We Are The Robots
Dumont had volunteered at Liberty Science Center on Tuesday to don a computer-controlled exoskeleton that can be remotely manipulated to debilitate joints, vision, and hearing and shared with the crowd what aging feels like decades before his time.
As sophisticated algorithms can complete tasks we once thought impossible, computers are seeming to become a real threat to humanity. Whether they decide to pulp us into human meat paste, or simply make our work completely unnecessary, argues technology reporter Alex Hern, we should be afraid of computers
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WASHINGTON – It may not be the prettiest robot on the scene, but the angular blue creation from Google Inc’s newly acquired Japanese start-up is poised to secure more Pentagon funding to develop a creation capable of venturing into dangerous disaster zones to help humans.
Philip Hammond says he wants the UK to become a “world leader” in 5G, the next-generation mobile technology that proponents say is the key to an internet-connected world of driverless cars, smart home appliances, delivery drones and lightning-fast video on the go.
The government, which has published a 70-page tome on its future 5G strategy, said in the budget it would invest up to £16m to run trials and support the technology’s development, to make sure the UK is at the crest of the “next wave of mobile technology services”.
However, 5G, which is set to be rolled out in the UK next decade, also has its critics. They argue consumers don’t need the superfast speeds the upgrade from current 4G technology promises, and many in the industry believe that logistical issues mean that 5G may not be properly rolled out in the UK for decades. In the meantime, there are still basic infrastructure issues – including rural areas with little or no broadband coverage at all – that need sorting out.
Last month, the telecoms and media regulator Ofcom published an update on 5G which highlighted a plethora of supposed benefits the technology will provide. The list includes superfast speeds for mobile broadband – downloading a high-definition movie will take just 1 second compared with almost 10 minutes using the older 3G network and up to a minute on 4G.
The mass connectivity it allows will also help expand the so-called internet of things (IoT), in which everyday appliances and devices wirelessly connect to the internet and each other. “IoT technology is being used in everything from smart homes to wearables,” says Ofcom. “5G should help the evolution of IoT. Possible future applications could include real-time health monitoring of patients, street lighting to suit the weather or traffic, environmental monitoring and smart agriculture.”
Unfortunately, there is not a way to edit submitted feedback, wrote JillWatson, one of nine assistants for the300-plus students. Since January, Jill, as she was known to the artificial-intelligence class, had been helping graduate students design programs that allow computers to solve certain problems, like choosing an image to complete a logical sequence. IBM1.53%s Watson analytics system wrote things like Yep! and we’d love to, speaking on behalf of her fellow TAs, in the online forum where students discussed coursework and submitted projects.
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The tiny injectable machine could turn your noodle into a remote control. The Pentagon is attempting what was, until recently, an impossible technological feat developing a high-bandwidth neural interface that would allow people to beam data from their minds to external devices and back. One that could allow a soldier to, for example, control a drone with his mind.
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