What is Autonomous AI?
Autonomous artificial intelligence is defined as routines designed to allow robots, cars, planes and other devices to execute extended sequences of maneuvers without guidance from humans. The revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) has reached a stage when current solutions can reliably complete many simple, coordinated tasks. Now the goal is to extend this capability by developing algorithms that can plan ahead and build a multistep strategy for accomplishing more. ...
Autonomous operation often requires imagining a number of potential outcomes for the future, anticipating possible problems and then setting a course of action that minimizes the dangers while maximizing some other factor like speed or reliability. ...
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it is common to break the job into these layers.
- Sensing — Building a model of the constantly shifting world requires a collection of sensors that are usually cameras and often controlled lighting from lasers or other sources. The sensors usually also include position information from GPS or some other independent mechanism.
- Fusion — The details from the various sensors must be organized into a single, coherent view of what’s happening around the vehicle. Some images may be occluded. Some may be failing. They may not always be consistent. The sensor fusion algorithms must sort through the details and construct a reliable model that can be used in later stages for planning.
- Perception — After the model is constructed, the system must begin to identify important areas like any roads or paths or moving objects.
- Planning — Finding the best path forward requires studying the model and also importing information from other sources like mapping software, weather forecasts, traffic sensors and more.
- Control — After a path is chosen, any device must ensure that the motors and steering work to move along the path without being diverted by bumps or small obstacles.
See the full article here: https://venturebeat.com/2022/03/31/what-is-autonomous-ai/
Sexual harassment training is outdated. VR might be a fix.
... “It's one thing to verbalize and to tell somebody what something feels like or what happened,” said Morgan Mercer, founder and CEO of VR training company Vantage Point. “It's a completely different thing for somebody to be in that lived experience, to embody it and to feel the same thing.”
VR can't cross that chasm entirely, but it's a start. Studies tell a similar story: A PwC survey from last year found that VR learners felt 275% more confident in applying learned skills after training, as well as 3.75 times more emotionally connected to the content when compared to classroom-based learning. ...
See the full story here: https://www.protocol.com/workplace/vr-sexual-harassment-training
Looking Through Mojo Vision’s Newest AR Contact Lens
With batteries, motion sensors, and a microLED on board, Mojo lets me try out its first apps
... But since that last demo in 2020, the engineering team has moved from wireless power to batteries on board, increased the resolution of the display from 8,000 pixels per inch to 14,000, thinned commercial motion sensors and developed its own radio and power management, and created several apps. Image sensors—a feature of earlier demos that showed off edge detection in low light and other vision enhancements—have yet to be built into the current prototype, though Sinclair says that they are in the works, and that the company is continuing to test apps for people with low vision and still expects them to be among the earliest customers for the device. ...
The battery is in the outer ring, embedded in the lens. ...
See the full article and interview here: https://spectrum.ieee.org/looking-through-mojo-visions-newest-ar-contact-lens
Dyson air purifying headphones
See the full story here: https://www.dyson.com/wearables/dyson-zone-air-purifying-headphones/announcement?fbclid=IwAR1MGVG4L2gG1yVOqAm-KtAQ_7PtWqdHcvLjnSUpsMpkvxiSzxH3l1Pq9_c
Russian Dissident Doc ‘Navalny’ to Receive Special Theatrical Release
... The film chronicles how Navalny — a Putin detractor who fights against authoritarianism — was secretly poisoned with a military-grade chemical nerve agent in an elaborate attempt on his life. Despite denials from the Russian government, the poison was later linked to the Kremlin through investigations by international news organizations, including Bellingcat and CNN.
“Alexey Navalny was just last week convicted and sentenced in Russia and cannot tell the story of what happened to him. Our film shows his tremendous courage fighting an authoritarian regime and its corruption inside Russia,” Roher said in a statement announcing the theatrical plans. ...
See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/russian-dissident-alexei-navalny-doc-theaters-1235122453/
NFT Collection Failures Begin to Mount in Flashback to ICO Bust
On average, one in three NFT collections have essentially expired, with little or no trading activity, blockchain analytics firm Nansen found. Another third are trading below the amount it cost issuers to mint the tokens. ...
Demand also appears to be concentrated. The number of repeat buyers outweigh new entrants by a ratio of seven-to-one, according to Nansen. ...
NFTs that have ceased to generate interest on trading platforms might still serve a broader purpose, much like the rest of the art and collectibles world. ... they are just memories from the past, and that’s it.”
See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-26/nft-collection-failures-begin-to-mount-in-flashback-to-ico-bust
NFT vibrators now exist: What will sex be like in the metaverse?
... A few weeks ago, the Spanish sex toy company Diversual announced it was releasing the first collection of vibrators as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – an announcement that left many people scratching their heads. ...
... the company’s NFT vibrators right now are no more than decorative objects. ...
“In virtual reality pornography, the interaction between avatars doesn’t have to be limited to the virtual, but could also include other sensory channels such as virtual touch, kinesthesia and virtual smell,” says Raya. “This could offer a virtual experience that is more interactive and realistic, giving the user a greater sense of presence.” ...
In other words, while sex as we know it is still a long way off in the metaverse, sexual harassment is already here.
See the full story here: https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-03-29/nft-vibrators-now-exist-what-will-sex-be-like-in-the-metaverse.html
Museums Are Cashing In on NFTs
Environmental issues are one reason barely a dozen museums have so far experimented with NFTs as an alternative revenue stream. The instability and opacity of unregulated cryptocurrencies, the difficulty of finding trusted tech partners and the cost of such partnerships are also cited by museum professionals as reasons for hesitancy. ...
One institution that has wasted no time in embracing NFTs as a fund-raising tool is the British Museum in London. Chaired by George Osborne, a former British finance minister, the museum entered into an exclusive five-year partnership in September with the Ethereum-based NFT platform LaCollection. The museum has since made several token drops, in editions varying in size from two to 10,000, using digital copies of works by Katsushika Hokusai and J.M.W. Turner. Prices ranged from $500 to $40,000. ...
On the final day of the Unit “Eternalizing Art History” show, Eve Smith, a lawyer, seemed impressed. “This is the second time I’ve been. I was completely astonished,” said Smith, gazing at a backlit ultra-high-resolution digital copy of Francesco Hayez’s 1896 painting of embracing lovers, “The Kiss,” in the Pinacoteca Brera museum in Milan.
“It looks like satin. It looks like there’s texture in what you’re looking at, but there isn’t,” Smith said. “Will I still want to go to the Brera? Of course.” ...
See the full story here; https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/arts/design/museums-nfts.html?ck_subscriber_id=1646162133&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Chris+Rock+%26+Will+Smith%20-%207863068
Interactive cross-media production shows ‘invisible labor’ of artificial intelligence
“I Agree to the Terms” shows the “invisible labor” of these workers who shape a company’s artificial intelligence.
“The internet was once seen as an innovation with the potential of bringing communities together, but instead has become a largely isolating world,” she added.
During the performance, audience members enter the online “Builders Marketplace” and, with help from a crowd-worker, they to complete as many “Human Intelligence Tasks” as possible during a 45-minute period. Each person is timed, rated and eventually given “payment” in virtual “Builders Coin.”
See the full story here: https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2022/03/27/interactive-cross-media-production-shows-invisible-labor-of-artificial-intelligence/
