National Academy of Engineering's thoughts on the current direction of technological development. pretty interesting ideas on AI, etc.
For reference purposes, we passed the human-level AI threshold for data compression last year (meaning that machines can now store data in a more compact form than the human brain), so in this case 'human level AI' refers to the ability to perceive and effectively react and self-optimize to its external environment. "We're already a human machine civilization, we use our technology to expand our physical and mental horizons"
A modified version of an e-mail that I sent on Monday:
Hey Sev,
I was thinking about bringing this up in class today but didn't know if it fit the structure of our discussion: You already know that I'm a South Park junkie; and today I drew a reference from it that speaks to our discussion of the so-called depiction of self versus how others perceive us (Jessica's "mom" example).
The said reference is from an episode called Free Willzyx: in it, some policemen are searching for Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman. The policemen approach the boys' mothers with a 'humanistic' composite sketch of the four boys (see image here). The direct contrast with the characters' abstract, geometric forms is funny enough, but what's even more interesting is when one of the mothers looks at the picture for a long hard time, finally exclaiming, "Ah! Yes, that's my Kyle... looks nothing like him, though."
I'm trying to wrap my head around this. It seems a lot to me that the South Park creators are commenting on the fact that viewers make the characters' simplistic depictions a primary part of their image. Therefore the idea of ever imagining them as 'real children' is absurd. It's nearly impossible for us to imagine the mental thought process that Kyle's mother went through in order to recognize her son - what is it about the composite sketch that looks so unlike Kyle? To us, the distinction is obvious; but what about in South Park world?
found this awhile back, seems legit, has measured up to peer review.
The started off having a monkey walk on a treadmill, and feeding the neural impulses for walking into a robot, that then walked. Then they projected the image of the walking robot, in real time, in front of the walking monkey, to build a visual association between the movement of the robot and the thought patterns of the monkey. Finally, they turned off the monkey's treadmill, whereupon the monkey stared intently at the projection, and kept the robot walking purely by thought alone.
my friend was very excited about this bird. i'm not sure how relevant it is, but the aspects of parrot intelligence that resemble what we understand as exclusively human comprehension and processing is pretty interesting.
also now i feel like i've posted something this weekend.
In response to our conversation today, I thought this link to 'itspace' was appropriate.
Here is the description: Instead of featuring people, the pages feature everyday household objects. Each page has a photo of the object, a description, and most importantly, a 1-minute piece of music composed of recordings of the object being struck and resonated in various ways. All the pages, or objects, are 'friends' with each other.
Based on our discussion today of the machine, especially regarding the button versus the crank, I thought you all might enjoy this de-motivational poster:
"In the past few decades, individuals have experienced dramatic changes in some of the most established dimensions of human life: time, space, matter, and individuality. Working across several time zones, traveling with relative ease between satellite maps and nanoscale images, gleefully drowning in information, acting fast in order to preserve some slow downtime, people cope daily with dozens of changes in scale. Minds adapt and acquire enough elasticity to be able to synthesize such abundance. One of design's most fundamental tasks is to stand between revolutions and life, and to help people deal with change. Designers have coped with these displacements by contributing thoughtful concepts that can provide guidance and ease as science and technology evolve. Several of them—the Mosaic graphic user's interface for the Internet, for instance—have truly changed the world. Design and the Elastic Mind is a survey of the latest developments in the field. It focuses on designers' ability to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and social mores, changes that will demand or reflect major adjustments in human behavior, and convert them into objects and systems that people understand and use.
The exhibition will highlight examples of successful translation of disruptive innovation, examples based on ongoing research, as well as reflections on the future responsibilities of design. Of particular interest will be the exploration of the relationship between design and science and the approach to scale. The exhibition will include objects, projects, and concepts offered by teams of designers, scientists, and engineers from all over the world, ranging from the nanoscale to the cosmological scale. The objects range from nanodevices to vehicles, from appliances to interfaces, and from pragmatic solutions for everyday use to provocative ideas meant to influence our future choices. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue."
Slated for release in 2009. Personally, I have little faith in Hollywood adaptations of books. According to the IMDB message boards, some die hard fans of Gibson's novel agree.
Guys. This is my favorite blog. It's soo funny and totally relates ona bunch of levels. Basically a blog about funny, weird, gadgety technology. THE BEST
Those in our class who know and love Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH should be pleasantly surprised (or repugnant) about this Brooklyn-based band which takes its name from O'Brien's famous novel: The Rats of NIMH.
16 comments:
This in from Ryder....
National Academy of Engineering's thoughts on the current direction of technological development. pretty interesting ideas on AI, etc.
For reference purposes, we passed the human-level AI threshold for data compression last year (meaning that machines can now store data in a more compact form than the human brain), so in this case 'human level AI' refers to the ability to perceive and effectively react and self-optimize to its external environment. "We're already a human machine civilization, we use our technology to expand our physical and mental horizons"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7248875.stm
Banksy strikes again
Sev will probably appreciate the 2nd image of what seems to be a Neandertal.
A modified version of an e-mail that I sent on Monday:
Hey Sev,
I was thinking about bringing this up in class today but didn't know if it fit the structure of our discussion: You already know that I'm a South Park junkie; and today I drew a reference from it that speaks to our discussion of the so-called depiction of self versus how others perceive us (Jessica's "mom" example).
The said reference is from an episode called Free Willzyx: in it, some policemen are searching for Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman. The policemen approach the boys' mothers with a 'humanistic' composite sketch of the four boys (see image here). The direct contrast with the characters' abstract, geometric forms is funny enough, but what's even more interesting is when one of the mothers looks at the picture for a long hard time, finally exclaiming, "Ah! Yes, that's my Kyle... looks nothing like him, though."
I'm trying to wrap my head around this. It seems a lot to me that the South Park creators are commenting on the fact that viewers make the characters' simplistic depictions a primary part of their image. Therefore the idea of ever imagining them as 'real children' is absurd. It's nearly impossible for us to imagine the mental thought process that Kyle's mother went through in order to recognize her son - what is it about the composite sketch that looks so unlike Kyle? To us, the distinction is obvious; but what about in South Park world?
Marilla
re: that Carmena et al. article.
found this awhile back, seems legit, has measured up to peer review.
The started off having a monkey walk on a treadmill, and feeding the neural impulses for walking into a robot, that then walked.
Then they projected the image of the walking robot, in real time, in front of the walking monkey, to build a visual association between the movement of the robot and the thought patterns of the monkey.
Finally, they turned off the monkey's treadmill, whereupon the monkey stared intently at the projection, and kept the robot walking purely by thought alone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/
science/15robo.html?_r=1&ex=1201150800&en
=b5ef42933a1e1201&ei=5070&emc=eta1'&oref
=slogin
[Late] Parrot Prodigy May Grasp the Concept of Zero.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/07/0715_050715_parrotzero.html
my friend was very excited about this bird. i'm not sure how relevant it is, but the aspects of parrot intelligence that resemble what we understand as exclusively human comprehension and processing is pretty interesting.
also now i feel like i've posted something this weekend.
*are* pretty interesting. sorry.
In response to our conversation today, I thought this link to 'itspace' was appropriate.
Here is the description:
Instead of featuring people, the pages feature everyday household objects. Each page has a photo of the object, a description, and most importantly, a 1-minute piece of music composed of recordings of the object being struck and resonated in various ways. All the pages, or objects, are 'friends' with each other.
http://transition.turbulence.org/Works/itspace/
Based on our discussion today of the machine, especially regarding the button versus the crank, I thought you all might enjoy this de-motivational poster:
http://www.despair.com/worth.html
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.php?id=5632
...field trip?
"In the past few decades, individuals have experienced dramatic changes in some of the most established dimensions of human life: time, space, matter, and individuality. Working across several time zones, traveling with relative ease between satellite maps and nanoscale images, gleefully drowning in information, acting fast in order to preserve some slow downtime, people cope daily with dozens of changes in scale. Minds adapt and acquire enough elasticity to be able to synthesize such abundance. One of design's most fundamental tasks is to stand between revolutions and life, and to help people deal with change. Designers have coped with these displacements by contributing thoughtful concepts that can provide guidance and ease as science and technology evolve. Several of them—the Mosaic graphic user's interface for the Internet, for instance—have truly changed the world. Design and the Elastic Mind is a survey of the latest developments in the field. It focuses on designers' ability to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and social mores, changes that will demand or reflect major adjustments in human behavior, and convert them into objects and systems that people understand and use.
The exhibition will highlight examples of successful translation of disruptive innovation, examples based on ongoing research, as well as reflections on the future responsibilities of design. Of particular interest will be the exploration of the relationship between design and science and the approach to scale. The exhibition will include objects, projects, and concepts offered by teams of designers, scientists, and engineers from all over the world, ranging from the nanoscale to the cosmological scale. The objects range from nanodevices to vehicles, from appliances to interfaces, and from pragmatic solutions for everyday use to provocative ideas meant to influence our future choices. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue."
sweeet.
Wow, definitely a class fieldtrip! I thought Crash was out-there, but the stuff at this exhibit are some of the strangest things I've ever seen.
Neuromancer, the movie.
Slated for release in 2009. Personally, I have little faith in Hollywood adaptations of books. According to the IMDB message boards, some die hard fans of Gibson's novel agree.
Cow-human cross embryo lives three days
Speaking of an imprecise "we"...
Guys. This is my favorite blog. It's soo funny and totally relates ona bunch of levels. Basically a blog about funny, weird, gadgety technology. THE BEST
http://www.geekologie.com/
LOVE megan
Those in our class who know and love Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH should be pleasantly surprised (or repugnant) about this Brooklyn-based band which takes its name from O'Brien's famous novel: The Rats of NIMH.
For equally amusing bands with names ripped off popular children's books, see Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, and Remus and the Lupins.
http://www.geekologie.com/2008/05/no_seriously_i_really_mean_it.php
killer robot insects for military. word.
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