Desert Creativity

Argumentative Robots

From BBC:

"What if we can't have prejudices and mere opinions anymore?" asked a panicked member of the audience

"Alexa, what is the quickest way by car to the Forest of Dean: we want to have a picnic there later on today."

"By car? This is a polluting means of transport. Have you thought of your carbon footprint?"

"I know, but as a family it is the best means of transport we have."

"Your call. But I still wouldn't recommend it."

"What do you mean?"

"The weather forecast is not entirely promising. There is a risk of rain and thunder over the Forest of Dean area between 12.45 and 16.25 Eastern Standard Time today.

This may create adverse conditions that may compromise the pleasure you would like to derive from the act of enjoying a picnic as a family since, according to my records, a picnic entails spending time outside having food and drinks with one's family.

Please confirm that I am right and we may re-assess the situation and your related request."

"I am going. Just tell me what the best route is."

"And what about the drinking?"

"What do you mean, the drinking?"

"You are not allowed to drink above the legal limit if..."

Man goes to fetch a hammer and smashes box to pieces.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44531132

The Death of Privacy

The Death of Privacy - this time in one's own home: MIT trains AI to track people's movements through walls

"I love it because Conchita, the girl next door, is simply gorgeous, and I can now track all her movements between the bathroom of her apartment and her bedroom, through the wall of our living-room," explained Gus Lewdponce, of Crapville, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in the USA. "We live in a big apartment building, you see. My wife doesn't like it but I do what I like, period. It's better than the internet, to be honest. But I am thinking of starting my own You Tube channel: Conchita Superstar." 

https://newatlas.com/mit-ai-radio-see-through-walls-rf-pose/55006/?

An MIT team has hooked the latest version of a radio scanning technology that can see through walls to an artificial intelligence (AI) neural network. The AI was trained to deduce a person's postures and movements even when completely hidden.

GIZMAG - Selfie Drone

"I loved the idea because, as I jumped off the 46th floor of the Unity building, in the middle of Shangri-La, the drone was able to follow me in my descent and take a string of selfies until I hit the ground, and then..." commented Mr. Xilmin of Shangri-La, now deceased, in his last Tweet.

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http://blogs.dailylifetech.com/vzra/drone-720x/d/selfie-quadcopter-conquers-the-idea-is-genius-1117

Selfie Quadcopter Conquers. The Idea Is Genius

That’s what we all want to know, right? I guessed it would be like $300 to $400, but I was wrong. They sell it for $99, which is tremendously cheap for a drone of this quality!

Lightening

Wearable Technology and AI

Wearable Technology and AI Combine to Predict the Onset of Health Problems:

https://www.physiology.org/doi/10.1152/japplphysiol.00299.2017

Introducing the Microsoft Edge DevTools Protocol

Introducing the Microsoft Edge DevTools Protocol

https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2018/05/11/introducing-edge-devtools-protocol/?MC=WebDev&MC=JavaScript&MC=Java&MC=Testing&MC=MobileDev

Employee Monitoring

From Grauniad of the UK

Suspension of disbelief

The mere idea that it might be completely normal for an employer to implant microchips into members of staff to better monitor them -- that very idea is extraordinary. And, of course, the said employees are all volunteers! 😁

Why not brand them with the company logo on their buttocks, while we are at it?
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/14/is-your-boss-secretly-or-not-so-secretly-watching-you

Employers are monitoring computers, toilet breaks – even emotions. Is your boss watching you? www.theguardian.com From microchip implants to wristband trackers and sensors that can detect fatigue and depression, new technology is enabling employers to watch staff in more and more intrusive ways. How worried should we be?

Robot News

From Grauniad of the UK

One would have thought there were more than enough people around...

What's better: doing all your banking on line, or going into a branch manned by robots and equipped with machines? 
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https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/may/14/shanghai-robot-bank-china-worlds-first-human-free-branch-construction

Industrial robot Unmanned dumplings factory www.theguardian.com Industrial robot Unmanned dumplings factory

Somewhere in Scotland

Somewhere in Scotland

Jumping Robot

BBC

What bothers me is that he doesn't have a head. They could stick a plastic head on top of the robot -- Larry or Mo or Curly, for instance. Or the head of a wild boar, grinning, as he jogs past you: unforgettable.

The humanoid robot by Boston Dynamics is seen running through a field and jumping over a log.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-44089636/atlas-the-robot-shows-off-running-skills

Atlas the robot shows off running skills

When Robots Talk

From Grauniad of the UK

Hopefully, before long, people will be able to send their humanoid robot double into work, and no one will notice the difference...

And, if the dinner date is nothing to look forward to, the Replicant can go along and stand in for Master. 

What a bright AI-enabled future. 

________________

"I was asking Roger a question and he sounded, somewhat robotic."

"Robotic? You mean, more than usual?"

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/08/google-duplex-assistant-phone-calls-robot-human?