Jon Zornow, the founder of Sewbo, made waves in September after announcing that he had built the first robot to sew a t-shirt without human intervention. Using a robot arm and an automatic sewing machine, Zornow took some carefully prepared material and ran it through a pre-programmed series of moves.
It worked. Out popped a t-shirt.
Continue reading… “Sewbo is getting closer to disrupting the sweatshop”
In 2012, Futurist Thomas Frey predicted that 2 billion jobs would disappear by 2030, roughly half of all jobs that exist today. Oxford University researchers reinforced this with their estimates that 47 percent of U.S. jobs could be automated within the next two decades. But which ones will robots take first?
First, we should define “robots” as technologies, such as machine learning algorithms running on purpose-built computer platforms, that have been trained to perform tasks that currently require humans to perform.
Continue reading… “Which 5 jobs will robots take first?”
Humans plus machines will drive society forward. This was the central message conveyed by Dr. John Kelly, senior vice president of IBM Research, at the Augmenting Human Intelligence Cognitive Colloquium, which took place in San Francisco.
Continue reading… “The future of humans plus machines”
The topic of artificial intelligence has been thrust into the mainstream in recent years. No longer just the domain of sci-fi fans, nerds or Google engineers, but the topic at parties, coffee shops and even at the dinner table.
Continue reading… “In the future programming robots to hate may be a necessity”
Futurist Thomas Frey: I often wake up in the middle of the night with a big idea, something I’ve dubbed the grand epiphany. But as it turns out, very few actually fit into the “grand” category.
Whenever they do, big ideas carries with them a heavy responsibility, the responsibility of either moving them forward or allowing them to die in the silent echo chambers of our own grey matter.
For this reason, I’ve often equated my eureka moments to that of being tortured by my own ideas. Yes, grand ideas are a wonderful playground where you can dream about starting a new company, solving some of the world’s biggest problems, and constructing visions of wealth and influence, all in the time it takes most people to get ready for work.
Continue reading… “The Perfection Quandary”
Cheaper robots may help move some car manufacturing work away from low-cost locations like China back to factories in Germany and North America, Donald Walker, Chief Executive of auto supplier Magna told Reuters.
Continue reading… “Falling cost of robots may shift car manufacturing from China to U.S.”
Futurist Thomas Frey: When my oldest son Darby was 8 years old, he looked at his 3-year old sister, Shandra, and pointedly said, “She’s worthless! She couldn’t save anyone!”
Continue reading… “Our Emerging Superhero Culture”
Futurist Thomas Frey: A robot does not kill someone out of fear, anger, or desperation. They kill because someone told them to do it. At least that the way it works with our current generation of robots. What comes next may be a different story.
Normally, when we think about war, it has to do with countries using their armies to fight other countries, or in the case of a civil war, countries torn apart by internal rival factions.
But that line of thinking is far too narrow for the conflicts in our future as our choice of weaponry and choice of battlefront continues to expand.
From my perspective, the traditional country vs. country war tends to be far more about political theater, a theater that plays out on the world stage in full view of the public, than the subversive battles being fought over countless levels of minutia in the background.
Continue reading… “Teaching Robots to Fight Wars”
Ronald C. Arkin: I’ve been engaged in the debate over autonomous robotic military systems for almost 10 years. I am not averse to a ban, but I’m convinced we should continue researching this technology for the time being. One reason is that I believe such systems might be capable of reducing civilian casualties and property damage when compared to the performance of human warfighters. Thus, it is a contention that calling for an outright ban on this technology is premature, as some groups already are doing.
One of the primary characteristics that artificially intelligent objects possess is self-awareness. Taking a step forward toward the new technology, a team of researchers claim to have found one such robot that showed a capability to differentiate itself from the others.
Continue reading… “Scientists program 3 humanoid robots to show self-awareness”
Futurist Thomas Frey: In what year will the number of cars in the world reach its peak and auto sales overall begin to decline?
For most, it may be surprising to realize we’re already there in the U.S. Growing data shows many wealthy economies have already hit “peak car,” a point of market saturation characterized by an unprecedented deceleration in the growth of car ownership, total miles driven, and annual sales.
Continue reading… “The Coming of “Peak Car””
Last week the comprehensive local regulations for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or as more commonly referred to, drones, went into effect. Drone technology has far-reaching benefits for many industries despite that most of the media coverage has focused on what regulated drone usage will do for “dramatic shots” in film. Continue reading… “Drones: more than ‘dramatic shots’”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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