How Artificial intelligence experts sign open letter to protect mankind from machines

The Future of Life Institute wants humanity to tread lightly while on the road to human-level artificial intelligence.

"Charlie" is an ape-like robotic system that walks on four limbs, demonstrated here in March 2014 in Hanover, Germany. The robot could conceivably be used in the kind of rough terrain found on the moon, or it could be a stepping stone toward humanity's destruction.

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We're certainly decades away from the technological prowess to develop our very own sociopathic supercomputer that will enslave mankind, but artificial intelligence experts are already preparing for the worst when, not if, the singularity happens.

AI experts around the globe are signing an open letter, put forth Sunday by the Future of Life Institute, that pledges to safely and carefully coordinate and communicate about the progress of the field to ensure it does not grow beyond humanity's control. The signees already include co-founders of Deep Mind, the British AI company purchased by Google in January 2014, MIT professors and experts at some of technology's biggest corporations, including from within IBM's Watson supercomputer team and Microsoft Research.

"Success in the quest for artificial intelligence has the potential to bring unprecedented benefits to humanity, and it is therefore worthwhile to research how to maximize these benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls," the letter's summary reads. Attached to the letter is a research document outlining where the pitfalls lie and what needs to be established to continue safely pursuing AI.

Thee most immediately concerns for the Future of Life Institute are areas like machine ethics and self-driving cars -- will our vehicles be able to maximize risk without killing their drivers in the process? -- and autonomous weapons systems, among other problematic applications of AI. But the long-term plan is to stop treating fictional dystopias as pure fantasy and to begin readily addressing the possibility that intelligence greater than our own could one day begin acting against its programming.

The Future of Life Institute is a volunteer-only research organization whose primary goal is mitigating the potential risks of human-level man-made intelligence that may then advance exponentially. In other words, it's the early forms of the Resistance in the "Terminator" films, trying to stave off Skynet before it inevitably destroys us. It was founded by scores of decorated mathematicians and computer science experts around the world, chiefly Jaan Tallinn, a co-founder of Skype, and MIT professor Max Tegmark.

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who sits on the institute's Scientific Advisory Board, has been vocal in the last couple of years about AI development, calling it "summoning the demon" in an MIT talk in October 2014 and actively investing in the space, which he said may be more dangerous than nuclear weapons, to keep an eye on it.

"I'm increasingly inclined to think there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don't do something very foolish," Musk said at the time. Famed physicist Stephen Hawking, too, is wary of AI. He used last year's Johnny Depp film "Transcendence," which centered on conceptualizing what a post-human intelligence looks like, to talk about the dangers of AI.

"One can imagine such technology outsmarting financial markets, out-inventing human researchers, out-manipulating human leaders, and developing weapons we cannot even understand," Hawking co-wrote in an article for the Independent in May 2014, alongside Future of Life Institute members Tegmark, Stuart Russell and Frank Wilczek.

"Whereas the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it," they added, "the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all."

Originally found at:

http://www.cnet.com/news/artificial-intelligence-experts-sign-open-letter-to-protect-mankind-from-machines/

How Coming to a Car Near You: CES Auto Tech Roundup

Self-driving cars garner much of the attention, but in reality, we're years away from tooling around in something like Knight Rider's KITT. Coming sooner to a car near you: smartphone apps on dash displays, cruise control that adapts to cars around it, remote engine starting and more.

At International CES in Las Vegas, 10 automakers and numerous suppliers unveiled technological features that will find their way into cars in the distant and not-so-distant future. Here's a look at some of their wares.

Your car will think. It will react. It will learn.

"This car will take responsibility," said Dieter Zetsche, leader of Mercedes-Benz, as he introduced the company's luxury self-driving concept car of the future.

If that sounds a bit scary, like the prologue to a film in which machines overtake mankind, companies supplying the brains and eyes for these robocars say it's for our own good. Cars already do some of these things, really. Anti-lock brake systems, cruise control and parallel parking assistance are steps toward taking our hands completely off the wheel.

There are 1.2 million traffic-related deaths globally each year, according to the World Health Organization; 32,719 of them were in the U.S. in 2013. As automakers point out, your self-driving car won't get drunk, tired or distracted. And they could return something many other gadgets have taken away: time.

First, "the car has to become self-aware. It has to be able to see and understand what's happening around it," said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, which introduced a super-fast processor at the show and has been working with Audi to develop piloted systems and in-car digital displays.

Audi touted a road trip that its A7 piloted prototype -- piloted because there still needs to be a driver behind the wheel to assure nothing goes awry -- took from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas for the show, without incident, "driven" by chosen journalists sitting behind the wheel.

"We are ready for piloted driving on public streets," said Ulrich Hackenberg from Audi's board of management.

But laws that would allow such autonomy aren't quite ready; neither are answers to questions such as: Can someone sue a driverless car if it's in a crash? If it can't avoid a crash, how will it decide what or whom to crash into? Can a car be hacked and if so, how can it be protected?

Carmakers and suppliers admit there's still quite a bit they and their cars are learning. Mercedes-Benz says their ultimate vision of the future -- a sleek carriage that will ferry us to our destinations -- exists beyond 2030, at least.

For now, though, your car might be able to know:

Where you're shopping

Ask Chevrolet's OnStar system for directions to the nearest Dunkin Donuts, and you might receive a coupon. The carmaker has partnered with the doughnut chain, Priceline.com and the Speedway brand of gas stations for opt-in promotions.

The service can mine data in the car to offer advice on systems that might be close to failing, like a near-dead battery or a fuel system malfunction. Pass along your real-time driving habits to your insurer, and you might earn rewards for good driving.

What's on your smartphone:

Being able to plug one's smartphone into a dash display seems obvious with so many plug-and-play options elsewhere, but it hasn't been easy in cars until now. Apple's Car Play and eventually Android's version will let a driver can plug in their devices and view their songs, apps and maps on the in-car display.

That's a huge improvement, said Ron Montoya of car research site Edmunds.com.

"People are responding to texts on their own inside the car. They're playing their music, they're playing their Pandora," he said. Now, rather than fumble with a device, often taking their eyes off the road, the information they're looking for will be within their line of sight on the dash display. Carmakers from Hyundai (Apple Car Play will be available in 2015 models of the Sonata and more widely available in 2016) to Audi (it'll be available in the Q7) all talked about phone integration.

How to talk to your smartphone, or smartwatch

Hyundai's Blue Link system now includes a smartphone app that lets car owners start the car remotely, lock or unlock it, find their car within a mile using GPS tracking (such as in a big parking lot), send a destination to the car's navigation system and send alerts. Have a teenage driver in the house who's borrowing the car? Your car, via your phone, will tell you if the car was started after curfew or if it was traveling above a certain speed limit.

What's happening around it

That red light? That slow car up ahead? Adaptive cruise control available in cars soon will be so advanced that the machines will sense when a car ahead is slowing down and safely change lanes to zoom around (on the driver's signal.) If a car up ahead stops or there's a red light, the car will come to a halt. Inside a Volkswagen Golf being tested by Valeo and IAV, who are developing automated software and hardware for cars, self-driving mode brought the car slowly to a stop behind a school bus on a Las Vegas street, the driver's hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals.

"I'm not worried," said driver Lars Eggenstein of IAV.

Originally found at:

http://www.toptechnews.com/article/index.php?story_id=023000QNV282

How The Verge Talks TV Tech for #CES2015

If there’s one thing the International CES in Las Vegas is known for, it’s for being the place where new TVs are debuted to the world. In the past fifteen years or so, CES has been the showcase for new TV technologies such as HD (1998), plasma (2001), OLED (2008), 3D (2009), and 4K Ultra HD (2012). Last year’s show was dominated by curved televisions from LG and Samsung, and we even saw TVs that can actually switch between flat and curved on demand.

Generally, it takes about a year or two before those new TVs are found on store shelves. If you’ve been in the market for a TV lately, there are now plenty of 4K Ultra HD options, many of which are now low enough in price that the average consumer would consider them. There are even curved TVs available for purchase in many electronics stores right now.

So what will be the hot new TV technology at this year’s CES? Now that 4K Ultra HD TVs are more or less mainstream, the next step in resolution is 8K, also known as 4320p. 8K TVs have 7680 pixel by 4320 pixel panels and can display a tremendous amount of detail. A number of companies have already shown off massive and hugely expensive 8K TVs, but this year’s CES could be the first time we see options that are reachable for the average consumer.

It would be nice to see more options for 4k Ultra HD content this year, as it is still difficult to even find 4K Ultra HD content to display on your new TV. If manufacturers want to push even higher-resolution televisions on consumers, someone has to figure out how to provide content that actually takes advantage of all those pixels, or shoppers just won’t bite.

We’ll also likely see more curved TVs this year, as more manufacturers adopt the technology and it becomes a more mainstream feature. 3D TVs have been waning in recent CES years, and it’s likely that we won’t see many at this year’s show either. Though 3D TVs have been around for a few years now, many consumers do not find them particularly appealing, since they require cumbersome glasses and special 3D content that isn’t readily available.

There’s a good chance we’ll see more virtual reality technology this year, however. Companies like Oculus and Sony have demonstrated modern VR headsets for a couple of years, and it’s likely that more companies will pile on to the VR craze. Virtual reality has the potential to shake up both the television and gaming industry at the same time, so it’s a very interesting space to watch.

We can’t say for sure what we’ll see at this year’s CES, and that’s part of the fun. The show kicks off in just about a month’s time, and the world’s electronics makers will be there in force showing off their latest and greatest products. You’re not going to want to miss it.

Originally found at:http://www.ce.org/Blog/Articles/2014/December/The-Verge-Talks-TV-Tech-for-CES2015.aspx

How 3D Printing Without the 3D Printer ces 2015

For manufacturing, 3D printers have arrived like the shiny new toy that everyone will want for Christmas because as the Internet would have you believe, it’s pretty cool and by the sounds of it, everybody will have one. But 3D printing is not just for Christmas – it’s a real investment.

There are several key benefits to the technology that can be seen in real-life functional situations today. It cuts out multiple steps for traditional manufacturing methods by reducing the need for numerous prototypes and retesting. It can be more cost-effective for batch manufacturing, allowing engineers to produce multiple parts in the same run from the one CAD model. What’s more, an increased number of materials are surfacing, digital materials that allow you to create products with the same material properties found in time tested production methods. On the consumer side, it allows customisation, a personal affinity with products and a way of producing solutions for every day problems that couldn’t otherwise be produced by usual means or shipped from Amazon.

There are many ways to leverage 3D printing without having a 3D printer in your office or home. For the home user, this can be just a click away with portals, such as Shapeways or 3D Hubs making it possible in some cases to select a printer, submit a file, have it printed and shipped directly to your door. In fact, in some cases this can become a business in itself and several success stories have come to light on people making substantial businesses from home, based on these pathways.

Back to manufacturing, the part that makes up the majority of the 3D printing real-life story. There’s no denying an industrial 3D printer is an expensive purchase. In fact, you may be surprised to hear that a number of small businesses outsource their additive manufacturing services to keep costs down. With high-end additive manufacturing machines costing tens of thousands, it leaves small and medium businesses with fewer options for installing their own. That’s where outsourcing comes in.

For businesses, bureau services have become a viable option for producing prototypes and short-series production runs. The benefit is that 3D printing service providers can deliver a range of options for processes and materials that widen the scope for businesses and deliver the best solution for printing their products. In essence, rather than blowing an entire budget on one printer, service providers, as the title may suggest, can provide multiple services for manufacturing needs.

Leading service providers have observed trends that show although some small businesses may invest in low-end 3D printers to produce basic prototypes, they commonly outsource to bureaus for a specific type of manufacturing. On the other end of the spectrum, companies have started out with their own professional-grade 3D printers and then completely switched to outsourcing to reduce costs.

Ultimately, the method of access depends on the individual use case. There are so many options now, meaning the door has been flung wide open for any business or individual to benefit from this burgeoning technology. From tech giants like HP down to international brands like UPS, pushing the industry forward with new and innovative platforms – there has never been a better time to utilize these avenues available to us and join the 3D printing manufacturing revolution.

Originally found at:
http://www.ce.org/Blog/Articles/2015/January/3D-Printing-Without-the-3D-Printer.aspx

How Xiaomi Tests Selling Phones in Stores to Boost India Sales

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc said it could sell more models in Indian stores while pursuing its primarily online-only strategy if it succeeds in selling enough Redmi Note 4G handsets through shops of carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Xiaomi entered India with online retailer Flipkart.com in July, selling phones through flash sales whereby availability is limited to short time frames. The online strategy cuts down on marketing and distribution costs, allowing Xiaomi to sell feature-rich phones at low prices.

But last week, Bharti Airtel said it would sell Redmi Note 4G handsets in six cities through 133 stores of India's biggest fourth-generation (4G) mobile network provider. In-store handset prices in India are comparable to online models because neither are sold with network chips or subsidised through pricing plans.

"If this works out fine, we'll expand the partnership to other cities and other devices," Manu Jain, head of Xiaomi in India, told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday, adding that it was too early to form any concrete plans yet.

Making models available in stores - as Xiaomi does in China - could help the fast-growing startup reach more users in the world's third-largest smartphone market as Bharti promotes the handsets to attract subscribers to its 4G service.

Offline channels

Due to online sales, Xiaomi's Indian customers span 1,000 cities just six months after entering the market, Jain said.

But "offline" channels are important for prospective customers to see and feel the phones on offer. In China, about 30 percent of Xiaomi's sales come from "offline" channels and the company is aiming for a similar split in India, Jain said.

Xiaomi's store push comes as the maker plans new model launches, including its pricier Mi4 by the end of this month or early next, Jain said without elaborating.

In India, Xiaomi is just one of 280 brands in a smartphone market led by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd followed by local maker Micromax Informatics Ltd. Standing out from the crowd could necessitate a more tangible presence in a range of locations.

Rival Google launched its Android One range of affordable smartphones last year on e-commerce sites in India, and has since extended to in-store sales.

"If Xiaomi has to reach out to rural areas and smaller cities (which have lower online populations), they have to have tie-ups with brick-and-mortar stores," said Neil Shah, a Mumbai-based research director for devices at Counterpoint Research.

Originally post was found at:http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/xiaomi-tests-selling-phones-in-stores-to-boost-india-sales-645437?utm_source=taboola-dont-miss

How LG G Flex2 With 5.5-Inch Curved Display, Snapdragon 810 SoC Launched

LG has launched the much-anticipated G Flex2 smartphone at CES 2015. The smartphone will be available at the end of January in Korea, and release in global markets thereafter. So far, no pricing has been revealed - though the flexible phone should cost more than the LG G3.

Most notably, the LG G Flex2 is the first announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (a 64-bit octa-core SoC) smartphone. It is coupled with the Adreno 430 GPU and 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM. The single-SIM smartphone runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and features a 5.5-inch full-HD curved P-OLED display with a 1080x1920 pixels resolution and a 403ppi pixel density.

The LG G Flex2's display has a 700mm-radius curvature, while the back is slightly sharper with a 650mm-radius curvature for grip. LG says the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has been toughened approximately 20 percent from the previous generation with the firm's own special chemical treatment technology - LG calls this Dura-Guard glass. The whole phone is supposedly 30 percent more durable than the original.

The company has also improved upon the 'Self Healing' back from the original LG G Flex, and it will now get healed within 10 seconds at room temperature - significantly lower than the last-generation's three minutes.

The LG G Flex2 sports a rear 13.0-megapixel camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS+), dual-LED two-tone flash, and laser-guided autofocus just like the LG G3. It sports a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. The G Flex2 will come in 16GB and 32GB storage variants that are expandable via microSD card.

Connectivity options on the LG G Flex2 include 4G LTE-A with tri-band carrier aggregation, HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth Smart Ready (Apt-X) 4.1, NFC, SlimPort, GPS/ A-GPS, GLONASS, and USB 2.0. The device measures in at 149.1x75.3x7.1 - 9.4mm, and weighs 152 grams. The curved handset packs a curved embedded 3000mAh non-removable battery, and will initially be available in two colours: Platinum Silver and Flamenco Red.

The other features include things like a simple hand 'Gesture Shot' recognisable from up to 1.5 metres away; 'Gesture View' to check last clicked shot; 'Glance View' to swipe down for notifications even when the screen is off, and 'Fast Charging' - which can charge the battery up to 50 percent in under 40 minutes.

Juno Cho, President and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, said of the launch, "The original G Flex demonstrated LG's pioneering spirit and with the G Flex2 we have refined the curved form factor, staying true to our philosophy of innovation for a better life. The G Flex2 not only has the stunning looks, it also has the powerful guts to be at the cutting edge of current smartphone technology. Simply put, it's a true head-turner in every sense of the word." 

Originally posted at
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/lg-g-flex-2-with-55-inch-curved-display-laser-autofocus-camera-launched-644447

How VAIO Android handset to launch during CES 2015 next week?

According to a new rumor, the now defunct VAIO series could see a new life in the form of smartphones. It is said that VAIO branded Android smartphones will be officially shown off at the CES 2015 event next week.vaio corporation was sold out by Sony to Japan Industrial Partners earlier this year, although the company still holds a minor 5% stake in the company.

This rumored smartphone is expected to jumpstart the VAIO business again, leveraging the popularity of the Android platform. VAIO also enjoys a certain degree of recognition among the global audience, so this could turn out to be quite an interesting device if this report turns out to be true.

According to Nikkei, this smartphone will pack a 5-inch display and "feature an app that can manage email as well as phone and video calls all together". So we might be looking at a heavily customized build of Android here.

Details on other aspects of the hardware are pretty scarce at the moment, but given that the CES is just a week away, we don't have to wait long to find out. It will be interesting to see how this will impact Sony's Xperia series of smartphones, which are quite popular in its home region of Japan.

We're assuming the new VAIO handsets will mostly cater to the midrange segment, considering that the Xperia range is solely focused on the high end market. Even though Sony has sold off most of its shares in the VAIO Corporation, it wouldn't want these new range of handsets to clash with the existing Xperia devices.