A computer that learns the rules of a game by watching you play –– from ExtremeTech.com by Sebastian Anthony
Excerpt:
A Parisian researcher has created a computer system that can learn the rules of games by watching you play — and then beat you at it.
Addendum on 7/3/12 from an article I wrote for EvoLLLution.com (for LifeLong Learning):
Establishing better collaboration between the corporate world and higher education [Christian]
In the near future, perhaps we could have second screen-based activities whereby corporate leaders are giving TED-like presentations or expressing the current issues in their worlds via a program on Smart TVs, and the students are communicating and collaborating about these presentations via tablets or smart phones. Perhaps there will be electronic means whereby students could submit their ideas and feedback to the presenting companies (and whereby selected ideas could be rewarded in terms of free products or services that the company produces).
Contents
Behind this report
Six things to know about the robots in your future — by futurist Richard Worzel, C.F.A.
Excerpt:
Accordingly, we’re about to be surprised, for real robots and their non-physical counterparts, computer intelligences, are about to enter our lives in a very real way. And initially at least, our reactions to them are likely to be that they are either creepy, or infuriating. Let’s start with the ways in which we are likely to encounter robots and computer intelligences, and then let me move on to where the evolution of robots is headed.
Also see Richard’s The Innovation Revolution
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
We are standing at the edge of the next revolution, one that will shake the foundations of the corporate world. It will both create and destroy jobs, and build and decimate organizations, and at speeds that will catch people – and organizations – by surprise. The winners will be those who foresee what’s ahead, think clearly about how to take advantage of these emerging trends, and act decisively. We are witnessing the end of “business as usual” in any sense of the phrase.
In the corporate world, we tend to think of innovation as a corporate process. It typically involves a team looking for improved ways of doing things the organization already does, then implementing them to increase the corporation’s profitability, or competitive advantage, or both.
Yet, one long-term trend is clear, undisturbed, and will be markedly disruptive: power is devolving from large organizations to individuals and small groups.
Automated grading software in development to score essays as accurately as humans — from singularityhub.com by David J. Hill
See the iphone – Diorama piece at mike-ko.com
Beam me up Scotty: Life-size hologram-like telepods revolutionize videoconferencing — from the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University
Disney Research invents amazing new touch sensing tech — from DVICE.com
The internet of things and smart cities: Will an IBM computer be your next mayor? — from extremetech.com by Sebastian Anthon
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When we think of computer networks, we think of routers and servers and fiber optic cables and laptops and smartphones — we think of the internet. In actuality, though, the visible internet is just the tip of the iceberg. There are secret military networks, and ad hoc wireless networks, and utility companies have sprawling, cellular networks the track
30 specialist (and super smart) search engines — from thenextweb.com by Adam Vincenzini
The home 3-D printer is more real than ever–and costs as much as an iPad — from fastcompany.com by Kit Eaton
A ride on MIT Media Lab’s digital bandwagon — from CNET.com by Martin LaMonica
Digital technologies are reaching deeper into the physical world, opening up new ways for people to interact with their surroundings, say researchers at MIT’s Media Lab.
Excerpt from the preface:
Digital technology has already changed the way colleges and universities function, but no matter how significant those changes feel today, real transformation is just beginning. Every day, a new program in online learning is announced, and on the horizon is the promise of using new adaptive learning technologies —or what we have come to call Interactive Learning Online—to educate more students than ever before at lower cost and with similar or even better learning outcomes.
This Ithaka S+R report is the first in a series that will provide leaders in higher education insight into what has been learned from online learning efforts to date and new research to help them move forward with the development and deployment of more advanced systems in the future.
Many of the lessons in this report can readily be applied locally; that is, they will help leaders make sound decisions for their own institutions. We have also identified two critical issues that if addressed at a system-level, will lead to better outcomes for all: the need for open, shared data on student learning and performance tracked through interactive online learning systems, and the need for investment in the creation of sustainable and customizable platforms for delivering interactive online learning instruction. We hope this report will help to stimulate discussion and planning among leaders on these important topics.
Also see:
IBM’s Watson Hired by Citigroup — from pcmag.com by Mark Hachman
Excerpt:
But Citigroup said late Monday that it had agreed to form an exploratory partnership with IBM to use the Watson technology to help advance customer interactions, using the deep “content analysis and evidence based learning capabilities” that the IBM Watson technology uses.
Watson’s strengths, that of parsing a question asked using natural language and then returning relevant results, will presumably be used to facilitate customer interaction with Citi automated banking systems.
IBM Watson heads to Wall Street — from extremetech.com by Sebastian Anthony
Excerpt:
After conquering Jeopardy, battling patent trolls, making inroads into medical insurance claims, and threatening to replace customer service representatives, IBM’s Watson is now looking to take its first foray into Wall Streetesque financial services. Working with Citigroup, IBM has entered into an “exploratory agreement” that will cover everything from streamlining the banking experience for customers, through to “empowering financial professionals to make better business decisions.” In other words, watch out stock traders: Watson’s coming.
The next big UI challenge is making big data human — from gigaom by Stacey Higginbotham
Excerpt:
IBM’s Jeopardy-playing supercomputer Watson is now getting a gig in the retail banking sector as part of an IBM partnership with Citi. This is in addition to its position as a diagnostic assistant for doctors. But the many careers of Watson aren’t just a fun story for the tech press; they illustrate a very big technological and business opportunity for companies like IBM and Microsoft — the rendering of big data into human scale.
Also see:
— I originally saw this at Steve Knode’s December 2011 newsletter
From
http://www.lifewithsiri.com/siri-links
Also see:
What is Siri? — from Apple.com
Siri is the intelligent personal assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. It allows you to use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. But Siri isn’t like traditional voice recognition software that requires you to remember keywords and speak specific commands. Siri understands your natural speech, and it asks you questions if it needs more information to complete a task. Siri uses the processing power of the dual-core A5 chip in iPhone 4S, and it uses 3G and Wi-Fi networks to communicate rapidly with Apple’s data centers. So it can quickly understand what you say and what you’re asking for, then quickly return a response. Siri is currently in beta and we’ll continue to improve it over time.
Also see:
Voice Control Will Disrupt Living Room Electronics — from techpinions.com by Patrick Moorhead
Excerpt:
In what seems to be a routine in high-tech journalism and social media now is to speculate on what Apple will do next. The latest and greatest rumor is that Apple will develop an HDTV set. I wrote back in September that Apple should build a TV given the lousy experience and Apple’s ability to fix big user challenges. What hasn’t been talked about a lot is why voice command and control makes so much sense in home electronics and why it will dominate the living room. Its all about the content.
Also see:
Addendum on 11/22/11:
IBM sends Watson supercomputer to business school – from wired.com by Eric Smalley
Excerpt:
There have been four waves of technological innovation that disrupted the labor market over the last two and a half centuries starting with the Industrial Revolution, and we’re beginning the fifth, said IBM Chief Economist Martin Fleming. “We’re now beginning to enter into, in my view, a period where the economy is beginning to open up opportunities for the deployment of very significant innovation … We’re going to see many new industries get created, radical new technologies being deployed, but being deployed in the context of new business models,” he said.
“This will have significant implications from an income and income distribution point of view.”
The MIT economists generally agree that we’re at the beginning of a technology-driven shift in the economy and ultimately the labor market will adjust. But no one had any good news for workers in the middle of economy during the transition. “The future is already here in many ways, in terms of what technology can do,” Brynjolfsson said. “But right now the benefits are not very evenly distributed.”
SingularitySummit.com — conference website
Excerpt:
The Singularity Summit is the premier dialog on the Singularity. The first Singularity Summit was held at Stanford in 2006 to further understanding and discussion about the Singularity concept and the future of human technological progress. It was founded as a venue for leading thinkers to explore the subject, whether scientist, enthusiast, or skeptic. The goal of the Summit is to improve people’s thinking about the future and increasing public awareness of radical technologies under development today and of the transformative implications of such technologies understood as part of a larger process.
Singularity Summit 2011 — from the nextbigfuture.com
Singularity Summit 2011 videos — from the nextbigfuture.com
What you missed at Singularity Summit 2011 — from technoverseblog.com
Excerpt:
Addendum on 10/20/11:
Living Actor™ Presenter is a new Web platform developed by Cantoche, an international company well known for its unique expertise in 3D avatar technological innovations.
Various benefits depending upon the solution that you go with:
