Elon Musk wants to link brains directly to machines
By: The Economist July 18, 2019 ELON MUSK, perhaps the world’s most famous entrepreneur, is sometimes referred to as “the Trump of technology”—not for political reasons, but because of his habit of making, at short notice, spectacular pronouncements that stretch the bounds of credibility. On July 16th he was at it again, unveiling a new […]
Attacking satellites is increasingly attractive—and dangerous
By: The Economist July 18, 2019 DEEP WITHIN Vandenberg Air Force Base, a rugged 50km stretch of America’s Pacific coast which is home to rolling fogs, sporadic wildfires, the odd mountain lion and the 30th Space Wing of the US Air Force, sits the Combined Space Operations Centre (CSpOC), a windowless area the size of […]
A new age of space exploration is beginning
By: The Economist July 18, 2019 THE MOMENT when, 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong planted his foot on the surface of the Moon inspired awe, pride and wonder around the world. This newspaper argued that “man, from this day on, can go wheresoever in the universe his mind wills and his ingenuity contrives…to the planets, […]
Move Objects With Your Mind? We’re Getting There, With The Help Of An Armband
By: Elise Hu July 16, 2019 In the latest episode of Future You, check out an armband that lets you control tech devices with your mind. This is not a brain implant or even a headset. It’s an armband that reads neuron activity to let you move objects in digital space. Then it goes further, […]
Cambridge Analytica: FTC to fine Facebook $5bn
By: Meera Narendra July 13, 2019 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a record $5 billion settlement with Facebook following an investigation into allegations of data privacy violations. The fine follows after an investigation opened into Facebook’s data practices March 2018, once news broke about the political consultancy firm, Cambridge Analytica, improperly accessing the […]
Why This Tech Executive Says Her Plan to Disrupt Education Is Different
By New York Times Feb. 28, 2018 MELBOURNE, Australia — At Lumineer Academy, a newly opened primary school in Williamstown, Australia, there is no homework. There are no classrooms, uniforms or traditional grades. Instead, there are “creator spaces,” “blue-sky thinking” sessions and “pitch decks.” If the school — furnished like a start-up with whiteboards and […]
Facebook’s “Superhuman” Poker AI Out-Bluffs World’s Top Players
By: Victor Tangermann July 12, 2019 An artificial intelligence called Pluribus, created by Facebook’s AI lab and researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, just beat a team of 12 of the world’s best human online poker players. The AI won an average of five bucks per hand, cashing in roughly a grand every hour. “It’s safe […]
Gene Therapy Restores Vision in Blind Mice
By: Dan Robitzski_ July 12, 2019 Thanks to a new gene therapy targeting specific cells in the eye, blind mice have regained the ability to see. A team of neuroscientists developed a treatment that re-activated the Cngb1 gene, which when disabled causes light-detecting rod cells found in the retina to deteriorate, according to research recently […]
Why does Beijing suddenly care about AI ethics?
By: Technology Review May 31, 2019 Did China and the US just agree on something?This week, Chinese scientists and engineers released a code of ethics for artificial intelligence that might signal a willingness from Beijing to rethink how it uses the technology. And while China’s government is widely criticized for using AI as a way […]