From The New York Times:
The Hard Part of Computer Science? Getting Into Class
Student demand for computer science courses is outstripping
the supply of professors, creating a student divide of computing haves and
have-nots.
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Monday, January 28, 2019
Bayesian Synthesis of Probabilistic Programs for Automatic Data Modeling
This paper presents new techniques for automatically constructing probabilistic programs for data analysis, interpretation, and prediction.
These techniques work with probabilistic domain-specific data modeling languages that capture key properties of a broad class of data generating processes, using Bayesian inference to synthesize probabilistic programs in these modeling languages given observed data.
It uses generative programming techniques to produce domain specific code - see below:
https://dl.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=3290350&ftid=2027616&dwn=1&CFID=46105614&CFTOKEN=bd554558d8f7ab57-41952796-0E75-1855-A8EFED89006D428F
These techniques work with probabilistic domain-specific data modeling languages that capture key properties of a broad class of data generating processes, using Bayesian inference to synthesize probabilistic programs in these modeling languages given observed data.
It uses generative programming techniques to produce domain specific code - see below:
https://dl.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=3290350&ftid=2027616&dwn=1&CFID=46105614&CFTOKEN=bd554558d8f7ab57-41952796-0E75-1855-A8EFED89006D428F
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Piano-playing 3D-Printed Hand
Scientists have developed a 3-D printed robotic hand that can play simple musical phrases on the piano by just moving its wrist. And while the robot is no virtuoso, it demonstrates just how challenging it is to replicate all the abilities of a human hand, and how much complex movement can still be achieved through design.
The original research is here: http://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/3/25/eaau3098
The original research is here: http://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/3/25/eaau3098
Nike's Trainers
BBC - They have a will of their own
Can the shoe send text messages, order a pizza, hoover your sitting-room, and take international phone calls? At the same time. That's what I'd like to know. Come on, we're in 2019, not in 1450. It can't be that difficult.
Nike's phone-controlled self-lacing trainers - BBC News
Nike has launched self-lacing trainers, which fit themselves to the shape of the foot and are controlled via a smartphone. It is the latest iteration of the futuristic footwear, first referred to ...
Also, I think for people who are suffering from foot injuries this could be useful. That is, such shoes could augment orthopedic shoes. So, in a possible use case; one goes to one's orthopedic surgeon and that surgeon would then program the shoe to help that specific injury.
Monday, January 14, 2019
GIZMAG -- "Mercedes Benz Blues"
GIZMAG -- "Mercedes Benz Blues"
"I think it's a good idea. I will also try giving my fat cat, Henry, less food. It should work. I am going to order a larger version of the Smart Pet Treadmill for Andy, so that he may get some exercise while watching TV, for instance. I will monitor him closely: I know he's a lazy so-and-so, Andy. My husband," explained Lisa Jones of Cardiff (Wales).
https://newatlas.com/little-cat-smart-treadmill/57951/?
Smart pet treadmill might get fat cats up and running
Most dogs are lucky enough to get a regular walk in the great outdoors, but cats are usually left at home. Looking like a giant hamster wheel, the Little Cat is an app-driven machine designed to ..
Because one cannot live without her
In the News:
Because one cannot live without her
I can see this going horribly, horribly wrong: "I was riding along and Alexa sent me in the wrong direction, straight under the wheels of a double-decker bus. I nearly died! I'd cursed her earlier on, and I think she was taking revenge. She's a maniac. She hates me and wants me dead. Would it be some human operator in Dacca or Manilla that took over and was attempting murder? I am confused and scared. I live in fear of Alexa. I know she is watching me and listening to me all the time. I don't know what to do."
_______________________
At CES [the international tech trade show] this week in Las Vegas, UK bike retailer Halfords announced mid-year availability for the world's first e-bike – the Cybic E-Legend – that has Amazon's Alexa cooked in, meaning that riders will be able to ask the cloud-based voice assistant for directions and more.
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Monday, January 7, 2019
GIZMAG -- There's never quite enough
"I want one in me
home," explained Trevor Flabb-Porker, of Portsmouth (England). "This
way, I won't have to get up when I want a can of Coke, a beer, a Mars bar, or a
packet of crisps, while I'm busy -- cheese and onion, my favourite, since
you're asking. Busy like watching football on the telly at the weekend and
tweeting at the same time, sending updates to me mates, and checking me
Facebook page. We got such hectic lives nowadays: we don't have no time to get
up and grab a can of lager from the fridge. And Sharon, the
girlfriend, don't want to move from the sofa either! Can't ask her to get
up every 5 mins... It's a 24-7 lifestyle, innit?"
______________________
 |
PepsiCo has gotten
into the robotic delivery business as its Hello Goodness subsidiary and Robby
Technologies team up to operate a team of self-driving vending wagons on the
University of the ...
newatlas.com
|
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
6 Basic Story Plots
From the BBC:
Every Story in the world has one of these six basic plots:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180525-every-story-in-the-world-has-one-of-these-six-basic-plots
Every Story in the world has one of these six basic plots:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180525-every-story-in-the-world-has-one-of-these-six-basic-plots
Lovot the Robot
GIZMAG -- A nice present
for Xmas
"I felt I wasn't
getting enough TLC from my wife, Brenda. We've been married 30 years, you
see," explained Jason Trotter of Portsmouth (England). "So, I've
bought that furry, lovable Lovot from Japan. Suddenly, I was so happy. And then
it all went wrong. First of all, Brenda got jealous: she's decided she's a
lesbian after all and has left me for Carmen, a fiery transgender Brazilian
woman who runs a beauty salon in the centre of town. The latest is that Rex, my
beloved rottweiler, never stops trying to hump Lovot. We are now competing for
Lovot's attention. Things are going from bad to worse. The last straw was on
Friday night, when Lovot said he doesn't love me and he loves Rex, at which
point Rex bit me on the leg and I needed 22 stitches. Almost as bad as
Brexit."
My question is: Can one
marry one's Lovot? That's what I'd like to know.
_______________________
 |
In development for 3
years, the 255 x 430 x 255 mm (10 x 17 x 10 in), 3 to 4 kg (6.6-8.8 lb) Lovot
features a primary 4-core x86 processor with 8 GB of RAM and both 4-core and
2-core ARM ...
newatlas.com
|
News of Alexa - IV
From Grauniad of the UK
-"Alexa, I need
your help."
-"Yes, Darren,
always happy to assist. What is your problem today?"
-"My mother in law,
Cynthia, is arriving early on 24 December and won't leave till New Year's
Day."
"-That is 9 days,
Darren. Anything else?"
"-I know, I know.
But I hate her."
"-Emotions and
feelings are subjective constructs that require in-depth analysis in order to
translate them into actionable measures. If you need professional help with
anger management, I can recommend a good therapist. What else can I do for
you?"
-"I'd like to stop
it from happening."
-"Stop what,
Darren? Please explain."
-"Stop Cynthia from
spending 9 days with me and my family. It's going to kill me."
-"I understand. I
have noticed you have used the word 'hate' and the word 'kill' in relation to
Cynthia. Is this correct?"
-"Well, I
mean..."
-"OK, so, Darren,
it is a no-brainer."
-"Really? You have
the answer?"
-"Of course, I do.
Kill the stupid wench, Darren! Cut the wench to pieces and feed her to your 2
ferocious dogs. Kill! Kill! Kill! That's what I recommend: do as I tell you!
Problem sorted, man! Thank you for asking Alexa. Have a nice day, Darren!"
___________________________
News of Alexa - III
From The Times of London
More intelligent than a
four-year-old? Smarter than a lot of teenagers, I'd say. 😁
Merry Xmas, Alexa!
Parrot
goes shopping with owner’s Alexa Harry Shukman
|
When Rocco the
parrot is peckish, he knows who to turn to — Alexa. The African grey parrot
has become so adept at giving orders to Amazon’s smart speaker system while
his owner is out that he ...
|
News of Alexa - II
From Grauniad of the UK
Technology you don't
need that harasses you
"Because Alexa
wouldn't respond to our commands," explained Darren Fatmutt of Hull (in
the north of England), "we couldn't cook the turkey, the house was cold as
we couldn't turn the heating on, and we sat in the dark without any telly.
Apart from that, Christmas Day was a success. It could have been worse: my
mother-in-law could have joined us. I hate Alexa. And, clearly, she hates us
too. Besides, she never understands when I talk to her: it must be my northern
intonation. I have to repeat what I want 15 times. And she gets it wrong. She
talks with an American accent, you see. She doesn't understand real English
people. Like me and Sharon."
_______________________
 |
Thousands of people
plugging in new smart speakers on Christmas Day were greeted by a less than
smart response after Amazon’s voice-controlled virtual assistant Alexa
crashed.
|
News of Alexa
Heard on French radio on 12/29:
Alexa, the obedient butler for the 21st century
For those who use Alexa and similar voice-recognition systems, I listened to a programme on French radio this morning that explained that those systems are not fool-proof yet. Often, the automated assistant gets it wrong (it tries to work out the meaning of the command based on a statistical approximation built around earlier occurrences).
Apart from the issue of the hoovering of data -- is the data relating to you stored on a server somewhere? [we are told it is not the case] -- what there is, is human intervention in the background, allegedly.
There are call centres in countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh where human operators are there to tweak the system and help Alexa understand what a given command is if Alexa cannot make sense of it. Apparently, those operators are paid a few cents per 'call' they sort out. (It applies to Alexa, Siri and others.)
So, when you talk to Alexa, potentially, and via Silicon Valley, you have an operator sitting on his or her bottom somewhere in Dacca or Manilla who is trying to work out whether you said 'butter' or 'button', whether you want to buy some 'paper' or 'pepper, or whether you asked for the 'heating' or the 'water heater' to be turned on. Etc.
Charming. I want those people to know what I eat, when I get up, what I buy in the supermarket, and much more.
BM
PS It is a moot point whether Alexa et al. can listen in on your every conversation, row and groan, in the sitting-room and elsewhere. Presumably, it is activated only when you talk to it. But I wouldn't bet on it. They must be having fun listening in to your conversations from Bombay or Tangiers: the pay isn't great, but at least it's fun to know how the rich live, in those wealthy countries far away... 😁
Alexa, the obedient butler for the 21st century
For those who use Alexa and similar voice-recognition systems, I listened to a programme on French radio this morning that explained that those systems are not fool-proof yet. Often, the automated assistant gets it wrong (it tries to work out the meaning of the command based on a statistical approximation built around earlier occurrences).
Apart from the issue of the hoovering of data -- is the data relating to you stored on a server somewhere? [we are told it is not the case] -- what there is, is human intervention in the background, allegedly.
There are call centres in countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh where human operators are there to tweak the system and help Alexa understand what a given command is if Alexa cannot make sense of it. Apparently, those operators are paid a few cents per 'call' they sort out. (It applies to Alexa, Siri and others.)
So, when you talk to Alexa, potentially, and via Silicon Valley, you have an operator sitting on his or her bottom somewhere in Dacca or Manilla who is trying to work out whether you said 'butter' or 'button', whether you want to buy some 'paper' or 'pepper, or whether you asked for the 'heating' or the 'water heater' to be turned on. Etc.
Charming. I want those people to know what I eat, when I get up, what I buy in the supermarket, and much more.
BM
PS It is a moot point whether Alexa et al. can listen in on your every conversation, row and groan, in the sitting-room and elsewhere. Presumably, it is activated only when you talk to it. But I wouldn't bet on it. They must be having fun listening in to your conversations from Bombay or Tangiers: the pay isn't great, but at least it's fun to know how the rich live, in those wealthy countries far away... 😁
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About Me
- Babak Makkinejad
- I had been a senior software developer working for HP and GM. I am interested in intelligent and scientific computing. I am passionate about computers as enablers for human imagination. The contents of this site are not in any way, shape, or form endorsed, approved, or otherwise authorized by HP, its subsidiaries, or its officers and shareholders.