A killer robot which can detect a human from over four miles away – and shoot them dead – could be being implemented at the Russian border.
Continue reading… “Killer Russian robot can detect humans and shoot them dead in an instant”
Elon Musk believes advanced A.I. could “Take Down the Internet”
The internet is about to become a vicious, chaotic battlefield, and Elon Musk says advanced A.I. could make the carnage even worse. According to a short exchange on Musk’s Twitter today, the systems that keep the internet running are particularly vulnerable to simple, brute-force computing attacks — the kind of cyberwarfare that artificial intelligence excel at.
Continue reading… “Elon Musk believes advanced A.I. could “Take Down the Internet””
Will our smart home monitoring devices spend more time monitoring us than our homes?
Just as people originally bought mobile phones to protect against hypothetical emergencies, so internet-connected smart devices now often sell comfort from fear. Motion cameras that deter evil babysitters. Recording doorbells that stave off solicitors and burglars. Propane scales that avert cook-out disaster. Sensor-tentacled boxes that warn against flooding.
Hackers could steal cellphone pictures from your IoT crock-pot
If you have an internet-connected home appliance, such as a crock-pot, a lightbulb, or a coffee maker, you can control it from the comfort of your smartphone. However, a bug in the Android app that controls some of those devices made by a popular manufacturer also allowed hackers to steal all your cellphone photos and even track your movements.
Continue reading… “Hackers could steal cellphone pictures from your IoT crock-pot”
Cities Are Making Parking (and Cars) Obsolete
- As the global population becomes increasingly urbanized, city leaders will have to find ways to prepare for the influx of people—and their cars.
Continue reading… “Cities Are Making Parking (and Cars) Obsolete”
Somebody Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet
Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet. These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed to determine exactly how well these companies can defend themselves, and what would be required to take them down. We don’t know who is doing this, but it feels like a large nation state. China or Russia would be my first guesses.
Continue reading… “Somebody Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet”
Police face-tracking network covers nearly 50% of US adults
Using state driver’s license data, US law enforcement agencies have created a huge network of ID photographs that can be searched using facial-recognition software, raising legal and privacy concerns about its use.
Photographs of more than 117 million adult US citizens are now part of the “perpetual line-up,” according to a report by that name published Tuesday by the Center on Privacy and Technology at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Continue reading… “Police face-tracking network covers nearly 50% of US adults”
The three biggest problems facing AI today
Speaking to attendees at a deep learning conference in London last month, there was one particularly noteworthy recurring theme: humility, or at least, the need for it.
While companies like Google are confidently pronouncing that we live in an “AI-first age,” with machine learning breaking new ground in areas like speech and image recognition, those at the front lines of AI research are keen to point out that there’s still a lot of work to be done. Just because we have digital assistants that sound like the talking computers in movies doesn’t mean we’re much closer to creating true artificial intelligence.
Continue reading… “The three biggest problems facing AI today”
China: 13 million ghost children getting official recognition and documents
Birth controls still exist in China: The one-child policy was replaced by a two-child policy. Authorities in Beijing quietly began to give undocumented 2nd and third children legal status without first paying fines. Hukou registration is being provided which is like an internal passport and provides access to government services. It allows registration in school.
Continue reading… “China: 13 million ghost children getting official recognition and documents”
Intelligence agencies struggle identifying threats from lone, mentally ill attackers
Recent attacks on civilians in the U.S. and Europe have exposed a gap in the intelligence community’s efforts to track suspected extremists and prevent mass killings, a half dozen American, British and French counterterrorism officials told Reuters.
The attacks have a common theme of being carried out by actors with an apparent history of mental illness – but few if any direct links to extremist groups.
Fewer Americans now think churches are important to solving social problems
Religious leaders and institutions have taken part in efforts to address important social issues throughout American history, from slavery to civil rights to today’s advocacy in areas such as reducing poverty.
But Americans appear to be growing more skeptical of how much of a difference churches and other houses of worship make in tackling social concerns. A majority of U.S. adults still say religious institutions contribute either “a great deal” (19%) or “some” (38%) to solving important social problems. But the combined figure of 58% has fallen significantly in recent years, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. About four-in-ten Americans (39%) now say religious institutions make little to no contribution in this area.
Continue reading… “Fewer Americans now think churches are important to solving social problems”
Law firms will soon be filled with robot lawyers
It may be time to start rewriting lawyer jokes. Smart, time-saving computers are quickly elevating the profession.
Continue reading… “Law firms will soon be filled with robot lawyers”
