Impact Lab – Page 612 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Latest Trend, Machine Learning, new technology, Science & Technology News

The AI boom is happening all over the world, and it’s accelerating quickly

December 20, 2018

The second annual AI Index report pulls together data and expert findings on the field’s progress and acceleration.

The rate of progress in the field of artificial intelligence is one of the most hotly contested aspects of the ongoing boom in teaching computers and robots how to see the world, make sense of it, and eventually perform complex tasks both in the physical realm and the virtual one. And just how fast the industry is moving, and to what end, is typically measured not just by actual product advancements and research milestones, but also by the prognostications and voiced concerns of AI leaders, futurists, academics, economists, and policymakers. AI is going to change the world — but how and when are still open questions.

Continue reading… “The AI boom is happening all over the world, and it’s accelerating quickly”

AI, Automation, Robotics, Robots, Science & Technology News

These walking robots could help humans get back on their feet again

December 20, 2018

Bipedal robots could explore Mars one day. But first they’re teaching scientists at Caltech’s Amber Lab important lessons about helping humans here on Earth.

Watching a robot trip and fall makes my heart sink. The worst part about it? I’m the one responsible.

I’m standing in a Pasadena, California, lab filled with bipedal (or two legged) robots. A researcher challenges me to try and trip a 5-foot, semihumanoid robot called Amber that’s walking on a treadmill. It’s attached with a rope to a railing above as it walks in place, so it’s only going to fall forward or backward if I’m too heavy-handed.

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3D Printer, Architecture, Green Friendly, Housing

High-tech hemp homes: Australia’s 3D-printed green building revolution

December 18, 2018

A Dutch town will host the world’s first liveable 3D-homes, with residents set to move in next year. Photo: Project Milestone

From 3D-printed buildings to hemp-panelled homes, a hi-tech green building revolution is under way across the globe.

An Australian company has revealed plans to roll out 3D-printed hemp homes, thanks to pioneering technology that could transform residential and commercial building.

Positioning itself at the forefront of Australia’s growing hemp industry, Perth-based bio-technology company Mirreco is pursuing a vision of a world where “the dire consequences of global-warming have been averted because we have seized the opportunity to act now”.

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Analysis, Healthcare, Human Behavior

Why Millennial men don’t go to therapy

December 18, 2018

The most depressed generation won’t get help despite having more access than ever before

About eight years ago, Eugene was in the midst of transferring colleges when he noticed how his mood sagged, seemingly at random times, triggered by the smallest things. He had spent the previous two years at a California State University “smoking, drinking and playing computer games” before realizing that he was treading water and wasting time. He felt envy toward friends who had a career path, but also contempt for other students who were either coasting or were just plain dumb.

Eventually, Eugene dropped out of school, aiming to transfer to a more prestigious private university. But over the next few months, daily routines like pulling himself out of bed and getting dressed loomed over him with daunting effect. “I just didn’t feel great,” he says. “Everything looked bad, and I couldn’t shake it. Then you wake up one day and think things like, Why don’t I just fucking kill myself? That made me step back, and wonder what was really wrong.”

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, Shopping

Brain Corp to provide AI services to Walmart

December 18, 2018

The Auto-C, powered by BrainOS, joins Walmarts technology ecosystem.

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Brain Corp, a San Diego-based software technology company, announced today that it has entered into a relationship with Walmart to provide AI services to the world’s largest retailer.

Brain Corp’s BrainOS platform currently automates more than a hundred of Walmart’s fleet of commercial floor scrubbers across the United States. BrainOS provides the machines with autonomous navigation and data collection capabilities, all tied into a cloud-based reporting system. Walmart expects to have 360 BrainOS-powered machines in stores by the end of its fiscal year, January 31, 2019.

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DaVinci Institute, Employment, Future, Futurist, Science & Technology News, Tom Frey

Reskilling future workers: who’s responsible?

December 19, 2018

Rapid technological change, with its impact on jobs, requires a constantly renewed workforce through retraining.

From switchboard operator to film projectionist, three industrial revolutions down and we’ve already seen many jobs wiped from the face of the Earth. Emerging technology is rapidly dispensing P45s, pink slips or termination letters to the next round of workers. More than half the global labour force will need to start reskilling and reinventing how they earn a living in the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum. Millions of roles will be lost, equally many more will be created.

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Artificial Intelligence, China, Engineering, new technology, Sealife

China plans to build a deep sea base run entirely by AI

December 18, 2018

Robots, not humans, will run the show.

Artificial intelligences are about to get a place to call their own — and it’s located somewhere humans are unlikely to want to visit.

According to a story published Monday in the South China Morning Post, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences plan to construct a research base deep in the South China Sea, and they want artificially intelligent robots to run it.

This base could be the “first artificial intelligence colony on Earth,” those involved in the project told the SCMP.

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Alternative Transportation, Driverless vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Transportation

The future of travel? A self-driving mobile hotel room

December 17, 2018

Imagine taking a road trip and never having to stop for a food or bathroom break.

Steve Lee, a designer at Toronto-based Aprilli Design Studio, has come up with an idea that could make that happen: The Autonomous Travel Suite.

Think of it as a hotel room on wheels. The driverless mobile suite would have a sleeping area with mattresses, washroom facilities with a toilet and sitting shower, a space for working or entertaining, and a small kitchen. It could fit up to five people.

“It’s basically a hotel room so it has everything inside it,” he says. “Whether it’s six hours or 10 hours, you’ll feel comfortable inside it.”

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, Future, Science & Technology News

Get ready. 2019 predictions about Artificial Intelligence that will make your head spin

December 16, 2018

Instead of breaking systems with ransomware, adversaries will leverage new tools to conduct harmful assaults on targeted subjects and organizations.

A staff member stands near a computer as it participates in the CHAIN Cup at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. A computer running artificial intelligence software defeated two teams of human doctors in accurately recognizing maladies in magnetic resonance images on Saturday, in a contest that was billed as the world’s first competition in neuroimaging between AI and human experts. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)ASSOCIATED PRESS

While the hip, ubiquitous business buzzwords are cryptocurrency and blockchain, the truly formidable factor of what is being called the fourth industrial revolution is Artificial Intelligence. Whether praised as a panacea for greater business efficiency or the feared as the demise of humanity, Artificial Intelligence is upon us and will impact business and society at large in ways that we can only begin to imagine. Fasten your seatbelts. Here’s what a few influencers in the arena say is on tap for 2019.

Continue reading… “Get ready. 2019 predictions about Artificial Intelligence that will make your head spin”

Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough, Medicine

The 10 most incredible medical breakthroughs of 2018

December 16, 2018

From medical drones to the first FDA-approved cannabis drug, innovative research continues to transform the future of health care.

In a tech-obsessed world, it’s only natural to ponder all the ways technology might actually be damaging your health. Is social media a trigger for depression? Could your cell phone start a fire while you sleep? Can reading a computer screen all day ruin your vision? It’s easy to get caught up in that downward spiral of thinking.

However, nestled in between all the negatives is an incredible world of positives. Technology only continues to advance in ways that can completely transform the future of health care. Just last year, scientists made progress in learning how to regenerate body parts, detect pancreatic cancer earlier, and relieve pain via virtual reality, Prevention reported.

This past year has proven to be an equally exciting time for innovative research. Here, some of the most striking medical breakthroughs of 2018 that have the potential to change your life.

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Blockchain, China, Intellectual Property, Legal Issues

Chinese internet court uses blockchain to protect online writers intellectual property

December 16, 2018

An Internet Court in Hangzhou, Eastern China, has turned to blockchain to fight piracy at the expense of online writers, English-language media outlet China.org.cn reports Dec. 8.

China has reportedly “set up three Internet courts in Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.” Internet Courts are courts expressly intended to manage internet-related cases and allow plaintiffs to file their complaints online.

The official website of Hangzhou Internet Court reads that it “behave[s] as an ‘incubator’ for Internet space governance, a ‘test field’ for Internet judicial rules, a ‘leader’ for diversified Internet disputes, and a ‘first mover’ for the transformation of Internet trials.”

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3D Printer, Engineering, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News

MIT team develops 3D printer that’s 10x faster than comparable 3D printers

December 16, 2018

Professors Jamison Go and John Hart of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Mechanosynthesis Group have developed new hardware that enables what they call FastFFF (fast fused filament fabrication). And it’s fast, see for yourself.

Desktop 3D printers are fantastic at creating high-quality and complex parts on demand, but their greatest weakness has always been speed. They can only print one object at a time, one thin layer at a time. And there are several speed-limiting factors to FDM/FFF 3D printers, with the main four being: the amount of force that can be applied to the filament as it’s pushed through the nozzle, how quickly heat can be transferred to the filament to melt it, how fast the printhead can move around the build area, and the rate that the material solidifies after it’s extruded because it needs to support the next layer.

Continue reading… “MIT team develops 3D printer that’s 10x faster than comparable 3D printers”