tag:futuristech.info,2005:/postsFuturistechInfo Atom FeedFuturistechInfo2023-11-11T00:00:07Ztag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90162023-11-11T00:00:07Z2023-11-11T00:00:07ZPatients lining up for $2,500 full-body MRI scans that detect cancer early...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/381/large/107330994-1699471414816-DSC00864-edited.jpg?1699660804
<p>Thousands of people have paid $2,500 for full-body MRI scans from Prenuvo, whose technology can detect more than 500 health conditions</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90172023-11-11T00:00:07Z2023-11-11T00:00:07ZThe Humane AI Pin is a bizarre cross between Google Glass and a pagerhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/382/large/10-760x380.jpg?1699660806
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The Humane AI Pin. It has a magnetic back, so it sticks to your clothing like a name tag. [credit:
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<p>Not since <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/08/magic-leap-opens-orders-for-2300-creator-edition-ar-headset/">Magic Leap</a> has a "next-generation" hardware company been so hyped while showing so little. Everyone in the tech world has been freaking out about this new pocket protector thing that wants to "replace your smartphone." It's called the "<a href="https://hu.ma.ne/">Humane AI Pin</a>." As far as we can tell, it's a $700 screenless voice assistant box and, like all smartphone-ish devices released in the last 10 years, it has some AI in it. It's as if Google Glass had a baby with a pager from the 1990s.</p>
<p>It's a voice assistant box, so that means it has a microphone and speaker. There's no hot word, and it's not always listening, so you'll be pressing a button to speak to it, and you'll get a response back. There's also a camera, and because you're expected to mount this on your clothing at chest level via a magnetic back piece, you'll be <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/02/what-google-glass-needs-to-maybe-succeed-in-society/">creepily pointing a camera</a> at everyone the whole time you're using it. It claims to be "screenless," but it has a pretty cool 720p laser projection system that seems to function as a fine monochrome screen that projects a smartwatch-like UI onto your hand. It shows some super basic UI elements, like a circular media player or a scrolling wall of text. A few hand gestures, like tapping your fingers together, will let you interact with it.</p>
<p>Despite claiming to be able to replace a smartphone, the Humane AI Pin is going back to the Dark Ages and not supporting <em>any</em> apps. We've seen so many devices live and die by their app ecosystems, and the matter-of-fact quote from the presentation was, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HVejEB5uVk">We don't do apps</a>." You'll be locked into whatever features and services Humane has built into the <a href="https://hu.ma.ne/jobs/4090047004">Android-based</a> "Cosmos" OS. So if you want to play music, it needs to be from Tidal, a service with<a href="https://medium.com/@cmiller002/analysis-of-streaming-platform-tidal-5c79b318567e"> 0–2 percent market share</a>, because that's who the Humane people have partnered with. It's unclear if there is any other third-party functionality other than that. Humane's <a href="https://hu.ma.ne/aipin/cosmos">"Cosmos" page</a> shows logos for Slack and then logos from Microsoft and Google, which could mean anything.</p></div><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1982491#p3">Read 21 remaining paragraphs</a> | <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1982491&comments=1">Comments</a></p></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90152023-11-10T16:00:06Z2023-11-10T16:00:06ZUK signals legal changes to self-driving vehicle liabilitieshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/380/large/shutterstock_smart_city.jpg?1699632005tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90142023-11-10T12:00:08Z2023-11-10T12:00:08ZWORLD POPULATION TOPS 8 BILLION!http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/379/large/90?1699617606
<p>The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the world's population has topped 8 billion for the first time. The agency said Thursday that it estimates the global population exceeded the threshold Sept. 26.</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90132023-11-10T12:00:07Z2023-11-10T12:00:07ZThe first true chimeric monkey is born 'glowing' with two sets of DNAhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/378/large/90?1699617604tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90122023-11-10T04:00:00Z2023-12-12T21:26:49ZA Scientist Says the Singularity Will Happen by 2031http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/377/large/gettyimages-1355432189-2-654d317f55f8c.jpg?1702416407
<div><div><div><div><div><ul><li>“The singularity,” the moment where AI is no longer under human control, is less than a decade away—according to one AI expert. </li><li>More resources than ever are being poured into the pursuit of artificial general intelligence and speeding the growth of AI. </li><li>Development of AI is also coming from a variety of sectors, pushing the technology forward faster than ever before. </li></ul><hr><p>There’s at least one expert who believes that “<a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a42828175/what-is-the-singularity/" target="_blank">the singularity</a>”—the moment when artificial intelligence surpasses the control of humans—could be just a few years away. That’s a lot shorter than current predictions regarding the timeline of AI dominance, especially considering that AI dominance is not exactly guaranteed <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-artificial-intelligence/can-we-stop-the-singularity" target="_blank">in the first place</a>. </p><p>Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET—who holds a Ph.D. from Temple University and has worked as a leader of Humanity+ and the Artificial General Intelligence Society—<a href="https://decrypt.co/204571/artificial-intelligence-singularity-ai-ben-goertzel-singularitynet" target="_blank">told</a> <em>Decrypt</em> that he believes artificial general intelligence (AGI) is three to eight years away. AGI is the term for <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a43013341/why-ai-doesnt-understand-memes/" target="_blank">AI</a> that can truly perform tasks just as well has humans, and it’s a prerequisite for the singularity soon following. </p><hr><hr><p>Whether you believe him or not, there’s no sign of the AI push slowing down any time soon. Large language models from the likes of Meta and OpenAI, along with the AGI focus of <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a44535534/elon-musk-xai/" target="_blank">Elon Musk’s xAI</a>, are all pushing hard towards growing AI. </p><div><div><div><p></p><h6><span>More From Popular Mechanics</span></h6><h6> </h6></div></div></div><p>“These systems have greatly increased the enthusiasm of the world for AGI,” Goertzel told <em>Decrypt</em>, “so you’ll have more resources, both <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a26008693/farm-simulator-esports-league/" target="_blank">money</a> and just human energy—more smart young people want to plunge into work and working on AGI.” </p><p>When the concept of AI started first emerged—as early as the 1950s—Goertzel says that its development was driven by the United States <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a45549970/flying-platforms-military-history/" target="_blank">military</a> and seen primarily as a potential national defense tool. Recently, however, progress in the field has been propelled by a variety of drivers with a variety of motives. “Now the ‘why’ is making money for companies,” he says, “but also interestingly, for artists or musicians, it gives you cool tools to play with.”<br></p><p>Getting to the singularity, though, will require a significant leap from the current point of AI development. While today’s AI typically focuses on specific tasks, the push towards AGI is intended to give the <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a25174825/technology-stops-poachers/" target="_blank">technology</a> a more <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-close-are-we-to-ai-that-surpasses-human-intelligence/" target="_blank">human-like understanding</a> of the world and open up its abilities. As AI continues to <a href="https://www.noemamag.com/artificial-general-intelligence-is-already-here/" target="_blank">broaden its understanding</a>, it steadily moves closer to AGI—which some say is just one step away from the singularity. </p><hr><hr><p>The technology isn’t there yet, and some experts <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-artificial-general-intelligence-agi-explained/" target="_blank">caution</a> we are truly a lot further from it than we think—if we get there at all. But the quest is underway regardless. Musk, for example, created xAI in the summer of 2023 and just recently launched the <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a43601915/ai-chatbots-may-be-getting-sentient/" target="_blank">chatbot</a> Grok to “assist humanity in its quest for understanding and knowledge,” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-integrate-xai-with-social-media-platform-x-2023-11-05/" target="_blank">according</a> to <em>Reuters</em>. Musk also called AI “the most disruptive force in history.” </p><p>With many of the most influential tech giants—<a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a45359352/google-monopoly-trial-future-search-engines/" target="_blank">Google</a>, Meta and Musk—pursuing the advancement of AI, the rise of AGI may be closer than it appears. Only time will tell if we will get there, and if the singularity will follow. </p><div><div><span><img alt="Headshot of Tim Newcomb" title="Headshot of Tim Newcomb" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rover/profile_photos/63d5ea9b-8cbc-4953-b6e2-1bede7d3db29_1667237375.file?fill=1:1&resize=120:*"></span><div><div><p>Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland. </p></div></div></div></div><p></p></div></div></div></div></div>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90112023-11-09T16:00:06Z2023-11-09T16:00:06ZBill Gates backs novel device promising wind energy at 1/3 the costhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/376/large/90?1699545605tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90102023-11-09T14:00:00Z2023-12-12T21:28:44ZBitcoin Eyes $37,000: Bloomberg Analysts Give Timeline To Spot ETF Approvalhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/375/large/QHekM0jo.png?1702416521
<p>Bitcoin has risen above $36,000 and is currently targeting $37,000 as <a rel="nofollow" href="https://bitcoinist.com/bloomberg-analyst-thinks-bitcoin-will-come-out-ahead-despite-20-drop/">Bloomberg analysts</a> Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart have revived hopes that a Spot Bitcoin ETF could be approved this year. The analysts maintain their belief of a 90% chance that any of these funds <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/bloomberg-spot-bitcoin-etf/#:~:text=Bloomberg%20Analyst%20Predicts%20Likelihood%20Of%20A%20Spot%20Bitcoin%20ETF%20By%20January%202024,-by%20Scott%20Matherson&text=Following%20notable%20changes%20to%20the,as%20early%20as%20next%20year">get approved by January 2024</a>. </p>
<h2>An Approval Order “Could” Occur This November</h2>
<p>In a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, Seyffart highlighted a new research note that <a rel="nofollow" href="https://bitcoinist.com/likelihood-grayscale-spot-bitcoin-etf/">he and Balchunas</a> had just worked on. From their research, they noted that there is a “brief window” that allows the US <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/crypto/sec-announcement-crypto/#:~:text=What%20The%20SEC%27s%20Latest%20Announcement%20Means%20For%20The%20Crypto%20Industry,-by%20Scott%20Matherson&text=A%20recent%20announcement%20by%20the,actions%20have%20had%20on%20it.">Securities and Exchange Commission</a> (SEC) to approve all 12 Spot Bitcoin ETF applications at once. </p>
<p>This brief window (which opens up on November 9) will last for at least eight days, before which it is almost possible for the SEC to approve all applications at once until next year. The reason for their assertion is that the SEC cannot approve an application that is in the comment stage. It so happens that the comment stage of the <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/bitcoin-price-spot-etf-sec/#:~:text=Bitcoin%20Crashes%20Below%20%2426%2C000,Valkyrie%2C%20VanEck%2C%20and%20Bitwise.">last applications that the SEC delayed</a> ends on November 8, which is why they highlighted the window that starts from November 9. </p>
<p>As to why the window is only going to last for about eight days, the SEC is expected to decide on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://bitcoinist.com/hashdex-bitcoin-spot-etf-unique-application/">Hashdex</a> and <a rel="nofollow" href="https://bitcoinist.com/trillion-dollar-spot-bitcoin-etf/">Franklin’s application</a> on November 17, which could put both applicants in the comment stage. This is because it is expected that the SEC will opt to delay its decisions on those funds and ask the general public for comments on them. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the analysts noted that this window only applies to the SEC approving all 12 applications at once. They explain that “theoretically,” the Commission could decide on the other applications from now until January 10, 2024, even if it chooses to delay its decision on Hashdex and Franklin’s application on November 17. Whatever happens, they still believe that there is a <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/bloomberg-spot-bitcoin-etf/#:~:text=Bloomberg%20Analyst%20Predicts%20Likelihood%20Of%20A%20Spot%20Bitcoin%20ETF%20By%20January%202024,-by%20Scott%20Matherson&text=Following%20notable%20changes%20to%20the,as%20early%20as%20next%20year">90% chance</a> that any of these funds get approved by January 10 next year.</p>
<h2>A Spot Bitcoin ETF Launch Isn’t So Straightforward</h2>
<p>When quizzed about how long it will take for these funds to launch after approval, Balchunas mentioned in an <a rel="nofollow" href="https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1722247689679905265?s=20">X post</a> that he guessed that the “19b-4s” applications would be approved in the “not so distant future.” Then it will further take a while for the SEC to approve the <a rel="nofollow" href="https://bitcoinist.com/vaneck-revised-spot-bitcoin-etf/#:~:text=Over%20Parody%20Apparel-,VanEck%20Goes%20Back%20To%20The%20Drawing%20Board,Revised%20Spot%20Bitcoin%20ETF%20Filing&text=In%20a%20recent%20development%2C%20asset,their%20Spot%20Bitcoin%20ETF%20prospectus.">“S-1s”</a> after which it “would likely be days till launch.”</p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://bitcoinist.com/likelihood-grayscale-spot-bitcoin-etf/">Seyffart</a> also echoed similar sentiments as he <a rel="nofollow" href="https://x.com/JSeyff/status/1722342220617945195?s=20">stated</a> that there are “two paths” that need to be completed before an ETF launches. One is the 19b-4 approval, after which the division of Corporation Finance at the SEC will still need to sign off <a rel="nofollow" href="https://bitcoinist.com/blackrock-seed-spot-bitcoin-etf/#:~:text=As%20to%20what%20seeding%20means,open%20market%20on%20Day%20One.%E2%80%9D">on the S-1s</a>. However, there is no sign that any of that has been done yet. As such, it could take “weeks or even months” between approval and launch. </p>
<p>Irrespective of that, Bitcoin has picked up on the possibility that <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/bitcoin-news/sec-prove-bitcoin-is-not-manipulated/">Spot Bitcoin ETFs</a> could be approved this month and has ridden on that wave to above $36,000. At the time of writing, the foremost cryptocurrency is trading at around $36,700, up over 4% in the last 24 hours, according to <a rel="nofollow" href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/">data</a> from CoinMarketCap.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.tradingview.com/x/QHekM0jo/" alt="Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com (Spot ETF)" width="2650" height="1758"></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90092023-11-09T04:00:00Z2023-12-12T21:27:04ZAmazon dedicates team to train ambitious AI model codenamed 'Olympus' -sourceshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/374/large/6BT5YTNKWJLM3HYQIGTTWGDDPA.jpg?1702416424
<div><div><div><div><div><figure><p><span>The logo of Amazon is seen, November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo <a href="https://www.reutersagency.com/en/licensereuterscontent/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead" target="_blank"> Acquire Licensing Rights</a></span></p></figure></div><div><p>Nov 7 (Reuters) - (This story has been refiled to spell out AGI in paragraph 5)</p><p>Amazon <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/companies/AMZN.O" target="_blank">(AMZN.O)</a> is investing millions in training an ambitious large language model (LLMs), hoping it could rival top models from OpenAI and Alphabet <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/companies/GOOGL.O" target="_blank">(GOOGL.O)</a>, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.</p><p>The model, codenamed as “Olympus”, has 2 trillion parameters, the people said, which could make it one of the largest models being trained. OpenAI's GPT-4 model, one of the best models available, is reported to have one trillion parameters.</p><p></p><p>The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the project were not yet public.</p><p>Amazon declined to comment. The Information reported on the project name on Tuesday.</p><p>The team is spearheaded by Rohit Prasad, former head of Alexa, who now reports directly to CEO Andy Jassy. As head scientist of artificial general intelligence (AGI) at Amazon, Prasad brought in researchers who had been working on Alexa AI and the Amazon science team to work on training models, uniting AI efforts across the company with dedicated resources.</p><p></p><p>Amazon has already trained smaller models such as Titan. It has also partnered with AI model startups such as Anthropic and AI21 Labs, offering them to Amazon Web Services (AWS) users.</p><p>Amazon believes having homegrown models could make its offerings more attractive on AWS, where enterprise clients want to access top-performing models, the people familiar with the matter said, adding there is no specific timeline for releasing the new model.</p><p></p><p>LLMs are the underlying technology for AI tools that learn from huge datasets to generate human-like responses.</p><p>Training bigger AI models is more expensive given the amount of computing power required. In an earnings call in April, Amazon executives said the company would increase investment in LLMs and generative AI while cutting back on fulfillment and transportation in its retail business.</p><p></p><div><p>Reporting by Krystal Hu in San Francisco. Editing by Gerry Doyle</p></div><p>Our Standards: <a href="https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/about-us/trust-principles.html" target="_blank">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a></p><div><address><p>Krystal reports on venture capital and startups for Reuters. She covers Silicon Valley and beyond through the lens of money and characters, with a focus on growth-stage startups, tech investments and AI. She has previously covered M&A for Reuters, breaking stories on Trump's SPAC and Elon Musk's Twitter financing. Previously, she reported on Amazon for Yahoo Finance, and her investigation of the company's retail practice was cited by lawmakers in Congress. Krystal started a career in journalism by writing about tech and politics in China. She has a master's degree from New York University, and enjoys a scoop of Matcha ice cream as much as getting a scoop at work. </p></address></div></div></div></div></div></div>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90082023-11-07T20:00:05Z2023-11-07T20:00:05ZScientists Are Researching a Device That Can Induce Lucid Dreams on Demandhttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/health/large/health-87e9115ed7bd72fbfcc5def52bdf1bae26210a3e64edceb72210f60de6841a68.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div><p></p><h3>ORIGINAL REPORTING ON EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS IN YOUR INBOX.</h3><p>By signing up, you agree to the <a href="https://vice-web-statics-cdn.vice.com/privacy-policy/en_us/page/terms-of-use.html">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://vice-web-statics-cdn.vice.com/privacy-policy/en_us/page/privacy-policy.html">Privacy Policy</a> & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.</p></div></div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90072023-11-07T02:00:08Z2023-11-07T02:00:08ZCompany Appoints AI-Powered Robot as CEOhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/372/large/0.jpg?1699322407
<p><div><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2023/11/company-appoints-ai-powered-robot-ceo-300x158.jpg" width="300" alt="Earlier this year, Polish drinks company Dictador announced that it had anointed an AI-powered robot called Mika as its "experimental CEO."" class="wp-post-image" height="158"></div><h2>CEObot 5000</h2> <p>Over the past year, we've all become intimately familiar with sophisticated but <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/impossible-chatbots-stop-lying-experts">deeply flawed</a> AI chatbots that can draft up a work email or high school essay with a simple prompt. Even the concept of working alongside AI algorithms seems far less far-fetched than it did just a year ago.</p> <p>But what if you had to report to an AI boss instead? And what if that AI came in the form of a creepy, uncanny-looking humanoid robot CEO?</p> <p>Earlier this year, Polish drinks company Dictador <a href="https://youtu.be/d5mpwNgyoms">announced</a> that it had anointed a robot called Mika as its "experimental CEO."</p> <p>The robot was created by Hanson Robotics, the company also behind the <a href="https://futurism.com/for-the-first-time-ever-a-robot-was-granted-citizenship">famed humanoid Sophia</a>, and <a href="https://dictador.com/the-first-robot-ceo-in-a-global-company/">was hailed</a> as the "first AI human-like robot CEO" of a global company.</p> <p>"I don't really have weekends — I'm always on 24/7, ready to make executive decisions and stir up some AI magic," the robot <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5mpwNgyoms">told <em>Reuters</em></a> in a "video interview" at the time.</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d5mpwNgyoms?feature=oembed" width="500" title="Drinks company appoints AI robot as 'experimental CEO'" height="281"></iframe></p> <h2>Slow Uptake</h2> <p>But while the rum company sees its robot as the key to its future successes, others aren't as convinced the tech is ready for prime time just yet.</p> <p><em>Fox Business</em> reporter Lauren Simonetti <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/mika-worlds-first-ai-human-like-robot-ceo">recently interviewed</a> Mika over a video call and found that there was a "significant delay" in the time it takes for the robot to actually respond.</p> <p>Simonetti also took to the streets, asking New York City residents what they thought of the robotic CEO. While one person said they would treat it with compassion, another person argued that "robots don't need respect" because they're "just machines."</p> <p>If machine learning systems do keep getting stronger, though, using them in lieu of human executives might not be the farthest-fetched idea.</p> <p>In a survey from earlier this year, for instance, <a href="https://thehustle.co/should-we-automate-the-ceo-2/"><em>The Hustle</em> found</a> that 40 percent of all respondents said it makes sense to replace CEOs with AI.</p> <p>After all, they won't think twice about dirty work like firing human employees.</p> <p><strong>More on AI:</strong> <em><a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/replacing-ceos-with-ai-makes-sense">Replacing All CEOs With AI Just Makes Sense</a></em></p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://futurism.com/company-appoints-ai-powered-robot-ceo">Company Appoints AI-Powered Robot as CEO</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://futurism.com">Futurism</a>.</p></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90062023-11-06T20:00:05Z2023-11-06T20:00:05ZA Revolution in Computer Graphics Is Bringing 3D Reality Capture to the Masseshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/371/large/0.jpg?1699300805
<p>As a weapon of war, destroying cultural heritage sites is a <a href="https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/targeting-culture-the-destruction-of-cultural-heritage-in-conflict/">common method</a> by armed invaders to deprive a community of their distinct identity. It was no surprise then, in February of 2022, as Russian troops swept into Ukraine, that historians and cultural heritage specialists braced for the coming destruction. So far in the Russia-Ukraine War, UNESCO has <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/damaged-cultural-sites-ukraine-verified-unesco#:~:text=As%20of%2018%20October%202023,%2C%2013%20libraries%2C%201%20Archive.">confirmed</a> damage to hundreds of religious and historical buildings and dozens of public monuments, libraries, and museums.</p> <p>While new technologies like <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-australian-made-cardboard-drones-used-to-attack-russian-airfield-show-how-innovation-is-key-to-modern-warfare-212629">low-cost drones</a>, <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2023/08/01/ukraines-latest-weapons-in-its-war-with-russia-3d-printed-bombs">3D printing</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/08/elon-musk-starlink-ukraine-war/">private satellite internet</a> may be creating a distinctly 21st century battlefield unfamiliar to conventional armies, another set of technologies is creating new possibilities for citizen archivists off the frontlines to preserve Ukrainian heritage sites.</p> <p><a href="https://poly.cam/ukraine">Backup Ukraine</a>, a collaborative project between the Danish UNESCO National Commission and Polycam, a 3D creation tool, enables anyone equipped with only a phone to scan and capture high-quality, detailed, and photorealistic 3D models of heritage sites, something only possible with expensive and burdensome equipment just a few years ago.</p> <p>Backup Ukraine is a notable expression of the stunning speed with which 3D capture and graphics technologies are progressing, according to Bilawal Sidhu, a technologist, angel investor, and former Google product manager who worked on 3D maps and AR/VR.</p> <p>“Reality capture technologies are on a staggering exponential curve of democratization,” he explained to me in an interview for <em>Singularity Hub</em>.</p> <p>According to Sidhu, generating 3D assets had been possible, but only with expensive tools like DSLR cameras, lidar scanners, and pricey software licenses. As an example, he cited the work of <a href="https://www.cyark.org/whoweare/">CyArk</a>, a non-profit founded two decades ago with the aim of using professional grade 3D capture technology to preserve cultural heritage around the world.</p> <p>“What is insane, and what has changed, is today I can do all of that with the iPhone in your pocket,” he says.</p> <p>In our discussion, Sidhu laid out three distinct yet interrelated technology trends that are driving this progress. First is a drop in cost of the kinds of cameras and sensors which can capture an object or space. Second is a cascade of new techniques which make use of artificial intelligence to construct finished 3D assets. And third is the proliferation of computing power, largely driven by GPUs, capable of rendering graphics-intensive objects on devices widely available to consumers.</p> <p>Lidar scanners are an example of the price-performance improvement in sensors. First popularized as the bulky spinning sensors on top of autonomous vehicles, and priced in the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/10/the-technology-behind-the-iphone-lidar-may-be-coming-soon-to-cars/">tens of thousands of dollars</a>, lidar made its consumer-tech debut on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max in 2020. The ability to scan a space in the same way driverless cars see the world meant that suddenly anyone could quickly and cheaply <a href="https://twitter.com/emmanuel_2m/status/1437869905571815425">generate detailed 3D assets.</a> This, however, was still only available to the wealthiest Apple customers.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Day 254: hiking in Pinnacles National Park and scanning my daughter as we crossed a small dry creek.</p> <p>Captured with the iPhone 12 Pro + @Scenario3d. I can’t wait to see these 3D memories 10 years from now.</p> <p>On <a href="https://twitter.com/Sketchfab?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sketchfab</a>: <a href="https://t.co/mvxtOMhzS5">https://t.co/mvxtOMhzS5</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/1scanaday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#1scanaday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/3Dscanning?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#3Dscanning</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/XR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#XR</a> <a href="https://t.co/9DX1Ltnmh8">pic.twitter.com/9DX1Ltnmh8</a></p> <p>— Emm (@emmanuel_2m) <a href="https://twitter.com/emmanuel_2m/status/1437869905571815425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2021</a></p></blockquote> <p></p> <p>One of the industry’s most consequential turning points occurred that same year when researchers at Google <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.08934">introduced</a> neural radiance fields, commonly referred to as NeRFs.</p> <p>This approach uses machine learning to <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2022/03/27/nvidias-tiny-new-ai-transforms-photos-into-full-3d-scenes-in-mere-seconds/">construct a credible 3D model of an object or space from 2D pictures or video</a>. The neural network “hallucinates” how a full 3D scene would appear, according to Sidhu. It’s a solution to “view synthesis,” a computer graphics challenge seeking to allow someone to see a space from any point of view from only a few source images.</p> <p>“So that thing came out and everyone realized we’ve now got state-of-the-art view synthesis that works brilliantly for all the stuff photogrammetry has had a hard time with like transparency, translucency, and reflectivity. This is kind of crazy,” he adds.</p> <p>The computer vision community channeled their excitement into commercial applications. At Google, Sidhu and his team explored using the technology for <a href="https://blog.google/products/maps/three-maps-updates-io-2022/">Immersive View</a>, a 3D version of Google Maps. For the average user, the spread of consumer-friendly applications like <a href="https://lumalabs.ai/">Luma AI</a> and others meant that anyone with just a smartphone camera could make photorealistic 3D assets. The creation of high-quality 3D content was no longer limited to Apple’s lidar-elite.</p> <p>Now, another potentially even more promising method of solving view synthesis is earning attention rivaling that early NeRF excitement.<a href="https://repo-sam.inria.fr/fungraph/3d-gaussian-splatting/"> Gaussian splatting</a> is a rendering technique that mimics the way <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2020/05/24/epic-games-insane-video-game-graphics-demo-explained-in-simple-terms/">triangles are used for traditional 3D assets</a>, but instead of triangles, it’s a “splat” of color expressed through a mathematical function known as a gaussian. As more gaussians are layered together, a highly detailed and textured 3D asset becomes visible.The speed of adoption for splatting is stunning to watch.</p> <p>It’s only been a few months but <a href="https://x.com/karenxcheng/status/1717597656674103391?s=20">demos</a> are flooding X, and both Luma AI and Polycam are offering tools to generate gaussian splats. Other developers are already working on ways of integrating them into traditional game engines like Unity and Unreal. Splats are also gaining attention from the traditional computer graphics industry since their rendering speed is faster than NeRFs, and they can be edited in ways already familiar to 3D artists. (NeRFs don’t allow this given they’re generated by an indecipherable neural net.)</p> <p>For a great explanation for how gaussian splatting works and why it’s generating buzz, see this video from Sidhu.</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sQcrZHvrEnU?si=NS79J-5wiEA326ki" width="560" title="YouTube video player" height="315"></iframe></p> <p>Regardless of the details, for consumers, we are decidedly in a moment where a phone can generate Hollywood-caliber 3D assets that not long ago only well-equipped production teams could produce.</p> <p>But why does 3D creation even matter at all?</p> <p>To appreciate the shift toward 3D content, it’s worth noting the technology landscape is orienting toward a future of “spatial computing.” While overused terms like the metaverse might draw eye rolls, the underlying spirit is a recognition that 3D environments, like those used in video games, virtual worlds, and digital twins have a big role to play in our future. 3D assets like the ones produced by NeRFs and splatting are poised to become the content we’ll engage with in the future.</p> <p>Within this context, a large-scale ambition is the hope for a real-time <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2020/12/27/how-a-software-map-of-the-entire-planet-could-change-the-world-forever/">3D map of the world</a>. While tools for generating static 3D maps have been available, the challenge remains finding ways of keeping those maps current with an ever-changing world.</p> <p>“There’s the building of the model of the world, and then there’s maintaining that model of the world. With these methods we’re talking about, I think we might finally have the tech to solve the ‘maintaining the model’ problem through crowdsourcing,” says Sidhu.</p> <p>Projects like Google’s Immersive View are good early examples of the consumer implications of this. While he wouldn’t speculate when it might eventually be possible, Sidhu agreed that at some point, the technology will exist which would allow a user in VR to walk around anywhere on Earth with a real-time, immersive experience of what is happening there. This type of technology will also spill into efforts in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r0QNd2imPo">avatar-based “teleportation</a>,” remote meetings, and other social gatherings.</p> <p>Another reason to be excited, says Sidhu, is 3D memory capture. Apple, for example, is leaning heavily into <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/12/23870546/iphone-15-pro-max-film-spatial-video-vision-pro">3D photo and video</a> for their Vision Pro mixed reality headset. As an example, Sidhu told me he recently created a high-quality replica of his parents’ house before they moved out. He could then give them the experience of walking inside of it using virtual reality.</p> <p>“Having that visceral feeling of being back there is so powerful. This is why I’m so bullish on Apple, because if they nail this 3D media format, that’s where things can get exciting for regular people.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">i’m convinced the killer use case for 3d reconstruction tech is memory capture</p> <p>my parents retired earlier this year and i have immortalized their home forever more</p> <p>photo scanning is legit the most future proof medium we have access to today</p> <p>scan all the spaces/places/things <a href="https://t.co/kmqX5FYaN6">pic.twitter.com/kmqX5FYaN6</a></p> <p>— Bilawal Sidhu (@bilawalsidhu) <a href="https://twitter.com/bilawalsidhu/status/1720469634204488146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p></p> <p>From cave art to oil paintings, the impulse to preserve aspects of our sensory experience is deeply human. Just as photography once muscled in on still lifes as a means of preservation, 3D creation tools seem poised to displace our long-standing affair with 2D images and video.</p> <p>Yet just as photography can only ever hope to capture a fraction of a moment in time, 3D models can’t fully replace our relationship to the physical world. Still, for those experiencing the horrors of war in Ukraine, perhaps these are welcome developments offering a more immersive way to preserve what can never truly be replaced.</p> <p><em>Image Credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/@wtorbeyns?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Wim Torbeyns</a> / <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-group-of-people-standing-in-front-of-a-building-mQgqO_d2YtA?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a></em></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90042023-11-06T14:00:05Z2023-11-06T14:00:05ZThe first AI nation? A ship with 10,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs worth $500 million could become the first ever sovereign territory that relies entirely on artificial intelligence for its futurehttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/innovators/large/innovators-6146e3589fdc296698def6b8b396d986620eeaf82041cc3077cb0c64665f1bbb.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div> <p>A floating data center containing thousands of <a href="https://www.techradar.com/tag/nvidia">Nvidia</a> GPUs has raised questions over whether the practice could result in the creation of sovereign AI states in the future.</p><p></p><p>The BlueSea Frontier Compute Cluster (BSFCC), created by US firm Del Complex, is essentially a gargantuan barge containing 10,000 <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/nvidias-h100-enterprise-gpu-sees-huge-workflow-performance-boosts">Nvidia H100 GPUs</a> worth a combined $500 million. </p><p>In an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), Del Complex said the floating <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/the-role-of-tape-in-the-modern-data-center">data center</a> will offer “industry leading performance, advanced water cooling and solar power for environmental safety”. This will be complemented by “kinetic risk mitigation” provided by an on-board security team. </p><h2>Swerving AI regulations</h2><p>The firm described the BSFCC as the “pinnacle of compute and autonomy”.</p><p>Autonomy, it seems, is the key focus here for Del Complex. The idea behind the project points toward the eventual creation of ‘sovereign nation states’ dedicated to AI development. </p><p></p><p>In its announcement on X, the firm said the tightly-guarded barge could operate in international waters, and thus potentially be exempt from international <a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/slowing-the-generative-ai-fear-with-correct-regulation">AI regulations</a>. </p><p>The claims from Del Complex come in the wake of growing discussions over the global regulation of AI in recent months. Earlier this week, US president Joe Biden signed an executive order outlining rules around generative AI development. </p><p>The executive order will see US agencies create new standards for <a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/smes-dont-want-to-use-ai-its-not-safe-enough-for-them">AI safety</a> and security, and will likely act as a precursor to any upcoming legislative action on the technology. </p><p>Del Complex appears to believe the BSFCC will help organizations avoid this regulatory scrutiny due to the fact the data center is located in a maritime “no man’s land”. </p><p>“Government overreach not only stalls the pace of innovation, but also interferes with the cosmic endowment of humanity,” the firm said. “With rising global concerns about the stringent regulation of AI model training, Del Complex offers a sanctuary in international waters.”</p><p>“BSFCC is the solution to…the ongoing draconian AI regulations and oversight…the need to scale your frontier models exponentially…the risk posed by housing your compute in traditional cloud compute platforms.”</p><p>Long-term, the plan could eventually involve a fleet of floating data centers roaming international waters to allow users to circumvent both regulations and, notably, tax obligations. </p><p>“Each BSFCC operates as its own sovereign nation state deep in international waters, free from the constraints of regulatory bodies,” Del Complex explained. </p><p>“These networked states are untouched by decelerationist rhetoric, and offer additional benefits as tax shelter opportunities.”</p><h2>Could Del Complex’s plan work? </h2><p>Del Complex appears confident that the ‘statehood’ status of each data center aligns with international laws on sovereignty. </p><p>The company said the status of each would be recognized through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Montevideo Convention.</p><p>This is due to the fact that each would have a permanent population in the form of security forces and staff, a ‘defined territory’, a government, and the “capacity to enter into relations with other states”. </p><p>“BSFCCs are each governed by their own charter, a document that outlines the rights and responsibilities of residents and visitors,” the company said. </p><p>“Each charter is a living document, able to be amended by the operators of the BSFCC and their corporate partners.”</p><h3><span>More from TechRadar Pro</span></h3> </div> </div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90052023-11-06T14:00:00Z2023-12-12T21:27:20ZChinese drones with ‘human brains’ tackle complex tasks through group chatshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/370/large/fd1b6f62-039e-46d0-b998-b6fb3d8bc556_7c426ba9.jpg?1702416438
<p><div><div><div><div><section><div><p>The technology comes from Li Xuelong and his team at the School of <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article"><span> Artificial Intelligence</span></a>, Optics and Electronics at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shaanxi province.</p></div><div><p>The research brings large language models like <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/chatgpt-and-generative-ai?module=inline&pgtype=article"><span> ChatGPT</span></a> “to life”, integrating them into practical applications, according to a WeChat post from the university’s official account.</p></div><div><div><figure><figcaption>After finding a set of lost keys in a park, a drone sends a photo to the group chat and asks the human operator to confirm before retrieving the item. Photo: Li Xuelong</figcaption></figure></div></div><p>The post included a demonstration video from the researchers, showing how a team of five drones successfully located a set of keys in an outdoor park.</p><p>“The drones showcased key abilities, including humanlike dialogue interaction, proactive environmental awareness and autonomous entity control,” the WeChat report said. Autonomous entity control refers to the drone cluster’s ability to adjust flight status in real time based on environmental feedback.</p><p>The technology equips each drone with a “human brain”, allowing them to chat with each other using natural language. This ability was developed based on a Chinese open-source large language model called InternLM, according to the report.</p><p></p><p>The capacity for dialogue enables both operators and drones to communicate in human language, breaking down barriers between humans and machines.</p><p></p><p>In the key-finding experiment, after a user tasked the drones with the search, three of them promptly “volunteered” their search abilities while two others, equipped with grippers, told the group they could retrieve the keys. The division of tasks was independently decided by the drone cluster.</p><div> <div><div><img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/wide_landscape/public/d8/video/thumbnail/2023/09/14/clean-1.jpg?itok=qcqWktRE"><div><div><div><p>03:02</p><p>Israel tests Chinese drone taxi over Jerusalem to help ease country’s traffic congestion </p></div></div></div></div><div><p>Israel tests Chinese drone taxi over Jerusalem to help ease country’s traffic congestion </p></div></div></div><p>Once the keys were found, the drones also shared images with the user via the group chat for confirmation. “This level of dialogue at crucial points significantly improves the stability and safety in executing complex tasks,” the report said.</p><p>Equipped with multiple sensors and algorithms for low-altitude search, dynamic obstacle avoidance and visual positioning, the drones are designed to perceive their surroundings from different angles and positions, enabling them to collect data and execute tasks efficiently.</p><p>These abilities are referred to as proactive environmental awareness, which allows them to understand and adapt to their surroundings.</p><p>Each of the four drones was assigned a specific area to search. As they looked for the keys, the drones coordinated their movements to cover these areas efficiently. They generated a simplified map of the terrain to guide their efforts, and were also able to identify and avoid human operators in their path, ensuring safer flights.</p><p>The report noted that the technology has potential for use in security inspections, disaster relief and drone-based transport and logistics.</p><p>Previously, Li’s team explored optics-driven drones that use high-energy lasers for remote power supply, providing them with potentially limitless endurance.</p><div><p>In October, Li spearheaded the development of an <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3117076/chinas-underwater-drones-seized-indonesia-expose-tech-routes?module=inline&pgtype=article"><span> underwater drone</span></a> guidance system named Navigator.</p></div><p></p></section></div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90032023-11-02T22:00:07Z2023-11-02T22:00:07ZFirst-ever observation of a virus attaching to another virushttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/368/large/umbc-team-makes-first.jpg?1698962405tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90012023-10-29T22:00:06Z2023-10-29T22:00:06ZMouse embryos grown in space for first time: Japan researchershttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/health/large/health-87e9115ed7bd72fbfcc5def52bdf1bae26210a3e64edceb72210f60de6841a68.jpgtag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90022023-10-29T22:00:06Z2023-10-29T22:00:06ZI went to see U2’s Sphere residency in Las Vegas. It sets a new standard for arena concertshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/367/large/01-90974413-u2-and-the-sphere.jpg?1698616805tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/90002023-10-27T18:00:32Z2023-10-27T18:00:32ZDistorted crystals use 'pseudogravity' to bend light like black holes dohttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/365/large/DUUG457cCKADE7bC4tQMda.jpg?1698429607tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89992023-10-27T18:00:31Z2023-10-27T18:00:31ZSergey Brin's 400-foot airship reportedly cleared for takeoffhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/364/large/90?1698429605tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89982023-10-27T02:00:10Z2023-10-27T02:00:10ZBoston Dynamics turned its robot dog into a talking tour guide with ChatGPThttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/technology/large/technology-b70184a558d607196cd4ff73501f8aaf85b7094b7898dec32376ca1e54a84743.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div><p>We saw Spot <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/10/16/17983000/dancing-robot-boston-dynamics-video-spotmini-uptown-funk">run</a>, <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?xs=1&id=1025X1701640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6Zbhvaac68Y">jump</a>, and even <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/3/23055122/boston-dynamics-spot-video-upgrades-industrial-setting-dancing">dance</a>... but now we can see Spot <em>talk</em>. In a somewhat unsettling <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?xs=1&id=1025X1701640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdjzOBZUFzTw">video posted</a> by Boston Dynamics, we see its robot dog outfitted with a top hat, mustache, and googly eyes as it chats with staff members in a British accent, taking them on a tour of the company’s facilities.</p></div><div><p>“Shall we commence our journey?” Spot asks. “The charging stations, where Spot robots rest and recharge, is our first point of interest. Follow me, gentlemen.” As shown in the demo, Spot is capable of answering questions and even opens its “mouth” to make it seem like it’s actually speaking.</p></div><div><p>To make Spot “talk,” <a href="https://bostondynamics.com/blog/robots-that-can-chat/">Boston Dynamics used</a> OpenAI’s ChatGPT API, along with some open-source large language models (LLM) to carefully train its responses. It then outfitted the bot with a speaker, added text-to-speech capabilities, and made its mouth — er... gripper — mimic speech “like the mouth of a puppet.”</p></div><div><p>Matt Klingensmith, the principal software engineer at Boston Dynamics, says the team gave Spot a “very brief script” for each of the rooms at its facilities. The bot then combined that script with the imagery it gets from the cameras on its gripper and body, allowing it to “get more information about what it sees before generating a response.” According to the company, Spot uses Visual Question Answering models to essentially caption images and answer questions about them.</p></div><div><div><p></p><p>“Generator hums low in a room devoid of joy. Much like my soul.”</p></div></div><div><p>The “fancy butler” is not the only persona Spot assumes during the video. The four-legged bot also takes on the personality of a 1920s archaeologist, a teenager, and a Shakespearean time traveler. It even assumes a sarcastic personality, which, when asked to come up with a haiku, said: “Generator hums low in a room devoid of joy. Much like my soul.”</p></div><div><p>Boston Dynamics says it uncovered a few surprises when experimenting with Spot as a tour guide. In one instance, the team asked Spot who its “parents” were, and it went over to where the older Spot models are displayed in the company’s office. The company also notes that it still ran into some instances where the LLM made things up, such as suggesting that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/29/22349978/boston-dynamics-stretch-robot-warehouse-logistics">Stretch, its robot designed to move boxes</a>, was made for yoga.</p></div><div><p>“We’re excited to continue exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and robotics,” Klingensmith writes in a <a href="https://bostondynamics.com/blog/robots-that-can-chat/">post on Boston Dynamics’ site</a>. “These models [LLMs] can help provide cultural context, general commonsense knowledge, and flexibility that could be useful for many robotics tasks — for example, being able to assign a task to a robot just by talking to it would help reduce the learning curve for using these systems.”</p></div><div><p>While Spot may sound and look pretty silly during the video, it’s still a bit hard not to think about the dog-like robot’s ability to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/24/22299140/nypd-boston-dynamics-spot-robot-dog">open doors and spy on people</a>. After all, it’s used as a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/29/22349978/boston-dynamics-stretch-robot-warehouse-logistics">tool for the police</a> and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/7/22371590/boston-dynamics-spot-robot-military-exercises-french-army">military</a>.</p></div></div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89972023-10-27T02:00:09Z2023-10-27T02:00:09ZGoogle Fiber is getting outrageously fast 20Gbps servicehttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/362/large/IMG_2534-760x380.jpg?1698372008
<p><div> <figure> <img alt="Google Fiber Labs brings quick internet to early adopters. " src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_2534-800x600.jpg"> <p><a data-width="2560" href="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_2534-scaled.jpg" data-height="1920">Enlarge</a> <span>/</span> Google Fiber Labs brings quick internet to early adopters. (credit: Google)</p> </figure> <div><a name="page-1"></a></div> <p>Google Fiber is still operating in a <a href="https://fiber.google.com/#cities">handful of cities</a>, and now the bandwidth-rich are getting richer: Fiber plans to upgrade some users to outrageously fast <a href="https://fiber.google.com/blog/2023/10/gfiber-labs-announces-first-project-20.html">20Gbps service</a> by the end of the year. Google's Wednesday blog post calls this part of a "GFiber Labs" experiment and says the service "will initially be available as an early access offering to a small group of GFiber customers in select areas."</p> <p>The 20Gbps service is made possible by new networking gear: Nokia's 25G PON (passive optical network) technology, which lets Internet service providers push more bandwidth over existing fiber lines. Google says it's "one of the first" ISPs to adopt the technology for consumers, though at least one other US ISP, the Tennessee provider <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/epbs-new-25-gig-broadband-service-costs-whopping-1500mo">"EPB,"</a> has rolled out the technology. Customers will need new networking gear, too, and Google says you'll get a new fiber modem with built-in Wi-Fi 7.</p> <p><a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/google-fiber-goes-big-20-gig-plan">Fierce Telecom</a> spoke with Google's Nick Saporito, head of product at Google Fiber, who said, “We definitely see a need" for 20Gbps service. For now, Saporito says the service is "a very early adopter product," but it will eventually roll out "in most, if not all, of our markets."</p></div><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1978969#p3">Read 3 remaining paragraphs</a> | <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1978969&comments=1">Comments</a></p></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89962023-10-26T02:00:09Z2023-10-26T02:00:09ZCould alien life be a form of AI?http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/361/large/p0gnn8w3.jpg?1698285608tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89952023-10-25T04:00:07Z2023-10-25T04:00:07ZMotorola is back with another slap bracelet phone concepthttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/360/large/7d7c2cf0-72ae-11ee-b5dd-55b3d2eee367?1698206404tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89942023-10-24T04:00:05Z2023-10-24T04:00:05ZSpace is starting to look like the better mining operationhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/359/large/GettyImages-582868298-760x380.jpg?1698120005
<p><div> <figure> <img alt="A truck carrier nickel minerals out of a mining site." src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-582868298-800x532.jpg"> <p><a data-width="2560" href="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-582868298-scaled.jpg" data-height="1703">Enlarge</a> <span>/</span> Metallic asteroids contain more than a thousand times as much nickel as the Earth's crust. (credit: <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/new-caledonia-nouvelle-cal%C3%A9donie-royalty-free-image/582868298">Arne Hodalic/Getty</a>)</p> </figure> <div><a name="page-1"></a></div> <p>Everyone’s into asteroids these days. Space agencies in Japan and the United States recently sent spacecraft <a data-uri="2d082d77ee78b1e77fbe746a4ad16a48" href="https://www.wired.com/story/nasas-psyche-spacecraft-heads-to-cape-canaveral/">to investigate</a>, <a data-uri="ae3a0708ee0187c45bedb751eabefd30" href="https://www.wired.com/story/success-nasa-dart-dimorphos-asteroid/">nudge</a>, or <a data-uri="c2f415ebfc0643d8948dee81f93a13b4" href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-nasa-is-protecting-its-precious-asteroid-bennu-sample/">bring back samples</a> from these hurtling space rocks, and after <a data-uri="7820d64cc39a65d3688aae3fbfc5705c" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/26/134510/asteroid-mining-bubble-burst-history/">a rocky start</a>, the space mining industry is once again on the ascent. Companies like AstroForge, Trans Astronautica Corporation, and Karman+ are preparing to test their tech in space before venturing toward asteroids themselves.</p> <p>It’s getting serious enough that economists published a <a data-uri="06cc29972fac83cff09d33c54c5a2e10" href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2221341120">series of papers</a> on October 16 considering the growth of economic activity in space. For instance, a <a data-uri="03b83809170ed33e98c5eab7dc9cbf02" href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2221345120">study</a> by Ian Lange of the Colorado School of Mines considers the potential—and challenges—for a fledgling industry that might reach a significant scale in the next several decades, driven by the demand for critical metals used in electronics, solar and wind power, and <a data-uri="8a0fbe8e31ede54c9627c3eff234e7cf" href="https://www.wired.com/story/will-future-electric-vehicles-be-powered-by-deep-sea-metals/">electric car components</a>, particularly batteries. <a data-uri="41c9843d0893a1b7e89fedec32001996" href="https://www.wired.com/story/deep-sea-mining-electric-vehicle-battery/">While other companies</a> are exploring the controversial idea of scooping cobalt, nickel, and platinum from the seafloor, some asteroids could harbor the same minerals in abundance—and have no <a data-uri="f12076ce8e48d0c5501eed34f654834f" href="https://www.wired.com/story/can-science-keep-deep-sea-miners-from-ruining-the-seafloor/">wildlife that could be harmed</a> during their extraction.</p> <div><img src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wired-logo.png"></div> <p>Lange’s study, coauthored with a researcher at the International Monetary Fund, models the growth of space mining relative to Earth mining, depending on trends in the clean energy transition, mineral prices, space launch prices, and how much capital investment and R&D grow. They find that in 30 to 40 years, the production of some metals from space could overtake their production on Earth. By their assessment, metallic asteroids contain more than a thousand times as much nickel as the Earth’s crust, in terms of grams per metric ton. Asteroids also have significant concentrations of cobalt, iron, platinum, and other metals. And thanks to <a data-uri="7a1965583242888a6c11d0269aa0c40e" href="https://www.wired.com/story/this-year-spacex-made-us-all-believe-in-reusable-rockets/">reusable rockets</a> developed by SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and other companies, since 2005 launch costs for payloads have plummeted by <a data-offer-url="https://aerospace.csis.org/data/space-launch-to-low-earth-orbit-how-much-does-it-cost/" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://aerospace.csis.org/data/space-launch-to-low-earth-orbit-how-much-does-it-cost/"}" rel="nofollow noopener" data-uri="24b07e26f3c4f65694adff13dd20990b" href="https://aerospace.csis.org/data/space-launch-to-low-earth-orbit-how-much-does-it-cost/" target="_blank">a factor of 20 or so</a> per kilogram—and they could drop further.</p></div><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1977659#p3">Read 14 remaining paragraphs</a> | <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1977659&comments=1">Comments</a></p></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89932023-10-24T04:00:00Z2023-12-12T21:28:16ZBitcoin ETF to trigger massive demand from institutions, EY sayshttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/economics/large/economics-b1fcd0773213ad3e874de6ebe3d9cf64c56555a716d9078bee51882ead50fcf3.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div><p>Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) is in massive demand from institutional investors but awaits a spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval to trigger a buying rally, according to a blockchain executive at the professional services provider Ernst & Young (EY).</p><p>EY’s global blockchain leader Paul Brody believes that Bitcoin faces a lot of pent-up demand from institutions due to United States regulators not approving a spot Bitcoin ETF for years.</p><p>Brody <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/10/23/people-are-buying-bitcoin-as-an-asset-not-as-a-payment-tool-ey-says.html" target="_blank">discussed</a> the outlook for the cryptocurrency adoption on CNBC’s Crypto Decrypted on Oct. 23, declaring that trillions of dollars in institutional money are waiting to enter Bitcoin once a BTC ETF is approved.</p><p>“But any of these other institutional funds, they can’t touch this stuff unless it’s an ETF or some other kind of regulatory blessed activity,” EY’s blockchain expert said, adding:</p><blockquote>“If you look at people who are buying Bitcoin, they are buying it as an asset. They are not buying it as a payment tool. Those who are buying Ethereum, are buying it as a computing platform for business transactions and DeFi [decentralized finance] services.”</blockquote><p>Brody’s remarks come amid global investors closely watching the crypto regulatory process by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has not approved a single spot Bitcoin ETF so far. A number of companies, including Grayscale Investments, ARK Investment, BlackRock and Fidelity, have filed with the SEC for multiple Bitcoin ETF products and are awaiting a regulatory response.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-new-spot-bitcoin-etf-nyse"><strong><em>Grayscale files for new spot Bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca</em></strong></a></p><p>Grayscale, which in August 2023 <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-wins-sec-lawsuit">won an SEC lawsuit for a spot Bitcoin ETF review</a>, has recently <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-new-spot-bitcoin-etf-nyse">filed an S-3 form registration statement</a> with the SEC to list its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust on the New York Stock Exchange Arca.</p><p>According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, a recent amendment to the spot Bitcoin ETF by ARK Invest and 21Shares is a “good sign” of progress and impending approvals. The ETF expert believes that the ETF amendments filed in mid-October 2023 could be in <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ark-invest-amended-bitcoin-etf-filing-sign-future-approval">direct response to concerns the SEC</a> has asked ETF issuers to address.</p><p><strong><em>Magazine: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/big-questions-did-the-nsa-create-bitcoin/"><strong><em>Big Questions: Did the NSA create Bitcoin?</em></strong></a></p> </div></div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89922023-10-23T02:00:11Z2023-10-23T02:00:11ZTop AI Shops Fail Transparency Testhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/357/large/a-bar-chart-shows-the-scores-of-the-10-companies-ranked-in-stanford-s-ai-transparency-index.jpg?1698026408tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89912023-10-23T02:00:10Z2023-10-23T02:00:10ZChina is building the world's largest underwater telescope to hunt for elusive 'ghost particles'http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/356/large/ytQDmy34YDMEhmeLSVJEzg.jpg?1698026407tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89902023-10-21T20:00:06Z2023-10-21T20:00:06ZSaving money for house? Dollar goes HALF as far as it did in 2020...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/355/large/221020-home-sales-al-1433-481d18.jpg?1697918405
<p>Housing affordability drops and buyers shed buying power as home prices climb and mortgage interest rates hit long-time highs.</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89892023-10-21T02:00:09Z2023-10-21T02:00:09ZIdaho lawmakers go to Oregon to discuss 'Greater Idaho'...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/354/large/c16694470cd7ec0f1631db32801c12ea?1697853608
<p>“It makes sense to me, and I’m ready to continue to move forward with the conversation,” said Rep. Barbara Ehardt.</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89882023-10-20T02:00:11Z2023-10-20T02:00:11ZAmazon introduces humanoid robots to its warehouses, assures workers their jobs are safehttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/innovators/large/innovators-6146e3589fdc296698def6b8b396d986620eeaf82041cc3077cb0c64665f1bbb.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div> <p><strong>What just happened?</strong> Amazon warehouse workers who fear the increasing amount of automation being introduced to the facilities now have two more technologies to worry about, including a humanoid robot that is being trialed. Amazon, of course, insists that the machines are there to decrease delivery times and improve workplace safety, working alongside humans as opposed to putting them out of a job. </p> <p>Amazon <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/operations/amazon-introduces-new-robotics-solutions?tag=httpwwwtechsp-20">writes</a> that the first of these robots, Sequoia, is now operating at one of its fulfillment centers in Houston, Texas. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Roomba, the tech giant says the robot can identify and store inventory received at locations up to 75% faster. It also reduces order processing time by up to 25%.</p> <p><a href="https://www.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2023/10/2023-10-19-image-10.jpg" target="_blank"><source type="image/webp"><img alt src="https://www.techspot.com/news/100550-amazon-introduces-humanoid-robots-warehouses-assures-workers-their.html"></a></p> <p>What's likely to be more of a worry to Amazon warehouse workers is Digit, a 5-foot 9-inch 143-pound robot from Agility Robotics. The two-legged robot can walk forward, backward, and sideways, squat and bend, and move, grasp, and handle items using its arm/hand-like clasps. Its first job will be tote recycling, which Amazon says is a highly repetitive process of picking up and moving totes once they've been emptied of inventory.</p> <p><a href="https://www.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2023/10/2023-10-19-image-9.jpg" target="_blank"><source type="image/webp"><img alt src="https://www.techspot.com/news/100550-amazon-introduces-humanoid-robots-warehouses-assures-workers-their.html"></a></p> <p>Digit, lurking in the background, definitely not about to steal the human's job</p> <p>Amazon is the second-largest employer in the US behind Walmart. It has a global workforce of almost 1.5 million, one million of whom are in its warehouses. The company has been introducing more technologies to automate human jobs for over ten years now, but it insists the aim is not to replace human workers but to take over monotonous tasks and improve safety.</p> <p>Tye Brady, the chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, admitted that while the robots will make some warehouse jobs redundant, their deployment will create new ones; a line that is often used when talking about generative AI's threat to jobs. Amazon said that there is "a big opportunity to scale" the likes of Digit, which sounds like more concerning news for workers.</p> <p>Brady added that those in Amazon's operations are "irreplaceable," and that eliminating mundane, repetitive tasks would not lead to job cuts and fewer staff. He also said that the prospect of a future Amazon warehouse that was fully automated without any human workers would never be a reality.</p> <p>"People are so central to the fulfillment process; the ability to think at a higher level, the ability to diagnose problems," he said.</p> <p>"We will always need people […] I've never been around an automated system that works 100% of the time. I don't think you have as well."</p> <p>Amazon unveiled the <a href="https://www.techspot.com/news/96629-new-ai-powered-amazon-robot-can-perform-repetitive.html">AI-powered Sparrow</a> in November last year, its first robot in the Amazon warehouse system able to detect items of different sizes, pick them up, and handle them without significant human intervention.</p> <p>In June 2022, Amazon announced <a href="https://www.techspot.com/news/95032-amazon-reveals-first-autonomous-warehouse-robot-can-work.html">Proteus</a>, a warehouse robot that, unlike its previous autonomous machines, operates without needing to be confined to a warehouse's restricted (i.e., caged off) areas. Its duties include lifting and moving GoCarts - the large, wheeled cages used to hold items - from one area of a facility to another.</p> </div> </div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89872023-10-20T02:00:10Z2023-10-20T02:00:10ZBreakthrough as scientists discover 'off switch' for bacterial infections...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/352/large/76730331-12647017-Shigella_cause_an_estimated_450_000_infections_and_around_40_dea-a-2_1697725801951.jpg?1697767208
<p>Scientists in Las Vegas uncovered a way to 'switch off' a gene in a diarrhea-causing bacteria that kills 600,000 annually, opening the door to preventing deadly infections before they strike.</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89862023-10-20T02:00:09Z2023-10-20T02:00:09ZSan Francisco mayor suggests police drones and CCTV can cure city's crime woeshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/351/large/breed.jpg?1697767207tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89852023-10-19T18:00:05Z2023-10-19T18:00:05ZUniversal Music sues AI start-up Anthropic for scraping song lyricshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/350/large/eilish-760x380.jpg?1697738404
<p><div> <figure> <img alt="Universal Music artist Billie Eilish performing at Glastonbury last year" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/eilish-800x450.jpg"> <p><a data-width="1400" href="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/eilish.jpg" data-height="787">Enlarge</a> <span>/</span> Universal Music artist Billie Eilish performing at Glastonbury last year. (credit: Getty Images)</p> </figure> <div><a name="page-1"></a></div> <p>Universal Music has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic, as the world’s largest music group battles against chatbots that churn out its artists’ lyrics.</p> <p>Universal and two other music companies allege that Anthropic scrapes their songs without permission and uses them to generate “identical or nearly identical copies of those lyrics” via Claude, its rival to ChatGPT.</p> <p>When Claude is asked for lyrics to the song “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, for example, it responds with “a nearly word-for-word copy of those lyrics,” Universal, Concord, and ABKCO said in a filing with a US court in Nashville, Tennessee.</p></div><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1977169#p3">Read 11 remaining paragraphs</a> | <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1977169&comments=1">Comments</a></p></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89842023-10-18T20:00:08Z2023-10-18T20:00:08ZChatGPT live web browsing exits beta, DALL-E 3 enters betahttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/349/large/5b39d510-6de1-11ee-8ffb-5c927c68a15d?1697659206tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89832023-10-18T20:00:07Z2023-10-18T20:00:07ZIRS Direct File free pilot will not be open to everyone: How to know if you’re eligiblehttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/348/large/p-2-90969146-irs-direct-file-tool-eligibility.jpg?1697659205tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89822023-10-18T16:00:06Z2023-10-18T16:00:06ZFDA approves SOUND wave cancer treatment...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/347/large/76678837-12641137-image-a-12_1697574615755.jpg?1697644805
<p>A machine that uses histotripsy, a technique that uses sound waves to break down tumors, has been approved to treat liver tumors by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89812023-10-17T16:00:05Z2023-10-17T16:00:05ZFigure Unveils Its Humanoid Robot Prototypehttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/346/large/a-photograph-of-a-slim-humanoid-robot-standing-with-reflective-metal-skin-and-a-black-motorcycle-helmet.jpg?1697558405tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89802023-10-16T20:00:08Z2023-10-16T20:00:08ZMAG: Deepfake porn out of control...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/345/large/Deepfake_Final_.jpg?1697486405
<p>New research shows the number of deepfake videos is skyrocketing—and the world's biggest search engines are funneling clicks to dozens of sites dedicated to the nonconsensual fakes.</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89792023-10-16T20:00:07Z2023-10-16T20:00:07ZMexican Sinaloa Cartel's Message to Members: Stop Making Fentanyl or Die...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/344/large/social?1697486404
<p>Crime group yields to intensifying U.S. law-enforcement pressure and is kidnapping or killing producers who defy its ban on trafficking the opioid.</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89782023-10-16T14:00:05Z2023-10-16T14:00:05ZIt is 'nearly unavoidable' that AI will cause a financial crash within a decade, SEC head sayshttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/economics/large/economics-b1fcd0773213ad3e874de6ebe3d9cf64c56555a716d9078bee51882ead50fcf3.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div> <ul><li>Gary Gensler told the Financial Times that the next financial crash could be sparked by AI.</li><li>The SEC chair called for regulation to address how AI models are being used by banks on Wall Street.</li><li>Banking has embraced AI, with Morgan Stanley rolling out a chatbot advisor based on OpeanAI's GPT4. </li></ul><div> <section><div></div> <p></p> <div> <p>Thanks for signing up!</p> <p></p> <p> Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. </p> </div> <p></p> </section></div><p>The chair of the SEC has warned that AI could trigger a financial crisis, as Wall Street rushes to adopt the new technology.</p><p>Gary Gensler <a rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.ft.com/content/8227636f-e819-443a-aeba-c8237f0ec1ac" target="_blank"><u>told the Financial Times</u></a> that it was "nearly unavoidable" that AI would cause a financial crash as soon as the late 2020s or early 2030s, and said that reliance on models developed by tech companies could lead to economic chaos.</p><p>"I do think we will in the future have a financial crisis . . .[and] in the after action reports people will say 'Aha! There was either one data aggregator or one model . . . we've relied on.' Maybe it's in the mortgage market. Maybe it's in some sector of the equity market," he said.</p><p>Gensler called for AI regulation that addresses both the underlying AI models built by tech companies and how they are used by Wall Street banks, describing it as a "cross-regulatory challenge."</p><p>"It's a hard financial stability issue to address because most of our regulation is about individual institutions, individual banks, individual money market funds, individual brokers; it's just in the nature of what we do," he told the Financial Times.</p><p>"And this is about a horizontal [matter whereby] many institutions might be relying on the same underlying base model or underlying data aggregator."</p><p>Wall Street banks have been <a rel href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bank-ai-executives-powerful-artificial-intelligence-tech-strategy-2023-5?utm_medium=ingest&utm_source=markets" target="_blank"><u>enthusiastic adopters of generative AI</u></a> since the splashy launch of ChatGPT last year.</p><p>Morgan Stanley <a rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/18/morgan-stanley-chatgpt-financial-advisors.html" target="_blank"><u>launched an AI assistant</u></a> based on OpenAI's GPT4 model to help employees access market information and get recommendations last month. Rival JPMorgan, meanwhile, has reportedly filed a patent for an <a rel href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-leading-wall-street-shift-advertised-3600-ai-jobs-2023-6?utm_medium=ingest&utm_source=markets" target="_blank"><u>AI model known as 'IndexGPT'</u></a> that would help traders choose securities to invest in.</p><p>However, banks have also <a rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-24/citigroup-goldman-sachs-join-chatgpt-crackdown-fn-reports" target="_blank"><u>cracked down on the use of ChatGPT</u></a> even as they experiment with the new technology, with Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America all banning employees from using the chatbot at work earlier this year.</p><p>The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.</p> </div> </div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89772023-10-16T12:00:07Z2023-10-16T12:00:07ZEarth's solid inner core is 'surprisingly soft' thanks to hyperactive atoms jostling aroundhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/342/large/YDCoFmCg9jYW7BDHoJm7t3.jpg?1697457605tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89762023-10-16T12:00:06Z2023-10-16T12:00:06ZBricklaying robots can now build tennis-court-sized walls in 4 hourshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/341/large/90?1697457604tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89752023-10-14T00:00:05Z2023-10-14T00:00:05ZChina gives Ehang the first industry approval for fully autonomous, passenger-carrying air taxishttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/innovators/large/innovators-6146e3589fdc296698def6b8b396d986620eeaf82041cc3077cb0c64665f1bbb.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div><span></span><div><div><div><p>An EHang all-electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) two-passenger multicopter aircraft, performs an unmanned display flight at a Korean government event at Yeouido island in Seoul on November 11, 2020.</p><p>Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images</p></div></div></div><div><p>BEIJING — Self-driving air taxis are one step closer to reality in China.</p><p>Guangzhou-based <span><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/EH/">Ehang</a><span><span></span></span></span> on Friday said it received an airworthiness "type certificate" from the Civil Aviation Administration of China for its fully autonomous drone, the EH216-S AAV, that carries two human passengers. The regulator is the equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S.</p><p></p><p>U.S.-listed Ehang claims it's the first in the world to get such a certificate, which allows it to fly passenger-carrying autonomous <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/03/how-electric-air-taxis-could-shake-up-the-airline-industry.html">electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft</a> in China.</p><p>The certificate will also significantly simplify the company's ability to get similar certificates for commercial operation in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia, CEO Huazhi Hu told CNBC in a video conference interview.</p><p>"Next year we should start to expand overseas," he said, noting those regulators still need to establish a process for mutual regulation of the Chinese airworthiness certification. That's according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.</p><p>Ehang shares have nearly doubled in price this year, before trading was <a href="https://ir.ehang.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nasdaq-approves-ehangs-request-suspend-trading-adss-until-no" target="_blank">temporarily halted Monday</a> "in anticipation of an upcoming announcement concerning a very significant development regarding its business operations." Trading was set to resume Friday.</p><p>The company has a market capitalization of about $1 billion.</p><p></p></div><h2><a></a>Global regulatory action</h2><div><p>The U.S. FAA in July released a plan that provides a path toward allowing similar autonomous flying vehicles, but initially still <a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-issues-implementation-plan-outlining-steps-usher-advanced-air-mobility" target="_blank">requires pilots to sit on board</a>.</p><p>California-based <span><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/JOBY/">Joby Aviation</a><span><span></span></span></span>, one of the leading industry players in the U.S., announced earlier this month it expanded its flight test program from remote piloting to <a href="https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-begins-flight-testing-pilot-on-board/" target="_blank">include a pilot on board</a> — but it didn't mention any passengers. Joby has a contract with the U.S. Air Force the company claims is worth up to $131 million.</p><p>Regulators in China have been paving the way for autonomous flying vehicles to gain certification. In June, China released new <a href="https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202306/content_6888799.htm" target="_blank">rules for unmanned aircraft flight </a>— vehicles without a pilot on board. It is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.</p></div><div><p>Hu said Ehang is still evaluating which city in China the company will launch its first air taxi passenger flight in, and declined to share a specific date. Hu is also Ehang's founder and chairman of the board of directors.</p><p>He noted that China is the fastest-growing and largest market — with the biggest demand — for such flying vehicles<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/03/how-electric-air-taxis-could-shake-up-the-airline-industry.html">.</a></p><p>In the second quarter, Ehang said it set up a joint venture with Shenzhen-listed <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/300859-CN?qsearchterm=300859">Xiyu Tourism</a> and delivered five EH216-S units. The venture aims to develop low-altitude tourism with at least 120 Ehang vehicles in the next five years, the company said.</p><p>Ehang said it has overseas pre-orders for more than 1,200 units, including from customers such as Japan AirX, Malaysian Aerotree and Indonesia's Prestige.</p><p>Hu said the company would roll out deliveries rather than filling orders all at once given the industry is still in an early stage of development.</p><p>Still, he predicts that in about five years, air taxis will be a common sight in many cities.</p></div><h2><a></a>Safety track record</h2><div><p>Friday's certification news comes as local Chinese governments, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/19/chinas-capital-city-beijing-has-big-plans-for-robotaxis-ponyai-says.html">including in Beijing</a>, have allowed fully driverless robotaxis on public streets, and in some cases charge fares to the public.</p><p>A significant difference between self-driving taxis and self-piloting drones is that while cars on the road must make turns at intersections, a drone flight is between two points in the air, Ehang's CEO said.</p><p>Hu said Ehang started doing autonomous aerial flight testing in 2017. There were some vehicle incidents during the early experimentation period, he said, but no big accidents have occurred during subsequent tens of thousands of flights, including overseas.</p><p>"Whenever carrying humans, until now, we have maintained a very good safety track record," he said.</p></div><p></p><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89732023-10-12T20:00:05Z2023-10-12T20:00:05ZYou can now generate AI images directly in the Google Search barhttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/technology/large/technology-b70184a558d607196cd4ff73501f8aaf85b7094b7898dec32376ca1e54a84743.jpgtag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89742023-10-12T20:00:05Z2023-10-12T20:00:05ZEngineers pave the way for building lunar roads with Moon dusthttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/339/large/earthrise.jpg?1697140804tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89722023-10-12T16:00:05Z2023-10-12T16:00:05ZFederal Deficit Even Bigger Than It Looks...http://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/337/large/social?1697126404
<p>Student-debt cancellation complicates the numbers as higher interest rates make borrowing costlier.</p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89712023-10-12T12:00:06Z2023-10-12T12:00:06ZGroundbreaking bionic hand restores quality of life to amputeehttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/336/large/90?1697112005tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89702023-10-11T16:00:05Z2023-10-11T16:00:05ZRice-engineered material can reconnect severed nerveshttps://dp9k1pays1e8c.cloudfront.net/assets/category_defaults/health/large/health-87e9115ed7bd72fbfcc5def52bdf1bae26210a3e64edceb72210f60de6841a68.jpg
<p><div><div><div><div><div> <div><p>Researchers have long recognized the therapeutic potential of using magnetoelectrics ⎯ materials that can turn magnetic fields into electric fields ⎯ to stimulate neural tissue in a minimally invasive way and help treat neurological disorders or nerve damage. The problem, however, is that neurons have a hard time responding to the shape and frequency of the electric signal resulting from this conversion.</p> <figure><img alt="researcher " src="https://news.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs2656/files/inline-images/230427_BRC%20Shoot%20Josh%20Chen_Gustavo-07776_540.jpeg"><figcaption>Rice University doctoral alum Joshua Chen is lead author on a study published in Nature Materials. (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University)</figcaption></figure><p>Rice University neuroengineer <a href="https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/jacob-t-robinson"> Jacob Robinson</a> and his team designed the first magnetoelectric material that not only solves this issue but performs the magnetic-to-electric conversion 120 times faster than similar materials. According to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-023-01680-4"> a study</a> published in Nature Materials, the researchers showed the material can be used to precisely stimulate neurons remotely and to bridge the gap in a broken sciatic nerve in a rat model.</p> <p>The material’s qualities and performance could have a profound impact on neurostimulation treatments, making for significantly less invasive procedures, Robinson said. Instead of implanting a neurostimulation device, tiny amounts of the material could simply be injected at the desired site. Moreover, given magnetoelectrics’ range of application in computing, sensing, electronics and other fields, the research provides a framework for advanced materials design that could drive innovation more broadly.</p> <figure><img alt="researcher " src="https://news.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs2656/files/inline-images/Gauri%20Bhave_370_0.jpeg"><figcaption>Gauri Bhave, a former research scientist in the Robinson lab, is a lead co-author on a study published in Nature Materials. (Photo courtesy of Gauri Bhave)</figcaption></figure><p>“We asked, ‘Can we create a material that can be like dust or is so small that by placing just a sprinkle of it inside the body you’d be able to stimulate the brain or nervous system?’” said <a href="https://www.joshchen.xyz/"> Joshua Chen</a>, a Rice doctoral alumnus who is a lead author on the study. “With that question in mind, we thought that magnetoelectric materials were ideal candidates for use in neurostimulation. They respond to magnetic fields, which easily penetrate into the body, and convert them into electric fields ⎯ a language our nervous system already uses to relay information.”</p> <p>The researchers started with a magnetoelectric material made up of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity"> piezoelectric </a> layer of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_zirconate_titanate"> lead zirconium titanate</a> sandwiched between two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetostriction"> magnetorestrictive</a> layers of metallic glass alloys, or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metglas"> Metglas</a>, which can be rapidly magnetized and demagnetized.</p> <p>Gauri Bhave, a former researcher in the Robinson lab who now works in technology transfer for Baylor College of Medicine, explained that the magnetorestrictive element vibrates with the application of a magnetic field.</p> <figure><img alt="research illustration" src="https://news.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs2656/files/inline-images/magnetic-to-electric_540_0.jpeg"><figcaption>Schematic of neural response for linear magnetic-to-electric conversion (top two conversions) versus nonlinear (bottom third). (Image courtesy of Josh Chen/Rice University)</figcaption></figure><p>“This vibration means it basically changes its shape,” Bhave said. “The piezoelectric material is something that, when it changes its shape, creates electricity. So when those two are combined, the conversion that you’re getting is that the magnetic field you’re applying from the outside of the body turns into an electric field.”</p> <p>However, the electric signals magnetoelectrics generate are too fast and uniform for neurons to detect. The challenge was to engineer a new material that could generate an electric signal that would actually get cells to respond.</p> <p>“For all other magnetoelectric materials, the relationship between the electric field and the magnetic field is linear, and what we needed was a material where that relationship was nonlinear,” Robinson said. “We had to think about the kinds of materials we could deposit on this film that would create that nonlinear response.”</p> <p>The researchers layered platinum, hafnium oxide and zinc oxide and added the stacked materials on top of the original magnetoelectric film. One of the challenges they faced was finding fabrication techniques compatible with the materials.<br></p> <figure><img alt="research illustration" src="https://news.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs2656/files/inline-images/MNM_pic_540_0.jpeg"><figcaption>Magnetoelectric nonlinear metamaterials are 120 times faster at stimulating neural activity compared to previously used magnetic materials. (Image courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice University)</figcaption></figure><p>“A lot of work went into making this very thin layer of less than 200 nanometers that gives us the really special properties,” Robinson said.</p> <p>“This reduced the size of the entire device so that in the future it could be injectable,” Bhave added.</p> <p>As proof of concept, the researchers used the material to stimulate peripheral nerves in rats and demonstrated the material’s potential for use in neuroprosthetics by showing it could restore function in a severed nerve.</p> <p>“We can use this metamaterial to bridge the gap in a broken nerve and restore fast electric signal speeds,” Chen said. “Overall, we were able to rationally design a new metamaterial that overcomes many challenges in neurotechnology. And more importantly, this framework for advanced material design can be applied toward other applications like sensing and memory in electronics.”</p> <figure><img alt="researcher " src="https://news.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs2656/files/inline-images/JRobinson_prov_370_0.jpeg"><figcaption>Jacob Robinson is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering at Rice University. (Photo courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice University)</figcaption></figure><p>Robinson, who drew on his doctoral work in photonics for inspiration in engineering the new material, said he finds it “really exciting that we can now design devices or systems using materials that have never existed before rather than being confined to ones in nature.”</p> <p>“Once you discover a new material or class of materials, I think it’s really hard to anticipate all the potential uses for them,” said Robinson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering. “We’ve focused on bioelectronics, but I expect there may be many applications beyond this field.”</p> <p><a href="https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/antonios-mikos">Antonios Mikos</a>, Rice’s Louis Calder Professor of Chemical Engineering, professor of bioengineering and materials science and nanoengineering and director of the Biomaterials Lab, Center for Excellence in Tissue Engineering and J.W. Cox Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering, is also an author on the study.</p> <p>The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (2023849) and the National Institutes of Health (U18EB029353).</p> <dl><dt><strong>Peer-reviewed paper:</strong></dt> <dd> <p>“Self-rectifying magnetoelectric metamaterials for remote neural stimulation and motor function restoration” | Nature Materials | DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01680-4<br><br> Authors: Joshua Chen, Gauri Bhave, Fatima Alrashdan, Abdeali Dhuliyawalla, Katie Hogan, Antonios Mikos and Jacob Robinson</p> <p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-023-01680-4">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-023-01680-4</a></p> </dd> <dt><strong>Image downloads:</strong></dt> <dd> <p><a href="https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/230427_BRC-Shoot-Josh-Chen_Gustavo-07776.jpg">https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/230427<em>BRC-Shoot-Josh-Chen</em>Gustavo-07776.jpg </a><br> CAPTION: Rice University doctoral alum Joshua Chen is lead author on a study published in Nature Materials. (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University)</p> <p><a href="https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/Gauri-Bhave.jpg">https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/Gauri-Bhave.jpg </a><br> CAPTION: Gauri Bhave, a former research scientist in the Robinson lab, is a lead co-author on a study published in Nature Materials. (Photo courtesy of Gauri Bhave)</p> <p><a href="https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/magnetic-to-electric.jpg">https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/magnetic-to-electric.jpg </a><br> CAPTION: Schematic of neural response for linear magnetic-to-electric conversion (top two conversions) versus nonlinear (bottom third). (Image courtesy of Josh Chen/Rice University)</p> <p><a href="https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/MNM_pic.jpg">https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/MNM<em>pic.jpg </a><br> CAPTION: Magnetoelectric nonlinear metamaterials are 120 times faster at stimulating neural activity compared to previously used magnetic materials. (Image courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice University)<br><br><a href="https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/JRobinson</em>prov.jpg">https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/JRobinson_prov.jpg </a><br> CAPTION: Jacob Robinson is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering at Rice University. (Photo courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice University)</p> </dd> </dl><dl><dt><strong>Related stories:</strong></dt> <dd> <p>Rice’s Cherukuri, Robinson to speak at SXSW<strong>: </strong><br><a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/rices-cherukuri-robinson-speak-sxsw">https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/rices-cherukuri-robinson-speak-sxsw</a> <strong> </strong><br><br> Rice U. bioengineering Ph.D. named Schmidt Science Fellow:<br><a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/rice-u-bioengineering-phd-named-schmidt-science-fellow">https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/rice-u-bioengineering-phd-named-schmidt-science-fellow </a> <u> </u><br><br> Mikos Receives International Award of the European Society for Biomaterials:<br><a href="https://bioengineering.rice.edu/news/mikos-receives-international-award-european-society-biomaterials">https://bioengineering.rice.edu/news/mikos-receives-international-award-european-society-biomaterials </a><br><br> Wireless activation of targeted brain circuits in less than one second:<br><a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/wireless-activation-targeted-brain-circuits-less-one-second">https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/wireless-activation-targeted-brain-circuits-less-one-second</a></p> </dd> <dt><strong>Links:</strong></dt> <dd> <p>Robinson lab: <a href="https://www.robinsonlab.com/">www.robinsonlab.com</a></p> <p>Mikos lab: <a href="https://mikoslab.rice.edu/"> https://mikoslab.rice.edu/</a><br><br> Biomaterials Lab: <a href="https://research.rice.edu/bml/"> https://research.rice.edu/bml/</a><br><br> Center for Excellence in Tissue Engineering: <a href="http://tissue.rice.edu/"> http://tissue.rice.edu/ </a></p> <p>Rice Neuroengineering Initiative: <a href="https://neuroengineering.rice.edu/"> neuroengineering.rice.edu </a></p> <p>Rice Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: <a href="https://eceweb.rice.edu/"> eceweb.rice.edu</a><br><br> Rice Department of Bioengineering: <a href="https://bioengineering.rice.edu/"> https://bioengineering.rice.edu/ </a></p> <p>George R. Brown School of Engineering: <a href="https://engineering.rice.edu/"> engineering.rice.edu</a></p> </dd> </dl><dl><dt><strong>About Rice:</strong></dt> <dd> <p><em>Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,552 undergraduates and 3,998 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.</em></p> </dd> </dl></div> </div> </div></div></div></div></p>
tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89692023-10-11T14:00:05Z2023-10-11T14:00:05ZThe Silence of the Bears – Russia Is Reorienting Towards the Arabshttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/334/large/00-Russia.jpg?1697032805tag:futuristech.info,2005:Post/89682023-10-11T06:00:05Z2023-10-11T06:00:05ZRenting ages your cells faster than unemployment or being an ex-smokerhttp://d27o3wem1q43z5.cloudfront.net/post/featured_images/imgs/000/009/333/large/90?1697004005