, who would want to stand upright while driving? It would definitely ease the traffic; however, probably no one would want to use it.

    The Smart-Cities of Future

    Smart Cities of the FutureTowering transmitters in the city and private-jet traffic in the sky… This is a prediction that was made probably too early and it is definitely not so far from reality. Today, we paint a similar future for smart-cities and sci-fi movies depict the future cities in the same manner. It seems that older generations and we have a similar vision of the future look of the world.

To read more: https://interestingengineering.com/11-illustrations-of-how-people-in-the-past-imagined-life-today?_source=newsletter&_campaign=E4jMZWjELLmMM&_uid=46dBBxnxd7&_h=0c209d493fa27bb2c39469a873cbbd733289c833&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-22-11-2019

Future Of Eating Out: Chef Eric Rivera’s “Addo: Incubator” Maximizes Tech To Serve Better Food

From a Wired.com online review:

Addo Restaurant Eric RiveraEvery possible step is done online, and for most meals customers must reserve—and often pay—in advance, essentially buying tickets through a service called Tock that’s mostly used only by high-end restaurants. This means no host manning a podium, no reservation or PR teams, no extra staff on a slow night, almost no food waste, and better guest communications. It also allowed them to go from 20 employees to four full-time and three part-time workers.

Within moments of arriving at Seattle’s Addo restaurant, I was handed a Nintendo Switch controller and a can of Georgetown Brewing Company’s Bodhizafa IPA.

While chef Eric Rivera shuttled back and forth to the kitchen to bring out Puerto Rican snacks, Addo’s director of operations Ingrid Lyublinsky took another controller, jumped into a game of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on a giant projector screen hanging inside the front window, chose Pink Gold Peach, and shot down the track riding a Bone Rattler while someone shouted Pew! Pew! Pew!

To read more: https://www.wired.com/story/eric-rivera/

Automotive Trends: Tesla Unveils “Cybertruck” With “Ultra-Hard 30X Stainless Steel”, 500+ Mile Range

From the Tesla website:

  • Cybertruck is built with an exterior shell made for ultimate durability and passenger protection. Starting with a nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, every component is designed for superior strength and endurance, from Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin to Tesla armor glass.

download

  • With up to 3,500 pounds of payload capacity and adjustable air suspension, Cybertruck is the most powerful tool we have ever built, engineered with 100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage — including a magic tonneau cover that is strong enough to stand on.
  • Space for your toolbox, tire and Cyberquad, with room to spare. Utilize 100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage — including the under-bed, frunk and sail pillars.
  • Seat six comfortably with additional storage under the second-row seats. Complete with an advanced 17” touchscreen with an all-new customized user interface.
Tesla Cybertruck
From rugged to refined, Cybertruck is completely adaptable for your needs. Prepare for every experience with a versatile utilitarian design — including on-board power and compressed air.

It’ll do 0-60 mph (0-98 km/h) in 2.9 seconds, and a quarter mile in a ridiculous 10.8 seconds in its highest performance variant. In top spec, it’ll go as far as 500 miles (800 km) on a charge, making it a genuine option for multi-day off-road adventures, and its 250-plus kilowatt charging capability means fast top-ups are on the cards, too. Towing capacity is over 7,500 lb (3,400 kg), which Musk happily demonstrated in an uphill tug of war against a hapless F150.

Website: https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck

Top Science Podcasts: Tracking Landslides In Taiwan, The Universality Of Music (ScienceMag)

scimag_pc_logo_120_120 (2)You may have seen the aftermath of a landslide, driving along a twisty mountain road—a scattering of rocks and scree impinging on the pavement. And up until now, that’s pretty much how scientists have tracked landslides—roadside observations and spotty satellite images. Now, researchers are hoping to track landslides systematically by instrumenting an entire national park in Taiwan. The park is riddled with landslides—so much so that visitors wear helmets. Host Sarah Crespi talks with one of those visitors—freelance science journalist Katherine Kornei—about what we can learn from landslides.

In a second rocking segment, Sarah also talks with Manvir Singh about the universality of music. His team asked the big questions in a Science paper out this week: Do all societies make music? What are the common elements that can be picked out from songs worldwide? Sarah and Manvir listen to songs and talk about what love ballads and lullabies have in common, regardless of their culture of origin.

To read more: https://www.sciencemag.org/podcast/building-landslide-observatory-and-universality-music

 

Photography: “Stunning” 52-Megapixel Photos Of Moon By Eric Morgunov

From an Interesting Engineering online article:

Morgunov said, “This picture is two different types of photos, a long exposure (to capture earthshine) and a fast shutter to capture the illuminated side.”

Eric Morgunov 52 Megapixel Photo of the Moon Using 500 Images

He continued to explain the additional images he used, which created the final piece: “The illuminated side is 500 photos of 1/60 at 100iso, was stacked and sharpened in autostakertt3 and registax6. The earthshine was around 15 photos at 3-second expo w/ 1600iso stacked and sharpened in autostakertt3 and registax6. I blended the two photos together in photoshop (a lot more work then it seems) added a star trail background gave it glow.”

https://www.instagram.com/ericmorgunov/

Eric Morgunov’s image of the Moon stands out for one main reason: it’s 500 pictures of the Moon brought together to create one incredible 52 megapixel photograph.

To read more: https://interestingengineering.com/man-creates-amazing-52-megapixel-photo-of-the-moon-using-500-images?_source=newsletter&_campaign=23rY2Mo8goQjd&_uid=46dBBxnxd7&_h=0c209d493fa27bb2c39469a873cbbd733289c833&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-19-11-2019

Automobile Nostalgia: “1949 Healey Silverstone” Was Designed As “Both Road And Racing Car”

From a ClassicDriver.com online article:

Classic Driver Logo“Originally designed as both a road and racing car, little compromise was made for comfort and practicality. With a light body and a peppy 2½ litre Riley engine, the Healey Silverstone performed well; even the headlights were brought inside behind the grille to make it more aerodynamic. It had a very limited run; just 105 produced making correct examples extremely desirable. 

1949 Healey Silverstone Classic Driver

…Donald Healey himself raced one, winning the 1949 Alpine Rally. A Healey Silverstone also won Belgium’s Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, the Isle of Man Manx Cup, various races at Goodwood and other national events.

Due to the limited production run, cars with important period competition history are desirable and so when a previously undiscovered chassis turns up, correct identification is key.

To read more: https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/healey/silverstone/1949/712691?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Classic%20Driver%20Daily%203252019&utm_content=Classic%20Driver%20Daily%203252019+CID_45cd83d4933f01b9587a4a72c19b3141&utm_source=newsletter

Medical Technology: Mobile Ultrasound For Smart Phones Or Devices Assists In Cardiac Arrest

From a Philips.com online release:

Philips Lumify Handheld UltrasoundPhilips Lumify ultrasound technology is an important component of the mobile ECMO unit. Members of the ECMO team use Lumify for real-time visual guidance when inserting tubes in veins and arteries in a process called ECMO cannulation.

“Lumify has excellent image quality and is easy to use – it was instrumental in our first pre-hospital ECMO cannulation,” said Dr. Darren Braude.

Physicians from the University of New Mexico (UNM) and local emergency responders recently treated a cardiac arrest patient with the first ever out-of-hospital portable life-support system available in the United States.

The machine performs a function called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. ECMO machines mimic a functioning heart and lungs, circulating oxygenated blood for patients who have suffered a cardiac arrest.

To read more: https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/news/archive/standard/news/articles/2019/20191119-philips-lumify-handheld-ultrasound-supports-life-saving-technology-in-pre-hospital-setting.html

Technology Innovations: “WI-CHARGE” Charges Smart Devices Wirelessly With Infrared Light

From an Interesting Engineering online review:

Wi-Charge TechnologyWi-Charge says it has a solution to the problem. Its technology allows users to power small devices, such as smartphones, smart fire alarms, and smart locks, from several feet away without any wires.

The technology works by sending out a thin beam of infrared light. A receiver on the enabled device then converts the beam into electricity.

Electronic waste is expected to exceed 50 million tonnes by 2020. That number simply isn’t sustainable.

One company is aiming to get rid of one of the main culprits in e-waste: the electronic cable. Wi-Charge has created a method for powering devices wirelessly using safe and efficient infrared technology.

Aside from having the potential to end a great deal of waste, the company is also aiming to meet a growing demand for power that will only increase with the advent of 5G.

WiCharge_Charging_-infographic_wide_v2

To read more: https://interestingengineering.com/is-wireless-power-the-future-for-charging-smart-home-devices?_source=newsletter&_campaign=YqN5dY3r3bJLA&_uid=46dBBxnxd7&_h=0c209d493fa27bb2c39469a873cbbd733289c833&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-15-11-2019