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By Chris Baraniuk — BBC Future

(Auraveda/Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

The internet is one big experiment, and you’re part of it. Every day, millions of trials are manipulating what you see when you browse online, to find out how to keep your attention, make you click more links – and spend more money. And these experiments are often secret. You’ll probably never know you were part of them.

This is all thanks to something now well-known in the tech industry, called A/B testing. It means that the web pages served to you are not necessarily the same as those shown to the next person – they might have slightly different colours, an alternate headline or, on social networks, you could be shown different personal information about your friends and family.

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 23, 2014)

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FINANCIAL TIMES: Insurers ‘unready’ for climate change http://on.ft.com/1CWVHWM

HUFF POST: Amelia: IPsoft’s New Artificial Intelligence Can Think Like A Human, And Wants Your Job http://lnkd.in/daZCHqx

CIO: Lufthansa leaves the computing to IBM http://trib.al/JPKogpE

REUTERS: Obama learns the same lesson other progressive presidents had to: You can have guns or butter, not both: http://reut.rs/1x9hbOh

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: NATO jets, including Canadian Hornets, scrambled twice in two days to intercept Russian spyplane http://goo.gl/5LvH0Z

BLOOMBERG: This is why the stock market rally is bad news: http://bloom.bg/1waFLSe

POP SCI: Four Technologies That Will Carry The Weight Of War http://lnkd.in/dcwuQNi

PEW RESEARCH: AI, Robotics, and the Future of Jobs http://lnkd.in/dXdr2yh

BLOOMBERG NEWS: The $13 billion plan to transform Capetown: http://bloom.bg/1FDL2o4

BLOOMBERG NEWS: Artificial Intelligence Is Next Frontier for Infosys http://lnkd.in/dthv-xm

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Artificial intelligence could automate half of U.S. jobs in 20 years. ‘Machine learning’ could eliminate jobs like loan officer, cab driver and real-estate agent. http://lnkd.in/dbNgB5t

STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Artificial intelligence (AI) will have many profound societal effects http://lnkd.in/d_uNsr5

BUSINESS INSIDER: Artificial Intelligence Took America’s Jobs And It’s Going To Take A Lot More. The scary new dimension is artificial intelligence, which could replace as many as 50 million professional jobs. http://lnkd.in/dhaVhqP

FINANCIAL TIMES: Russian plane violates Estonian air space http://on.ft.com/1CX4S9E

WASHINGTON POST: Sweden prepared to use ‘armed force, if necessary’ on suspected Russian submarine http://lnkd.in/dTwit9i

NEW REPUBLIC: This Is What It Will Look Like When Robots Take All Our Jobs http://lnkd.in/dnsDbVq

IF YOU GET REALLY UPSET AT PUTIN, YOU WILL BE BLACKMAIL WITH M.A.D. WWIII. IN THE MEAN TIME, RE-CONQUERING EVERY NATION-STATE IS EASTERN EUROPE WILL BRING HIM GOLD AND GEOPOLITICAL AND POLITICAL DIVIDENDS, DIVIDENDS AS YOU HAVE NEVER SEEM. IN THE BACKGROUND, CHINA, A PROFITER FROM THE MOTIONS, WILL HAVE A GARGANTUAN LAUGHTER.

UPSTART: How to stop worrying about artificial intelligence and outsmart the job apocalypse http://lnkd.in/d7tyJmT

“Why Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan, and the China Sea Sovereign Possessions will ONLY be of the ownership of Continental China? http://lnkd.in/dq7X6fx

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: A new breed of computer chips that operate more like the brain may be about to narrow the gulf between artificial and natural computation—between circuits that crunch through logical operations at blistering speed http://lnkd.in/d3gGtbs

THE INDEPENDENT: Advances in artificial intelligence could lead to mass unemployment, warn experts http://lnkd.in/dWn5TSn

YAHOO NEWS: DNA reveals that Neanderthals and humans first mated 50,000 years ago, researchers say: http://yhoo.it/1wkSkbe

THE ATLANTIC: Detroit and the evaporating right to running water http://theatln.tc/1wkqcVI

UNTIL POLAND IS RECAPTURED. MOSCOW TIMES: Poland Plays Hardball With Russia on Gas http://lnkd.in/dEJkJac

THE ECONOMIST: The oil price is tumbling. Is that good or bad news for the world economy? http://econ.st/1DBqrPo

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: The very laws of physics imply that artificial intelligence must be viable. What’s holding us up? http://lnkd.in/dsaDfh7

BUSINESS SPECTATOR: Future Forward: What’s next for smartphones http://lnkd.in/dhgiH7d

WASHINGTON POST: We’re failing to prepare our kids for the impending robot takeover​. Here’s what we should teach them. http://lnkd.in/dAPHbAN

BBC: Microsoft ditching the Nokia name on smartphones http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29724072

BUSINESS INSIDER: Bill Gates Makes Over $1 Million Every Day Doing Almost Nothing. http://lnkd.in/dC3qyzj

LINKEDIN: “The Future-Ready Advice Bill Gates Gave Us 15 Years Ago… And Made Him a Superbillionaire in the Process!” http://lnkd.in/dxn98d9

GET BEYOND READY. THE ECONOMIST: The future of jobs. The onrushing wave. Previous technological innovation has always delivered more long-run employment, not less. But things can change. http://lnkd.in/dRGiYdt

WALL STREET JOURNAL: The First $1 Trillion Company? Why Google Could Beat Apple to Milestone http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/10/13/the-first-1-trillion-company-why-google-could-beat-apple-to-milestone/

TECH CRUNCH: Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with China’s Vice Premier following iCloud security attack http://tcrn.ch/1wlexWw

THE ECONOMIST: Foreign direct investment into Myanmar tripled in three years to $2.6 billion in 2013 http://econ.st/12dju9V

AGAIN AND AGAIN AND ONCE AGAIN. CBS NEWS: White House on lockdown after latest fence jumper http://lnkd.in/dj8Uh8i)

THE ECONOMIST: Serbia is caught between its European ambitions and its prime minister’s autocratic drift http://econ.st/11W2ipd

ENGADGET: Atom-scale brain sensors will show exactly how your mind works http://lnkd.in/d_vhPSk

BY MR. ANDRES AGOSTINI

White Swan Book Author (Source of this Article)

www.LINKEDIN.com/in/andresagostini

www.AMAZON.com/author/agostini

www.appearoo.com/aagostini

http://connect.FORWARDMETRICS.com/profile/1649/Andres-Agostini.html

@AndresAgostini

@ThisSuccess

— The Guardian

Pentagon Building in Washington

A US Department of Defense (DoD) research programme is funding universities to model the dynamics, risks and tipping points for large-scale civil unrest across the world, under the supervision of various US military agencies. The multi-million dollar programme is designed to develop immediate and long-term “warfighter-relevant insights” for senior officials and decision makers in “the defense policy community,” and to inform policy implemented by “combatant commands.”

Launched in 2008 – the year of the global banking crisis – the DoD ‘Minerva Research Initiative’ partners with universities “to improve DoD’s basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the US.”

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 22, 2014)

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INFOWORLD: General Electric lays out big plans for big data http://www.infoworld.com/article/2616433/big-data/general-electric-lays-out-big-plans-for-big-data.html

THE TELEGRAPH: The Real Cyborgs http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/the-future-is-android/index.html

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Who Has a Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap? Guess! http://www.21stcentech.com/climate-change-adaptation-roadmap-guess/

Russia threatens US with Five Thousand Nuclear Warheads http://lnkd.in/dPbGPZf

Wall Street Journal: U.S. to require passengers from Ebola-stricken countries to fly into 5 airports with enhanced screening: http://on.wsj.com/1wml4iU

PHYS ORG: Team advances genome editing technique http://phys.org/news/2014-10-team-advances-genome-technique.html

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Swiss Banks on Own in Navigating U.S. Offshore-Account Requirements http://lnkd.in/dVkh8jd

TIMES OF ISRAEL: Israeli rabbinate won’t invalidate Washington rabbi’s conversions. Uncertainty over converts to Judaism dispelled amid charges of voyeurism against Barry Freundel http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-rabbinate-wont-invalidate-washington-rabbis-conversions/

Currents and Undercurrents? https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141017005851-34427457-currents-and-undercurrents

Bart and Homer on The Iliad! https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141017012329-34427457-bart-and-homer-on-the-iliad

Marilyn Monroe in London and Continuous Performance Improvement https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141018220154-34427457-the-beautiful-london-secretary-and-continuous-performance-improvement

Road Drone #1 and Leonardo https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141021024138-34427457-road-drone-1-and-leonardo

KAI: ‘Hidden brain signatures’ of consciousness in vegetative state patients discovered http://www.kurzweilai.net/hidden-brain-signatures-of-consciousness-in-vegetative-state-patients-discovered

KAI: Transparent graphene-based sensors open new window into the brain http://www.kurzweilai.net/transparent-graphene-based-sensors-open-new-window-into-the-brain

BUSINESS INSIDER: HP Is Going To Announce A Crazy New Computer That Can Scan Objects In 3D http://lnkd.in/dxrc5gv

Forbes: Daimler sold its 4% stake in Tesla for about $780 million: http://onforb.es/1sM7Ye9

BY MR. ANDRES AGOSTINI

White Swan Book Author (Source of this Article)

www.LINKEDIN.com/in/andresagostini

www.AMAZON.com/author/agostini

www.appearoo.com/aagostini

http://connect.FORWARDMETRICS.com/profile/1649/Andres-Agostini.html

@AndresAgostini

@ThisSuccess

Douglas Birch, Center for Public Integrity / News Investigation — Nation of Change

Never mind that the vehicle is a boxy, lumbering, second-hand set of wheels with a top speed of just 60 mph. To some of the fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the U.S. M1117, aka the Guardian Armored Security Vehicle, has become their favorite ride.

Or so says Jeremy Binnie, editor of Jane’s Terrorism and Security Monitor, who has monitored propaganda sites for reports of jihadis toting, towing or tooling around in some of the millions of dollars’ worth of U.S.- and other foreign-built military equipment that ISIS captured after it swept into northern Iraq in early June.

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 21, 2014)

We Activate Kaisen and We Deactivate Kaisen

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Does Lockheed Martin Really Have a Breakthrough Fusion Machine? http://www.technologyreview.com/news/531836/does-lockheed-martin-really-have-a-breakthrough-fusion-machine/

FINANCIAL TIMES: IBM shares tumble as profits and sales fall at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/500feb78-584e-11e4-b331-00144feab7de.html

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Ohio State University Invents All-in-One Solar Cell and Battery http://www.21stcentech.com/ohio-state-university-invents-all-in-one-solar-cell-battery/

SIX SENSE AND CORRUPTION HAVE NO GENDER. WASHING POST: In Japan, two female ministers quit, dealing a blow to Abe and ‘womenomics’ http://lnkd.in/dfKzwU8

YAHOO NEWS: Blow to Japan PM as minister resigns over money scandal http://news.yahoo.com/japan-industry-minister-resigns-over-scandal-reports-004526427.html

BBC: Japan ministers Yuko Obuchi and Midori Matsushima quit. Ms Obuchi is alleged to have misused funds from her political support groups and other donations. http://lnkd.in/dH36hvk

FINANCIAL TIMES: Can Europe wean itself off Russian gas? Analysis: http://on.ft.com/1uhyFW0

LINKEDIN: Do Not Underrated Centric Jobs! https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141020224543-34427457-do-not-underrated-centric-jobs

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Brazil’s Rousseff Admits There Was Wrongdoing at Petrobras http://lnkd.in/dm3JgbZ

FORBES: Petrobras Puts Brazil President Dilma In Hot Seat http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2014/03/23/petrobras-puts-brazil-president-dilma-in-hot-seat/

RT: Google ‘beats Goldman Sachs’ in political campaign donations http://rt.com/usa/197104-google-usa-political-campaign/

Dilma Rousseff Responds To Brazil Protests, Vows To Battle Corruption http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/22/dilma-rousseff-brazil-protests_n_3483069.html

BBC Breaking News: Christophe de Margerie, head of oil company Total, dies in air crash in Moscow http://bbc.in/120dDEQ

WORRY FOR THE ECONOMY OF THE WEST, STUPID. BLOOMBERG: China Growth May Slow Sharply From 2020: Conference Board http://lnkd.in/dadDfch

TECH CRUNCH: Europe’s Sign2Pay launches to simplify mobile debit payments and oil the wheels of m-commerce http://tcrn.ch/1omv5gV

MOSCOW TIMES: The Truth About That ‘Russian’ Submarine Near Stockholm http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/the-truth-about-that-russian-submarine-near-stockholm/509721.html

DER SPIEGEL: Berlin and Paris Undermine Euro Stability http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/euro-stability-threatened-if-france-flouts-stability-rules-a-997995.html

YAHOO NEWS: German minister: EU should consider Ebola mission http://lnkd.in/dkNUehu

MONEY: 3 reasons why IBM’s stock is in serious trouble http://money.us/1r0HxhU

NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Scientists Also Lying About Ebola, Explains George F. Will http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/george-will-scientists-also-lying-about-ebola.html

REUTERS: China-backed hackers may have infiltrated Apple’s iCloud: blog http://reut.rs/1oodYLQ

LINKEDIN: Road Drone #1 and Leonardo http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141021024138-34427457-road-drone-1-and-leonardo

By — US News

Stock image of a man in a suit using a camera phone.

The FBI is preparing to launch a facial recognition database this summer that includes photos of people without criminal records- and a court case in New York may expand the ability of the government to request data from Facebook to help.

The bureau’s database, called the Next Generation Identification system, or NGI, builds upon the government’s fingerprint database and is slated to be operational this summer, according to the FBI. This database will contain photos of anybody who sends images as part of an application for a job that requires fingerprinting or a background check – even if that person has no criminal record – according to research by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy advocacy organization. The FBI is slated to have 52 million face images by 2015, according to the EFF.

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 20, 2014)

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MASHABLE: Syrian Woman Wears Hidden Camera to Reveal Life Under ISIS Rule http://mashable.com/2014/09/24/syria-hidden-camera/

TECH CRUNCH: 10 Trends Transforming Enterprise IT http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/18/big-changes-big-money-10-trends-transforming-enterprise-it/

WIRED: American Schools Are Training Kids for a World That Doesn’t Exist http://www.wired.com/2014/10/on-learning-by-doing?mbid=synd_digg

FOREIGN POLICY: How to Know if We’re Winning Against the Islamic State http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/10/17/how_to_know_if_were_winning_against_the_islamic_state

FRANCE 24: All robotic eyes on comet for Mars flyby http://f24.my/11S0pda

Huffington Post: CDC to revise Ebola protocol http://huff.to/1rTOm3R

Cato Institute: Sympathizers with human rights ideas in China have been denied visas or have had them cancelled: http://j.mp/1CEdVwf

The Telegraph: Sweden hunts for suspected Russian submarine in Cold War-style drama http://tgr.ph/1CHi2HJ

Science News: Robot landing on comet could expose mysteries of deep space: http://ow.ly/CWw3o

Forbes: Microsoft is gearing up to launch a wearable device within the next few weeks: http://onforb.es/1sZNksv

Fox News: Hagel orders military medical team to get ready for quick response to more Ebola cases in US http://fxn.ws/1rTRay3

Fortune Magazine: “They’ve lost so much talent over the years.” Hewlett-Packard: http://for.tn/1sa0120

CNET: Siri, an autistic boy’s best friend http://cnet.co/1sZQYTa

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil says work is under way at Google to apply his theory of intelligence to understanding online information. http://www.technologyreview.com/news/528656/ray-kurzweil-says-hes-breathing-intelligence-into-google-search/

CNN: What was the U.S. Air Force’s unmanned space plane doing for nearly two years? We may never know. http://cnn.it/ZL80Jf

FORBES: What Does Warren Buffett See In Car Dealers? http://www.forbes.com/sites/sageworks/2014/10/19/what-warren-buffett-sees-in-car-dealers/

Business Insider: Why Harvard should stop charging tuition http://read.bi/1w3IkCS

LINKEDIN: Understanding Zeitgeist and Updatedness, Fluidly! http://lnkd.in/dN9jcQZ

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Will Google’s Ray Kurzweil Live Forever? http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324504704578412581386515510

POPULAR SCIENCE: The Top-Secret Warplanes of Area 51 http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2006-10/top-secret-warplanes-area-51?src=SOC&dom=fb

BY MR. ANDRES AGOSTINI

White Swan Book Author (Source of this Article)

www.LINKEDIN.com/in/andresagostini

www.AMAZON.com/author/agostini

www.appearoo.com/aagostini

http://connect.FORWARDMETRICS.com/profile/1649/Andres-Agostini.html

@AndresAgostini

@ThisSuccess

@SciCzar

By Arik Hesseldahl — Re/Code

Hacked Screen

Hackers operating somewhere in Eastern Europe have penetrated the networks of energy companies in the U.S., Spain, France and several other countries and may have gained the ability to carry out cyber-sabotage attacks, researchers at the security company Symantec said today.

In what’s being described as a departure from typical hacking attacks that are intended to steal intellectual property, the attackers gained access to industrial control systems used to maintain power grids and oil and gas pipelines and had the ability to take over operations or even damage them.

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Flickr By spcbrass

The headlines pound away at us day after day with ominous news. Ebola has the potential to spread around the globe through rapid transport on airplanes, trains and automobiles. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other health experts do not recommend shutting down air travel from West Africa. “If you try to shut down air travel and sea travel, you risk affecting to a huge extent the economy, people’s livelihoods and their ability to get around without stopping the virus from traveling,” said Greg Hartl, a World Health Organization spokesperson.

In a recent poll, a majority of Americans believe air travel restrictions are a necessity to stop the spread of Ebola in the United States. In fact, 56 percent said the federal government should bar those who have “recently” been in Ebola nations from entering the U.S. It is obvious we must find better ways to use technology to our advantage to detect people who are showing symptoms of the virus. This is where augmented reality and wearable technology can improve our detection rate of sick people stricken with Ebola.

Currently Ebola screening is taking place at five United States airports: Newark, Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Washington. US government officials claim that 95% of travels from West Africa would go through those airports to enter the United States. Once a traveller passed a screener check-point, they would be free to enter the US without being monitored after that point.

Recent promising technology developments show that thermal imaging devices can be attached to smartphones for use. Common sense would dictate that if we can leverage thermal imaging devices on smartphones that we can also use Augmented Reality (AR) wearable glasses for the same use. Meta Space Glasses, Vuzix, Epson, Google Glass and a host of other new wearable AR glasses could create an incredible opportunity to detect people with fevers that may be contagious with the Ebola virus just by looking at them with this promising technology.

FLIR One has an attachable device for the iPhone 5S that can turn it into a thermal imagine device for $349.99. That alone is impressive. This is a tangible use that is already on the market. Redesigning an Augmented Reality use would not be an impossible feat. A key feature, according to some online reviews of the FLIR One, is that the device can determine the temperature of a person or object in view.

I am not an expert in thermal imaging, but current technology should be able to develop an alert of a temperature on a person that exceeds 99 degrees Fahrenheit. If my Augmented Reality thermal imaging glasses detect a person with a heat signature of over 99 degrees Fahrenheit, a digital overlay alert pop-up could appear in front of my eyes. Border Patrol agents, police officers, medical professionals, school officials, and other vital stakeholders could easily monitor areas all over the country and world to be quickly alerted to someone who has a high fever. Many civilians would buy the device just to protect their own family! Medical teams could quickly identify someone who may be infected with the Ebola virus.

This is an incredible opportunity to finally show how Augmented Reality, coupled with other cutting-edge technologies can save countless lives. This solution can permeate throughout the United States and the world. If we look at computer security, a firewall alone is not the best defense to prevent a computer virus. An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) , along with a firewall, can detect suspicious traffic within a computer network and thwart a serious breach of security. AR thermal imaging glasses tweaked with accurate temperature alerts can be our Ebola IDS system which we desperately need.

The clock is ticking and we need to think outside the box to protect our communities and our families. The Augmented Reality community is an international group that has been pushing AR in a positive direction. It is our moment to shine and step up in this challenging time in history. The future of humanity may depend on it.

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[Update 10/18/14] — Augmented Legality Expert Brian Wassom responded to this article and discussed some of the legal ramifications of scanning someone with a thermal imaging device. Click HERE for his legal insight.

Brian Wassom also alerted me to a new thermal imaging device that rivals the FLIR One called the Seek Thermal Infared camera for smartphones for $199. Thanks to Twitter user @seeingwithsound. Wired.com reviews the device. What is interesting is that you can set the device to scan for skin temperatures of humans.

AR expert Frank Maggiore also advised me of the IR-Blue DM which also “connects using Bluetooth to your iPhone or Android device to show the temperature readings as colors on the screen” for $195. This clearly shows there are new options of devices on both Android and iOS to potentially use to stop Ebola.

Image Credit: Flickr By spcbrass

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Joseph Rampolla is a police Captain who has been teaching in the realm of cyber-crime, counter-terrorism, and emerging technologies. His passion is to teach about the positive uses of emerging technologies while raising awareness to the potential downside of innovation. He has dedicated his life to teaming up with eWarriors and Lifeboat supporters around the globe to protect the innocent in this lifelong mission. ” The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” by William James is one of his favorite quotes.

Joseph currently is the host of a global podcast called Augmented Reality Dirt. AR Dirt explores how augmented reality influences society, cyber-crime, and our legal system. AR Dirt has listeners in over 99 countries and can be heard free via iOS, Android, and Window devices. Go to www.ARdirt.com/ourapp to find out how to download it for free on your smartphone or tablet.