Interview with a robot: Life, love and everything as seen by a sentient machine June 30, 2015 Do androids dream of electric sheep? Actually, they are far more concerned with their own mortality. That’s how it is with Bina48, at least. She's a humanoid robot and, just like us humans, she suffers from the occasional nightmare. One, where she is back in her box having been disassembled and used to build other [...]
The second machine age is coming, and it’ll be bigger than the industrial revolution, says AI boss June 26, 2015 Before the industrial revolution, work was a very different experience for most humans. We were on our feet, working in the fields and interacting with people rather than technology – a world away from the desk-based computer jobs we have now. Read more: Darpa invents technology to let humans see beyond reality And once [...]
Facebook’s new photo-sharing app Moments uses artificial intelligence to recognise your face June 15, 2015 Sociable smartphone users looking to share photos with friends but somehow not satisfied with Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat or Instagram may have finally found the app they've been waiting for. Facebook Moments is the social media company's latest app which allows users to create shared photo albums stored in the cloud for free. Unlike existing apps, Moments [...]
Ocado’s making robots that will help in the workplace June 10, 2015 The online grocery company Ocado is getting into the robot business as work begins today on developing technology which will become humanoid helpers to workers. The company will work with leading researchers across Europe to combine artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced vision technologies to create robot support worker which can lend a helping hand. [...]
Grey swans turning white and artificial intelligence: These are the five best bits from Sir Martin Sorrell’s update June 9, 2015 Ahead of WPP's AGM today – in which Sir Martin Sorrell's pay packet was contested, but not thrown out – the advertising giant released its annual statement. As with previous years it was packed full with words of wisdom from Sorrell, looking at macro, political and social pressures as well as what was happening [...]
Could the humble password about to become a thing of the past? Here’s how brainwaves are being used in the battle for cyber security June 3, 2015 A new system allowing accounts to be unlocked using brainwaves could spell the end for passwords as we know them. Named “brainprints”, the system is the creation of a research team at Binghamton University in New York, and involves an application that can identify a person based on nothing more than their mental reactions to [...]
Facebook AI research: European robot lab opened in Paris to explore artificial intelligence June 2, 2015 Facebook has expanded its exploration of robot technology with the opening of a new European research centre. The Facebook AI research centre in Paris will be its third, building on existing teams in Silicon Valley and New York, and its first in Europe, looking into the application of artificial intelligence technology. "…[the] team will work [...]
Humans will be at the mercy of US killer robots in a matter of years, scientist warns May 28, 2015 There's no escape – robots capable of killing people without human intervention are on their way, and we will be utterly defenceless against them. This is the warning issued by Stuart Russell, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) professor at the University of California, Berkley. He says the US military is currently developing robots called Lethal Autonomous [...]
A whole swarm of robots can now be controlled with just the swipe of a finger May 13, 2015 It is now possible to control an entire fleet of robots just by gently swiping the screen of a smart tablet. The machines, which look more like cute toys than man-killing monsters, are drawn to wherever there is a beam of red light, and this can be determined by where you place your finger [...]
How to stop the machines from killing your job May 11, 2015 Invest in skills that complement tech but don’t compete with it. Rapid improvements in digital technology are changing the nature of human work. Computers can now recognise human speech and use it to carry out simple instructions. They work alongside humans in factories, warehouses and fields. And they can parse through large databases in [...]