The News lab at the company is working with Pitch Interactive and ProPublica to use machine learning to track and report on hate crimes around the country.
This will make it easier for people to find stories about their hate crime of choice.
Showing posts with label 21st Century. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 21st Century. Show all posts
Friday, 18 August 2017
Google Announces Hate Crime News Index
Although the YouTube version of removing hate crime videos hasn't worked very well (they've accidentally flagged documentaries about war crimes, too), Google News is going to have a "hate crime" addition.
The News lab at the company is working with Pitch Interactive and ProPublica to use machine learning to track and report on hate crimes around the country.
This will make it easier for people to find stories about their hate crime of choice.
The News lab at the company is working with Pitch Interactive and ProPublica to use machine learning to track and report on hate crimes around the country.
This will make it easier for people to find stories about their hate crime of choice.
Friday, 11 August 2017
They Can Grow New Body Parts from Cells ... Easily
Scientists recently published results that describe how they use TNT (not the explosive) to reprogram skin cells to make other types of cells they used in the body to fix problems.
The main things they did: make vascular cells to make blood flow again to test subjects (animals) with skin flaps and removed femoral arteries. They also made nerve cells to to help subjects recover from stroke.
The process has 2 parts: a chip (developed 6 years ago) that injects the "cargo," and the cargo itself -- plasmid, DNA, or even RNA. The cargo induces plasticity (it fires novel cell reprogramming factor genes into the skin cells) through tiny channels in the cell membranes (much smaller than the older process for doing this).
The researchers were "surprised how it worked so well" and don't completely understand it yet, but they've also achieved or see themselves achieving similar results in making insulin-producing cells that can sense glucose levels, changing white fat cells to brown, and working with eyes and ears.
They also explained that they see the technology going much further, relaying transfection to deeper than skin levels, since they can do this with almost any cell type. It requires no lab equipment, so they see it being done at point-of-care.
The main things they did: make vascular cells to make blood flow again to test subjects (animals) with skin flaps and removed femoral arteries. They also made nerve cells to to help subjects recover from stroke.
The process has 2 parts: a chip (developed 6 years ago) that injects the "cargo," and the cargo itself -- plasmid, DNA, or even RNA. The cargo induces plasticity (it fires novel cell reprogramming factor genes into the skin cells) through tiny channels in the cell membranes (much smaller than the older process for doing this).
The researchers were "surprised how it worked so well" and don't completely understand it yet, but they've also achieved or see themselves achieving similar results in making insulin-producing cells that can sense glucose levels, changing white fat cells to brown, and working with eyes and ears.
They also explained that they see the technology going much further, relaying transfection to deeper than skin levels, since they can do this with almost any cell type. It requires no lab equipment, so they see it being done at point-of-care.
Thursday, 20 July 2017
New Cameras That Don't Use Lenses
They can be super tiny, light, and very thin. They're the new cameras being developed by Caltech that use OPAs (optical phased array).
They made a new version of the same project they did last year; this time an 8x8 (64 receptor) lensless camera, as a small proof-of-concept that works.
"We've created a single thin layer of integrated silicon photonics that emulates the lens and sensor of a digital camera, reducing the thickness and cost of digital cameras. It can mimic a regular lens, but can switch from a fish-eye to a telephoto lens instantaneously -- with just a simple adjustment in the way the array receives light," according to the lead investigator.
The OPA is a grid of receptors. They each can be controlled to take in light from a particular direction. So, when they focus all their 64 receptors on a target that has 2 lights on in front, the 2 lights are perceived in the recorded image. The concept can be scaled up from there to higher resolution.
"We've created a single thin layer of integrated silicon photonics that emulates the lens and sensor of a digital camera, reducing the thickness and cost of digital cameras. It can mimic a regular lens, but can switch from a fish-eye to a telephoto lens instantaneously -- with just a simple adjustment in the way the array receives light," according to the lead investigator.
The OPA is a grid of receptors. They each can be controlled to take in light from a particular direction. So, when they focus all their 64 receptors on a target that has 2 lights on in front, the 2 lights are perceived in the recorded image. The concept can be scaled up from there to higher resolution.
Get Ready for Fake Video News
A team of computer science researchers have made an ex-president "lip-sync" words as they chose, and in a very realistic way.
The scientists used a neural network -- the AI tech everyone is talking about these days, and that recently beat the world Go champion.
They had the neural net study hours of Obama video and understand how his face moves. Then they used a program based on this understanding to make new videos of Obama's lips saying what they wanted them to. They cut and pasted Obama's body into two different scenes to show how realistic their fairly simple project could make anyone say anything on video.
The report, from a University of Washington team, is called "Synthesizing Obama: Learning Lip Sync from Audio."
The scientists used a neural network -- the AI tech everyone is talking about these days, and that recently beat the world Go champion.
They had the neural net study hours of Obama video and understand how his face moves. Then they used a program based on this understanding to make new videos of Obama's lips saying what they wanted them to. They cut and pasted Obama's body into two different scenes to show how realistic their fairly simple project could make anyone say anything on video.
The report, from a University of Washington team, is called "Synthesizing Obama: Learning Lip Sync from Audio."
Monday, 17 July 2017
Future of AI 'Scariest' Thing - Elon Musk
Musk has been making the point for a while now, and he repeated his opinion several times at a widely publicized long interview on stage at the the National Governors Association in Rhode Island this week.
He said he was exposed to the cutting edge of AI, and that it was the "scariest problem" facing human civilization. He it actually represented an "existential threat" to people, and he said it several times.
Musk said he didn't know of a solution for it.
He was also talking about electronic cars and solar power, and the discussion, complimented by several thoughtful questions from the governors in attendance, went into corporate and regulatory considerations in the 3 industries in question, but turned back to the dangers of AI frequently.
"AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes faulty, drugs or bad food were not. They were harmful to certain individuals within society but not to society as whole,” he said.
Musk said AI so unusual that people should be pro-active in regulating it before it's too late. When he was asked by the governors for details about what sort of regulation, he seemed to retreat a bit from the position and called for more insight to be collected at the government level, because currently, it doesn't even have that.
He gave a few examples of the kinds of dangers AI posed, too, after saying the biggest threat was a deep level AI inside networks. One example that seemed to quiet the room was that an AI programmed to maximize stock value could invest in military, pull out of consumer goods, and shoot down a passenger plane over a warring region, while sending an anonymous tip-off that there was an enemy plane flying near the plane, a situation similar to what actually happened with the second Malaysian Air plane on the Ukraine-Russia border a couple years ago (although Musk said he did not believe that particular instance was necessarily any kind of conspiracy).
He said he was exposed to the cutting edge of AI, and that it was the "scariest problem" facing human civilization. He it actually represented an "existential threat" to people, and he said it several times.
Musk said he didn't know of a solution for it.
He was also talking about electronic cars and solar power, and the discussion, complimented by several thoughtful questions from the governors in attendance, went into corporate and regulatory considerations in the 3 industries in question, but turned back to the dangers of AI frequently.
"AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes faulty, drugs or bad food were not. They were harmful to certain individuals within society but not to society as whole,” he said.
Musk said AI so unusual that people should be pro-active in regulating it before it's too late. When he was asked by the governors for details about what sort of regulation, he seemed to retreat a bit from the position and called for more insight to be collected at the government level, because currently, it doesn't even have that.
He gave a few examples of the kinds of dangers AI posed, too, after saying the biggest threat was a deep level AI inside networks. One example that seemed to quiet the room was that an AI programmed to maximize stock value could invest in military, pull out of consumer goods, and shoot down a passenger plane over a warring region, while sending an anonymous tip-off that there was an enemy plane flying near the plane, a situation similar to what actually happened with the second Malaysian Air plane on the Ukraine-Russia border a couple years ago (although Musk said he did not believe that particular instance was necessarily any kind of conspiracy).
Monday, 10 July 2017
Baseball Has Changed
Fly ball hitters are becoming all the rage, and baseball players are now changing their swings in order to hit more in the air, recognizing this is good for their careers, and the ball has been changed for the same purpose (lower seams for less drag which means more carry and therefore more up in the air). More fly balls means more exciting homers during a game.
That's not the only change baseball fans are talking about. Baseball is talking about making changes to the game so there is less down-time when nothing is happening (to compete with action-packed basketball and football), including a possible pitch clock.
Also, baseball players are specializing. Young players are no longer working on a rounded skill set, and that goes especially for hitters.
That's not the only change baseball fans are talking about. Baseball is talking about making changes to the game so there is less down-time when nothing is happening (to compete with action-packed basketball and football), including a possible pitch clock.
Also, baseball players are specializing. Young players are no longer working on a rounded skill set, and that goes especially for hitters.
The 105th Country to Abolish the Death Penalty
Mongolia, after a lengthy process, has abolished the death penalty. The country hasn't done one since 2008.
The news was reported by Amnesty International, which keeps track of executions around the world in all countries except China, which prevents them from monitoring executions there. In fact, China considers that information a "state secret." Although the numbers are not known exactly, China executes several times the number of all other nations combined each year.
The news was reported by Amnesty International, which keeps track of executions around the world in all countries except China, which prevents them from monitoring executions there. In fact, China considers that information a "state secret." Although the numbers are not known exactly, China executes several times the number of all other nations combined each year.
Hot New Trend: Green Walls
Large vertical gardens planted on walls outdoors is the latest city-cooling venture being undertaken in places like warm dry Madrid.
Right now people are talking about the wall outside the CaixaForum, on which 15,000 plants from 300 native species grow, including yucca, ferns and begonias. The wall is as long as a city block. It has been there since 2008, though, designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc.
The CaixaForum wall is built using a polyurethane sheet, a plastic mesh, and a non-biodegradable felt blanket (which acts like a sponge to hold water and provide a place for roots to take hold). Water is fed by irrigation hose lines from the top of the wall.
How does greenery improve cities? Besides the shade it provides (keeping the sun from baking the pavement and building walls), it dampens city noise, releases water vapor into the air, increasing humidity, which can be a good thing in places that are not already uncomfortably humid, and adds oxygen to the air. City residents also like the look of the walls, and they provide a focus for tourism (visitors to cities don't often get to see the variety of plants native to the country).
Besides building roof and wall gardens, Madrid is funneling city funds (and offering tax breaks) into expanding parks, converting vacant spaces into gardens and parks (water is provided by re-paving certain areas with rainwater-capturing porous material), installing heat-deflecting windows, and painting roofs to reflect sunlight.
According to an architectural firm consulted by the city, if Madrid covered 10-25% of its roofs or walls in greenery, noise would be cut 10 decibels, particle pollution would go down 20%, and temperatures would go down 18 degrees F.
Monday, 19 June 2017
Movement Growing: Fixing Things Instead of Buying New Ones
An example getting some attention right now is MIT graduate student, Peter Mui, who 8 years ago started a sort of club for fixing things.
They're called Fixit Clinics. They started out at MIT but spread over the country (there are 100s now), teaching people who want to learn how to fix things like toasters, tripods, kettles, and just about anything else ... rather than throwing them away and buying new ones.
One of the reasons the clinics are happening is because there aren't really repair shops in North America anymore. No one really fixes things.
They're called Fixit Clinics. They started out at MIT but spread over the country (there are 100s now), teaching people who want to learn how to fix things like toasters, tripods, kettles, and just about anything else ... rather than throwing them away and buying new ones.
One of the reasons the clinics are happening is because there aren't really repair shops in North America anymore. No one really fixes things.
Friday, 9 June 2017
'Deep State' Enters Popular Vocabulary
It has come up during the Comey hearings, bringing the term to a wide audience.
It's a conspiracy-theory type term that started 60 years ago: It means that besides the regular U.S. government, there is a secret-ish organization of security officials across various governmental domains which work together to enforce their values and goals.
Currently, some Trump supporters are pointing to the Deep State and saying it is behind an attempt to damage the president, and the current Comey investigation is part of this attempt.
It's a conspiracy-theory type term that started 60 years ago: It means that besides the regular U.S. government, there is a secret-ish organization of security officials across various governmental domains which work together to enforce their values and goals.
Currently, some Trump supporters are pointing to the Deep State and saying it is behind an attempt to damage the president, and the current Comey investigation is part of this attempt.
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