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Category: robotics/AI

SEAKR Engineering, Inc. has been awarded as the prime contractor for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Pit Boss contract to further expand its contractual work supporting the Blackjack program. The award for Phase I Option II is part of a three-phase effort seeking on-orbit demonstration of full processing capability in a multi-satellite constellation. SEAKR was first awarded a DARPA Pit Boss contract in October 2019.

DARPA’s Blackjack program focuses on integrating commercial satellite technologies into a constellation of military satellites. As sole prime, SEAKR will continue developing it’s Pit Boss solution to support the Blackjack program’s mission as a next generation on-board processor.

SEAKR said the solution will leverage off-the-shelf electronics adapted through design implementation to function reliably in space. The company said this award validates its program success in seeking on-orbit demonstration of state-of-the-art processing capability incorporating autonomous operations, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning techniques, and bridged terrestrial and on-orbit technologies.

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ROBOTS will raise one in three children in the future, an AI expert says.

Dr Michelle Tempest says the droids will feed, exercise and teach kids.

They will also change nappies and tell stories and artificial uteruses will develop foetuses.

Dr Tempest says that by 2050 parenting will be “entirely optional”.

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A recent patent filing offers a window into future forays by Apple into automotive design. Apple is exploring artificial intelligence systems that will enable future motorists to enjoy windows that continuously change characteristics as they drive.

Titled “Systems with adjustable windows,” U.S. Patent No. 10,625,580 envisions glass components that control light, reflection and heat conductance based on both user preference and sensory input.

The would contain multiple adjustable layers sandwiched between two panes of glass that could perform such functions as keeping a cool interior, providing privacy to occupants, allowing viewing through haze and blocking harmful sunlight radiation.

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Gerd Leonhard discussion regarding Humanism and Transhumanism.

This is an excerpt from my latest digital conference, April 23, 2020, “Humanist vs Transhumanist” featuring Calum Chace and me.

My Futures Agency colleague and fellow futurist Calum Chace disagree with me on many of my core messages on topics such as the singularity, (trans)-humanism, artificial intelligence and what I call ‘man+machine futures’.

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Albert Einstein famously postulated that “the only real valuable thing is intuition,” arguably one of the most important keys to understanding intention and communication.

But intuitiveness is hard to teach—especially to a machine. Looking to improve this, a team from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) came up with a method that dials us closer to more seamless human– collaboration. The system, called “Conduct-A-Bot,” uses human signals from wearable sensors to pilot a robot’s movement.

“We envision a world in which machines help people with cognitive and physical work, and to do so, they adapt to people rather than the other way around,” says Professor Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, deputy dean of research for the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, and co-author on a paper about the system.

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Using machine learning, a team of Western computer scientists and biologists have identified an underlying genomic signature for 29 different COVID-19 DNA sequences.

This new data discovery tool will allow researchers to quickly and easily classify a deadly virus like COVID-19 in just minutes—a process and pace of high importance for strategic planning and mobilizing medical needs during a pandemic.

The study also supports the scientific hypothesis that COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has its origin in bats as Sarbecovirus, a subgroup of Betacoronavirus.

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Scientists believe the world will see it’s first working thermonuclear fusion reactor by the year 2025. That’s a tall order in short form, especially when you consider that fusion has been “almost here” for nearly a century.

Fusion reactors – not to be confused with common fission reactors – are the holiest of Grails when it comes to physics achievements. According to most experts, a successful fusion reactor would function as a near-unlimited source of energy.

In other words, if there’s a working demonstration of an actual fusion reactor by 2025, we could see an end to the global energy crisis within a few decades.

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Can we study AI the same way we study lab rats? Researchers at DeepMind and Harvard University seem to think so. They built an AI-powered virtual rat that can carry out multiple complex tasks. Then, they used neuroscience techniques to understand how its artificial “brain” controls its movements.

Today’s most advanced AI is powered by artificial neural networks —machine learning algorithms made up of layers of interconnected components called “neurons” that are loosely inspired by the structure of the brain. While they operate in very different ways, a growing number of researchers believe drawing parallels between the two could both improve our understanding of neuroscience and make smarter AI.

Now the authors of a new paper due to be presented this week at the International Conference on Learning Representations have created a biologically accurate 3D model of a rat that can be controlled by a neural network in a simulated environment. They also showed that they could use neuroscience techniques for analyzing biological brain activity to understand how the neural net controlled the rat’s movements.

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