From Science Daily:
European researchers developed technology that enables a robot to combine data from both sound and vision to create combined, purposeful perception. In the process, they have taken the field to a new level.
Currently, computer vision is good at recognising objects in images and videos and has been successfully employed in several specialised industrial applications, such as quality control during microchip fabrication.
But robotic perception is much weaker in less defined situations, like understanding and responding to human behaviour and even conversations. Yet, it is precisely this sort of interaction which promises the most compelling applications for future humanoid technology, where people-like robots can act as guides, or mix with people, or use perception to infer appropriate actions.
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Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
The Future of The Supercomputers
In mid-November Jaguar, located at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, was named as the world's fastest supercomputer. Recording a performance speed of 1.8 petaflops (One petaflop refers to one quadrillion calculations per second), it took the title away from former champion Roadrunner, at Los Alamos.
In under two years from now, we can expect the Blue Waters system to be be fully operational which, according to the NCSA, will mean:
... breakthroughs in nearly all fields of science using Blue Waters. They will predict the behavior of complex biological systems, understand how the cosmos evolved after the Big Bang, design new materials at the atomic level, predict the behavior of hurricanes and tornadoes, and simulate complex engineered systems like the power distribution system and airplanes and automobiles.
And predictions for the future currently look something like this (from Wikipedia):
Given the current speed of progress, supercomputers are projected to reach 1 exaflops (one quintillion FLOPS) in 2019. Futurist Ray Kurzweil expects supercomputers capable of human brain neural simulations, for which according to Kurzweil 10 exaflops would be required, in 2025.
Erik P. DeBenedictis of Sandia National Laboratories theorizes that a zettaflops (one sextillion FLOPS) computer is required to accomplish full weather modeling, which could cover a two week time span accurately. Such systems might be built around 2030.
In under two years from now, we can expect the Blue Waters system to be be fully operational which, according to the NCSA, will mean:
... breakthroughs in nearly all fields of science using Blue Waters. They will predict the behavior of complex biological systems, understand how the cosmos evolved after the Big Bang, design new materials at the atomic level, predict the behavior of hurricanes and tornadoes, and simulate complex engineered systems like the power distribution system and airplanes and automobiles.
And predictions for the future currently look something like this (from Wikipedia):
Given the current speed of progress, supercomputers are projected to reach 1 exaflops (one quintillion FLOPS) in 2019. Futurist Ray Kurzweil expects supercomputers capable of human brain neural simulations, for which according to Kurzweil 10 exaflops would be required, in 2025.
Erik P. DeBenedictis of Sandia National Laboratories theorizes that a zettaflops (one sextillion FLOPS) computer is required to accomplish full weather modeling, which could cover a two week time span accurately. Such systems might be built around 2030.
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Mind And Machine
As brain to computer interfacing inches towards becoming an everyday consumer reality, especially in the gaming market, breakthroughs in design and aesthetics will surely become an important consideration for manufacturers.There have no doubt been significant gains made in usability of non-invasive hardware for people with disabilities and neurological conditions over the last few years, but the point where the general populace becomes as conversant with BCI technology as they are with mobile phones or portable media players may be just around the corner. And what then on the software front?... social networking powered by thought alone?, fully immersive online experiences?... digital meditation?
It may have seemed like slow progress so far but the direct translation of thought into action may well be the next major technological consumer concept in the not too distant future, with all the usual suspects competing to sell you their own branded vision of the perfect digital lifestyle.
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Monday, 9 November 2009
Working With - Not Against
Given humanity's record for developing technology to use in defensive/militaristic arenas, and bearing in mind popular fears relating to state control of the populace, it's easy to become despondent and paranoid about where we might end up in a few years time. Dark dystopian images have been routinely touted in science fiction for decades, if not centuries, and all too often form a template from which many people (in lay and professional circles) formulate their own hypotheses of what the superintelligent future might look like.
However, railing against the powers that be and denouncing politicians and military leaders as harbingers of doom doesn't seem particularly constructive when you bear in mind that the entire cross-section of our species alive at the time of the Singularity, not just the currently interested parties, will need to be actively involved; if only to make sure the first superintelligent machines are working in a way that will be fully representative of the needs and desires of their creators.
A co-operative approach that gives citizens full and transparent access to national and global tech-development policies, and then allows them to feed back without fear of censorship, could be a necessity for the future. This would at least give the opportunity for decisions concerning these issues to result from democratic process... even if some people choose to abstain from voicing their opinions.
The Singularity Institute's Overview includes the following words:
"We can do better. The future doesn't have to be the dystopia promised by doomsayers. The future doesn't even have to be the flashy yet unimaginative chrome-and-computer world of traditional futurism. We can become smarter. We can step beyond the millennia-old messes created by human-level intelligence. Humanity can solve its problems – both the huge visible problems everyone talks about and the huge silent problems we've learned to take for granted. If the nature of the world we live in bothers you, there is something rational you can do about it. We can do better with your support."
However, railing against the powers that be and denouncing politicians and military leaders as harbingers of doom doesn't seem particularly constructive when you bear in mind that the entire cross-section of our species alive at the time of the Singularity, not just the currently interested parties, will need to be actively involved; if only to make sure the first superintelligent machines are working in a way that will be fully representative of the needs and desires of their creators.
A co-operative approach that gives citizens full and transparent access to national and global tech-development policies, and then allows them to feed back without fear of censorship, could be a necessity for the future. This would at least give the opportunity for decisions concerning these issues to result from democratic process... even if some people choose to abstain from voicing their opinions.
The Singularity Institute's Overview includes the following words:
"We can do better. The future doesn't have to be the dystopia promised by doomsayers. The future doesn't even have to be the flashy yet unimaginative chrome-and-computer world of traditional futurism. We can become smarter. We can step beyond the millennia-old messes created by human-level intelligence. Humanity can solve its problems – both the huge visible problems everyone talks about and the huge silent problems we've learned to take for granted. If the nature of the world we live in bothers you, there is something rational you can do about it. We can do better with your support."
Sunday, 8 November 2009
It's A Family Affair
Your dad might be on Facebook, your grandma might have a mobile phone... but what happens when a 'progressive' transhumanist has to face up to the fact that the people they love may be 'neo-luddites' who don't place on any significance on 2012, 2030 or any particular point in the near future?
"You get to live forever, you'll never get sick... you will be free to design your own reality and program the metaverse around you!"
"I'm lucky if I can turn my computer on, let alone download my brain" they'll say
Eligible adults in democratic societies are given the right to vote for their government and, if pre-election campaigning in your country is anything like it is here in the UK, you're made to feel guilty if you don't.
So, given that all our lives are increasingly affected by emerging technologies, isn't it about time we looked outwards from tight knit futurist forums and communities to make sure that those around us, especially the people closest to us, are aware that they might have to start thinking about these issues as well?
"You get to live forever, you'll never get sick... you will be free to design your own reality and program the metaverse around you!"
"I'm lucky if I can turn my computer on, let alone download my brain" they'll say
Eligible adults in democratic societies are given the right to vote for their government and, if pre-election campaigning in your country is anything like it is here in the UK, you're made to feel guilty if you don't.
So, given that all our lives are increasingly affected by emerging technologies, isn't it about time we looked outwards from tight knit futurist forums and communities to make sure that those around us, especially the people closest to us, are aware that they might have to start thinking about these issues as well?
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Rapture For The Geeks
It's probably safe to assume that Jesus Christ is not going to come back to earth to deliver the final judgement or that the world's going to end on 21 Dec 2012 as the Mayans reckoned. And we can only hope humanity's not going to get wiped out by interstellar projectiles, WMDs, pandemics, natural disasters or any combination thereof any time in the near future.
It might be more pragmatic, sadly, to talk about the realities of climate change, poverty and famine that are all too real for many people on this planet. Let's face it, we're not doing a very good job of looking after our Earth... or each other.
Perhaps keeping death front of mind is an unavoidable human preoccupation and theorising on the possible forms of a total apocalypse is symptomatic of this. Personally, I would hate to see the predicted singularity get put into the same bracket...
A.) Because we have proof that the preceding technological developments are actually happening right now... very frequently
and
B.) Because it could be so beautiful... climate change, poverty and famine could immediately become outmoded concepts that cease to have any sway in a world dominated by superintelligent transcendence
It's no bad thing to dream of a better reality but pay attention to the facts as they occur, otherwise you might be surprised at how different your dream was from somebody else's.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Controlling Utopia
So, we have a glimpse of the future and we have people we trust telling us that we will be able to steer our own destinies in ways that our limited imaginations can not yet fathom.
But wait... surely our passport to utopia is going to have to be rubber-stamped by the ruling bodies that usually fund and thus own technological development. Most people would accept that it is humanity's most base instincts that often lead in this respect, namely fear of domination and the motivation to strike them before you get struck. And when government agencies are in control of technological innovation, they tend to pander to these fears by looking first at defense programmes.
Following this line of thought, it's not hard to envision the network of corporate industrial concerns that lie behind manufacturing the new technology that our governments tell us our safety depends on. Basically, the latest technologies are often sponsored for military purposes and behind them is an expansive paper trail that catalogues contracts and mega-profits for captains of industry.
It's very refreshing to hear what the utopians and runaway optimists have to say... and no doubt many futurists and transhumanists would prefer to keep their heads in the sand when it comes to referencing notable technological advances of the past that were ultimately deployed with such dubious intentions.
One of the evident positives here is that the singularity will affect us both as a species and as individuals... and all of us, even global leaders and industrial chiefs, stand as individuals when it comes to facing a future that may see us relieved of the hitherto unquestioned necessities of physicality and survival. Indeed, in the accelerated age, notions of leadership, dominance and control may become distant concerns; washed away in the sudden realisation that we will have no need to fight each other to survive… as we will all be masters, with only the confines of the metaverse to hold us back.
But wait... surely our passport to utopia is going to have to be rubber-stamped by the ruling bodies that usually fund and thus own technological development. Most people would accept that it is humanity's most base instincts that often lead in this respect, namely fear of domination and the motivation to strike them before you get struck. And when government agencies are in control of technological innovation, they tend to pander to these fears by looking first at defense programmes.
Following this line of thought, it's not hard to envision the network of corporate industrial concerns that lie behind manufacturing the new technology that our governments tell us our safety depends on. Basically, the latest technologies are often sponsored for military purposes and behind them is an expansive paper trail that catalogues contracts and mega-profits for captains of industry.
It's very refreshing to hear what the utopians and runaway optimists have to say... and no doubt many futurists and transhumanists would prefer to keep their heads in the sand when it comes to referencing notable technological advances of the past that were ultimately deployed with such dubious intentions.
One of the evident positives here is that the singularity will affect us both as a species and as individuals... and all of us, even global leaders and industrial chiefs, stand as individuals when it comes to facing a future that may see us relieved of the hitherto unquestioned necessities of physicality and survival. Indeed, in the accelerated age, notions of leadership, dominance and control may become distant concerns; washed away in the sudden realisation that we will have no need to fight each other to survive… as we will all be masters, with only the confines of the metaverse to hold us back.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Where do you see your self in 30 years time?
Ray Kurzweil leads a group of professional and academic voices in declaring that the next few decades will see radical changes in the way we engage with technology... even sugesting that we will eventually transcend our bodies and take control of our own evolution.
It is thought that, by 2040, advances in artificial intelligence will have led to an existence dominated by nanotechnology and brain computer interfacing. In fact, technology is predicted to have progessed to such a degree by this point that we can barely imagine the possibilities.
Whether you choose to view such postulation with enthusiasm, indifference or dread, there's no denying that our collective role in this stream of accelerated change is already being hotly debated in certain scientific circles. There's even a Singularity University teaching relevant content to those who can afford it.
If such a future is an inevitability, then surely it's important to remember that it affects us all... and that we have the right make ourselves heard, whatever our opinions may be. That is to say, it's got to be encouraging to know that the people who should be working on this stuff may already be doing so but ask yourself where you fit in to this... beacuse it's you that it will affect.
It is thought that, by 2040, advances in artificial intelligence will have led to an existence dominated by nanotechnology and brain computer interfacing. In fact, technology is predicted to have progessed to such a degree by this point that we can barely imagine the possibilities.
Whether you choose to view such postulation with enthusiasm, indifference or dread, there's no denying that our collective role in this stream of accelerated change is already being hotly debated in certain scientific circles. There's even a Singularity University teaching relevant content to those who can afford it.
If such a future is an inevitability, then surely it's important to remember that it affects us all... and that we have the right make ourselves heard, whatever our opinions may be. That is to say, it's got to be encouraging to know that the people who should be working on this stuff may already be doing so but ask yourself where you fit in to this... beacuse it's you that it will affect.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Way Beyond Human
A new blog is born!... exploring theories and attitudes surrounding the technological singularity and how we can contribute to making it a positive reality
Stay tuned
Stay tuned
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