Roboy the Humanoid Robot to Be Born in March 2013

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Roboy the Humanoid Robot

Roboy is a soft robot, i.e. with soft skin and natural movements, to enable living and interacting with humans. User-friendly assistance to humans is the primary purpose of Roboy, which would include elderly care. The smooth movements of Roboy are the result of a tendon-driven locomotion system.

The University of Zurich Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is developing Roboy, a service robot which will be introduced at the Robots on Tour in Switzerland in March 2013.

Roboy - A New Generation of Humanoid Robot

Roboy is hailed as the next generation in humanoid robotics. Built at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland, Roboy incorporates the latest design principles as developed by Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeifer.





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AtlasProto Robot Walking the Gauntlet & Improving Abilities

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AtlasProto

The latest update from Boston Dynamics increases the creepiness, which seems inexorable, with Atlas the anthropomorphic robot. Regardless of assurances otherwise, this will not ultimately end well for humans.

AtlasProto: Walking the Gauntlet

Atlas is an anthropomorphic robot developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA. AtlasProto, shown here, is a testbed for developing control systems and software for rough terrain.

Several Atlas robots will participate in the DARPA Robotics Challenge next year. The video shows AtlasProto using its legs and arms to climb onto a platform, jump down, cross the 'snake pit', and climb steep stairs. For more information visit www.BostonDynamics.com.




Inevitability on some time frame...

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Future of Humanity: Singularity or Decline?

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Is Humanity on a Countdown to the Singularity?

What is the future of humanity - the technological singularity or a decline? Either way, the futurists and pundits give us 20+ years for one or the other to occur. Will the singularity occur and Homo sapiens either evolves or becomes obsolete? Will technological progress save Homo sapiens before depletion of the Earth's natural resources? Evolution, obsolescence, and/or collapse?

Could a third scenario, neither a singularity or decline, occur? Technology mitigates, delays, or even eliminates ecosystem collapse and humanity continues onwards.

Perhaps both a singularity and a decline is a more likely scenario. A human remnant or elite, even a breakaway civilization, continues with advanced technology towards and arriving at the singularity while the masses die off. That would indeed be a Brave New World...

Singularity or Decline? Is a new, more prosperous age beyond a technological Singularity on the horizon? Or does human civilization now face an inevitable decline? This video by futurist Christopher Barnatt discusses the great debate at the heart of future studies.




Is Humanity on a Countdown to Decline?

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Artificial Intelligence Maps the Universe: An Algorithm's View

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How does an algorithm view the Universe, if all the known variables are provided? Artificial intelligence can balance all these variables, crunch the simultaneous equations, much better than some top-tier, but outdated, hominid on a (much) slower biological platform.


(above) An image of a slice through the local universe, 370 million light years on each side. The red circles mark the positions of galaxies observed with the 2MRS survey which measured the positions and distances of over 45000 galaxies. The blue circles are random points (galaxies) inserted to smooth the map across the 'zone of avoidance' where nearby gas and dust in our Galaxy blocks the view of more distant objects. These data are superimposed on the light and dark background of the cosmic web of galaxies modelled by Kitaura et al using an artificial intelligence algorithm. Credit: Francisco Kitaura, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics.

Using Artificial Intelligence to Chart the Universe

(Phys.org) Astronomers in Germany have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm to help them chart and explain the structure and dynamics of the universe around us with unprecedented accuracy. The team, led by Francisco Kitaura of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, report their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Scientists routinely use large telescopes to scan the sky, mapping the coordinates and estimating the distances of hundreds of thousands of galaxies and so enabling them to create a map of the large-scale structure of the Universe. But the distribution that astronomers see is intriguing and hard to explain, with galaxies forming a complex 'cosmic web' showing clusters, filaments connecting them, and large empty regions in between.

The driving force for such a rich structure is gravitation. This force originates from two components; firstly the 5% of the universe that appears to be made of 'normal' matter that makes up the stars, planets, dust and gas we can see and secondly the 23% made up of invisible 'dark' matter. Alongside these some 72% of the cosmos is made up of a mysterious 'dark energy' that rather than exerting a gravitational pull is thought to be responsible for accelerating the expansion of the universe. Together these three constituents are described in the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model for the cosmos, the starting point for the work of the Potsdam team.

Measurements of the residual heat from the Big Bang – the so-called Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation or CMBR emitted 13700 million years ago – allow astronomers to determine the motion of the Local Group, the cluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way, the galaxy we live in. Astronomers try to reconcile this motion with that predicted by the distribution of matter around us and its associated gravitational force, but this is compromised by the difficulty of mapping the dark matter in the same region.

"Finding the dark matter distribution corresponding to a galaxy catalogue is like trying to make a geographical map of Europe from a satellite image during the night that only shows the light coming from dense populated areas", says Dr Kitaura.

To try to solve this problem he developed a new algorithm based on artificial intelligence (AI). It starts with the fluctuations in the density of the universe seen in the CMBR, then models the way that matter collapses into today's galaxies over the subsequent 13 billion years. The results of the AI algorithm are a close fit to the observed distribution and motion of galaxies.

Dr. Kitaura comments, "Our precise calculations show that the direction of motion and 80% of the speed of the galaxies that make up the Local Group can be explained by the gravitational forces that arise from matter up to 370 million light years away. In comparison the Andromeda Galaxy, the largest member of the Local Group, is a mere 2.5 million light years distant so we are seeing how the distribution of matter at great distances affects galaxies much closer to home.

'Our results are also in close agreement with the predictions of the LCDM model. To explain the rest of the 20% of the speed, we need to consider the influence of matter up to about 460 million light years away, but at the moment the data are less reliable at such a large distance.

'Despite this caveat, our model is a big step forward. With the help of AI, we can now model the universe around us with unprecedented accuracy and study how the largest structures in the cosmos came into being."


WMAP Full Sky 7 Years
(above) The detailed, all-sky picture of the infant universe created from seven years of WMAP data. The image reveals 13.7 billion year old temperature fluctuations (shown as color differences) that correspond to the seeds that grew to become the galaxies. The signal from the our Galaxy was subtracted using the multi-frequency data. This image shows a temperature range of ± 200 microKelvin. Credit: NASA / WMAP Science Team

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Dmitry Itskov and Project Immortality 2045: Transplanting a Human Brain into an Avatar

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Dmitry Itskov is leading the Project 2045

We all have dreams in life and some have big dreams. A few have visions. A handful of people have visions that change the world. Dmitry Itskov is one of them. A vision as in transforming humanity completely and forever. A vision of transplanting the human brain into an artificial body, a robot, an avatar. A transbiological vision of the future of humanity. As Ray Kurzweil says, "Prepare to Evolve".

The goal is to preserve human personality and prolong life. That is, transfer a human's individual consciousness to an artificial carrier. Dmitry Itskov wants to do this himself at the first opportunity, which he believes could be as soon as 10 years!

Dmitry Itskov's premise, and motivation, is that humanity is too divided by race and religion. These differences, these divisions and the resulting conflicts are irreconcilable. Therefore, humanity must physically change to survive and hopefully leave these differences behind. Further, humanity is destroying the planet and avatars won't need to eat or even require houses! Diseases and death will be defeated.

Avatar-A: Scientists Prepare for Human Brain Transplant Following the steps of James Cameron, a young Russian media mogul has launched his own Avatar project. Dmitry Itskov does not want to explore a new planet, though: he just plans to make a human brain immortal by transplanting it into a robot's body.



Dmitry Itskov on Project Immortality 2045 The Singularity Summit 2011 was a TED-style two-day event at the historic 92nd Street Y in New York City. The next event will take place in San Francisco, on October 13 & 14, 2012. For more information, visit: http://www.singularitysummit.com




Project 2045


The Dalai Lama has endorsed Dmitry Itskov's Project 2045

International Manifesto of the "2045" Strategic Social Initiative (Partial)

Mankind has turned into a consumer society standing at the edge of a total loss of the conceptual guidelines necessary for further evolution. The majority of people are almost exclusively absorbed in merely maintaining their own comfortable lives.

Modern civilization, with its space stations, nuclear submarines, iPhones and Segways cannot save mankind from the limitations in the physical abilities of our bodies, nor from diseases and death.

We are not satisfied with modern achievements of scientific and technical progress. Science working for the satisfaction of consumer needs will not be able to ensure a technological breakthrough towards a radically different way of life.

We believe that the world needs a different ideological paradigm. Within its framework it is necessary to form a major objective capable of pointing out a new direction for the development of all mankind and ensuring the achievement of a scientific and technical revolution.

Global Future and the Technological Singularity: A New Era for Humanity

Russia 2045 Strategic Social Initiative

Global Future 2045 International Congress

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Ray Kurzweil: Technological Singularity, Immortality, Bringing Back the Dead

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Ray Kurzweil: Biological and non-biological intelligence and thinking will merge

Prepare to evolve as Ray Kurzweil takes us for a fast ride into the future where both reality and human thinking change! A series of 3 interviews with Ray Kurzweil covers the singularity, his immortality cocktail, and bringing back the dead. He begins with a discussion of the already existing impact of technology in our daily lives, both externally and internally, both outside and inside our bodies. This integration of humans and technology will continue, at an increasing rate, to ultimately merge "man and machine".

Human reality itself will change through the implementation and integration of both augmented reality and virtual reality into our everyday, objective reality. The stream of information we receive through our consciousness via our senses that is processed by our brain will literally be enhanced and expanded by technology.

Not only will our reality change but humans will have two sets of intelligence and thinking: biological and non-biological. The non-biological intelligence and thinking is technology interfacing with our bodies and especially our brains.

First the non-biological intelligence has and will continue more and more to augment our biological intelligence. Next the non-biological intelligence will increase our biological intelligence until finally completely merging into a transhuman, transbiological intelligence. Further, first the non-biological intelligence will be backed up, just like any software. Kurzweil believes ultimately the non-biological intelligence will be able to model and back up the biological intelligence - "us humans". Of course, at that point you could generate the merged transbiological intelligence in another reality such as a virtual reality. An immortality, a continuity of consciousness, could then be achieved for a transhuman.

Futurist Ray Kurzweil on Singularity Author, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil talks with economics correspondent Paul Solman about what Kurzweil has dubbed 'the singularity': the melding of man and machine to the point where one can't tell the difference between the two.


Watch Futurist Ray Kurzweil on Singularity on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Ray Kurweil's Immortality Cocktail The second of our interview outtakes with inventor/author/futurist Ray Kurzweil. In our broadcast story, Kurzweil explained that his recipe to combat aging entails taking 150 pills a day. You can find more details at a supplements business he runs, rayandterry.com, which features, we were excited to see, items like "healthy chocolates."

Watch Ray Kurweil's Immortality Cocktail on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Ray Kurzweil on Bringing Back the Dead This outtake with Mr. Immortality: does Kurzweil believe that an avatar of his dead father -- created with artificial intelligence and a lifetime's worth of data and mementos -- is, well, his actual father, the guy who died when Ray was 22? We asked him how that quest influenced his goal of "immortality today."

Watch Ray Kurzweil on Bringing Back the Dead on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

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Algorithms That Learn: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence

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A system is intelligent if it is more useful to talk about in terms of goals than in terms in mechanisms. ~ Richard Sutton

The above quote that an intelligent system has goals is skirting the edges of the definition and discussion of consciousness. Reaching the point when software, an algorithm or even a network, "wakes up" and has consciousness has been the subject and speculation of many a technician and philosopher. This is the ultimate line to be crossed to achieve artificial or transhuman intelligence.

How do you reach this line to be crossed? Lukasz Kaiser begins with describing the existing deterministic "agents" as receiving an input stream, then a program that produces an output stream. This is the mechanistic view. Another view is to think of developing software in terms of the program having goals, as noted in the quote above. Kaiser then presents a higher-level model to achieve goal-oriented results, an algorithm that learns by observing.

Lukasz Kaiser: Playing General Structure Rewriting Games Dr. Kaiser’s research presentation at the Third Conference on Artificial General Intelligence. This is a joint work with Lukasz Stafiniak.



It’s a Bright Future If You Are an Algorithm, the New Evolutionary Force


Proposed Sign for "Dangerous Artificial Intelligence"



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Vernor Vinge Discusses the Singularity, Future, Possibilities: "The human era will be ended"

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Countdown to the Singularity

Vernor Vinge on the Technological Singularity Vernor Vinge can rightly be called the Father of the Technological Singularity and came up with the term itself. Vinge thinks the technological singularity will occur no later than 2030. "I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen by 2030". "The technological singularity is the most likely scenario for the relatively near future". Vinge states, "In the relatively near future, humankind, by using technology, will either create or become creatures of superhuman intelligence". This type of change, a technological change, will be qualitatively different than technological changes in the past. The change will be so profound that what will happen is unknowable, hence a singularity and event horizon over which no information, actually speculation and prediction, can occur. This implies no limit to progress. However, Vinge finds hope in this future world and not fear of the unknown. "Overall, we are in a situation where we can surpass the wildest dreams of optimism of previous generations."

Technological Singularity Paths Vinge watches paths to the singularity, and the developments in each as positive and negative indicators as to the overall progress towards the technological singularity. These paths are scenarios on how the singularity could occur. He lists 5 paths:
1) Artificial Intelligence scenario: humans create superhuman artificial intelligence in computers, machines become super-intelligent
2) Intelligence Amplification scenario: humans enhance human intelligence through human-to-computer interfaces, that is, humans achieve intelligence amplification, humans become super-intelligent
3) Biomedical Intelligence scenario: humans directly increase their intelligence by improving the neurological operations of their brains, humans become super-intelligent
4) Internet Intelligence scenario: humanity, its networks, computers, and databases become sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being, humans and machines collectively become super-intelligent
5) Digital Gaia scenario: the network of embedded processors becomes sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being, machines collectively become super-intelligent
6) [Editor's Note: this leaves only one other possible scenario: humans collectively become super-intelligent?]

Vernor Vinge & The Singularity: Authors at Google 5-time Hugo Award winning author Vernor Vinge, one of the most lauded SF writers of our era, discusses his work and concepts from it, including the concept of "The Singularity" which he coined, and his latest novel, "Children of the Sky," the sequel to "A Fire Upon the Deep." He is interviewed by Brad Templeton of EFF/Singularity U/Google X



About Vernor Vinge Vernor Vinge is a retired San Diego State University professor of mathematics, a computer scientist, and an award-winning science fiction author. Vinge is a futurist who is known as the originator of the term "technological singularity" and his 1993 essay, "The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era" expounds on this concept. In the essay, he states, "Within thirty years we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended". He introduced the term "technological singularity" at an artificial intelligence conference at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1982 and later in a science fiction novel, "Marooned In Realtime" in 1986. Vinge has expanded on the themes of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the technological singularity in his books and describes himself as a science fiction writer.



Singularity Concept Timeline Vernor Vinge developed and honed the concept of the technological singularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. The culmination was a 1993 paper, a presentation at NASA and now a classic, "The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era". Vinge says that as the exponential increase in technology becomes more and more evident, especially compared to the 1980s and 1990s, the concept of the technological singularity will increasingly be part of the cultural fabric. "It fits more with what's going on. It becomes a steady drumbeat like background music, like background wallpaper, in how we look at things when it comes to progress. It is a way of looking at things, the world." He feels this concept is a model than can be run to interpret daily events. To keep a balanced view, Vinge also "runs a model" of the technological singularity not happening, as a contra-indicator and even has given a talk on this scenario. In retrospect, from the NASA essay in 1993 to the present, 2011, Vinge says there is little he would change in his paper


Warning! Dangerous Software in this Room!

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Global Future and the Technological Singularity: A New Era for Humanity

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The world is on the verge of global change. The rate of globally significant events, and that of discoveries and crises, is growing exponentially. We are facing the choice: To fall into a new Dark Age - into affliction and degradation – or to find a new model for human development and create not simply a new civilization, but a new mankind.

2045: A New Era for Humanity In February of 2012 the first Global Future 2045 Congress was held in Moscow. There, over 50 world leading scientists from multiple disciplines met to develop a strategy for the future development of humankind. One of the main goals of the Congress was to construct a global network of scientists to further research on the development of cybernetic technology, with the ultimate goal of transferring a human's individual consciousness to an artificial carrier.



Global Future Timeline

2012-2013. The global economic and social crises are exacerbated. The debates on the global paradigm of future development intensifies. New transhumanist movements and parties emerge. Russia 2045 transforms into World 2045. Simultaneously, the 2045.com international social network for open innovation is expanding. Here anyone interested may propose a project, take part in working on it, or fund it, or both. In the network, there are scientists, scholars, researchers, financiers and managers.

2013-2014. New centers working on cybernetic technologies for the development of radical life extension rise. The 'race for immortality' starts.

2015-2020. The Avatar is created -- A robotic human copy controlled by thought via 'brain-computer' interface. It becomes as popular as a car.

2020. In Russia and in the world appear -- in testing mode -- several breakthrough projects: Android robots replace people in manufacturing tasks; android robot servants for every home; thought-controlled Avatars to provide telepresence in any place of the world and abolish the need business trips; flying cars; thought driven mobile communications built into the body or sprayed onto the skin.

2020-2025. An autonomous system providing life support for the brain and allowing it interaction with the environment is created. The brain is transplanted into an Avatar B. With Avatar B man receives new, expanded life.

2025. The new generation of Avatars provides complete transmission of sensations from all five sensory robot organs to the operator.

2030-2035. ReBrain -- The colossal project of brain reverse engineering is implemented. World science comes very close to understanding the principles of consciousness.

2035. The first successful attempt to transfer one's personality to an alternative carrier. The epoch of cybernetic immortality begins.

2040-2050. Bodies made of nanorobots that can take any shape arise alongside hologram bodies.

2045-2050. Drastic changes in social structure, and in scientific and technological development. All the for space expansion are established. For the man of the future, war and violence are unacceptable. The main priority of his development is spiritual self-improvement.

A new era dawns: The era of neohumanity.



Russia 2045 Strategic Social Initiative

Global Future 2045 International Congress

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The New Age of Cognitive Computing

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The Cognitive Systems Era Join IBM's Dharmendra Modha - Manager, Cognitive Computing Systems and Master Inventor - as he offers a glimpse of IBM Research's efforts to help shape the new age of cognitive computing.




Dharmendra Modha - Manager, IBM Cognitive Computing Systems

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Rough Terrain and Jumping Robots by Boston Dynamics, RHex and Sand Flea

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RHex Rough Terrain Robot

Boston Dynamics has rolled out two robots funded by the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force, the enhanced RHex rough terrain robot and the Sand Flea jumping robot. Expect to see Sand Flea in future law enforcement applications in a neighborhood near you. Both are versatile with RHex able to operate inverted and Sand Flea with a stabilization system while jumping upwards (and downwards) 30 feet.

RHex Rough-Terrain Robot RHex is a 30-lb robot designed for mobility on rough terrain. It is operated remotely via an RF link that includes a high-resolution video uplink. RHex can operate right-side-up or up-side down, as shown in the video, and goes for up to four hours on one charge of its batteries. RHex has been around for several years, but we redesigned this version for ruggedness, long battery life, maintainability, and improved mobility. This version of RHex was funded by the US Army's Rapid Equipping Force.



RHex Devours Rough Terrain RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility. RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways. RHex has a sealed body, making it fully operational in wet weather, muddy and swampy conditions, and it can swim on the surface or dive underwater. RHex's remarkable terrain capabilities have been validated in government-run independent testing. RHex is controlled remotely from an operator control unit at distances up to 600 meters. A video uplink provides front and rear views from onboard cameras. RHex also uplinks navigational data from onboard compass and GPS and from payload sensors. A downlink allows the operator to drive and operate mission payloads.


Sand Flea Robot preparing to jump

Sand Flea Jumping Robot Sand Flea is an 11-lb robot with one trick up its sleeve: Normally it drives like an RC car, but when it needs to it can jump 30 feet into the air. An onboard stabilization system keeps it oriented during flight to improve the view from the video uplink and to control landings. Current development of Sand Flea is funded by the The US Army's Rapid Equipping Force.



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The Artificial Intelligence Threat to Humanity: Skynet Rising?

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Proposed Sign for "Dangerous Artificial Intelligence"


The Artificial Intelligence Threat to Humanity: Skynet Rising?

The worst-case technological singularity scenario is unimpeded artificial, machine intelligence exceeding human, biological intelligence. That is, humans create an artificial intelligence greater than themselves that is unhindered. The singularity then occurs because the future cannot be determined beyond this event horizon. In this scenario, there is no merger of machines and humans into cyborgs and humans becoming transbiological. Humans are left behind and become evolutionary artifacts as happened to the Neanderthals.

It is machines versus humans. Humans attempt to contain the superior artificial intelligence. Is this event inevitable and unstoppable as technology increases at an increasing rate? Could this nightmare singularity be prevented by imprisoning an artificial super-intelligence? Successful, long-term imprisonment of super-intelligence will most likely fail and is a last-ditch, futile effort of a then-obsolete life-form to justify their superseded and antiquated existence.

Skynet Rising: The AI Threat to Humanity's Existence with Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy

Alex talks with Roman Yampolskiy, a computer scientist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, who recently wrote an article about the danger to humanity from AI and super-intelligent computers. Mr. Yampolskiy is trained in the fields of programming, forensics, biometrics and artificial intelligence.



Humanity Must 'Jail' Dangerous AI to Avoid Doom, Expert Says

Super-intelligent computers or robots have threatened humanity's existence more than once in science fiction. Such doomsday scenarios could be prevented if humans can create a virtual prison to contain artificial intelligence before it grows dangerously self-aware.

Keeping the artificial intelligence (AI) genie trapped in the proverbial bottle could turn an apocalyptic threat into a powerful oracle that solves humanity's problems, said Roman Yampolskiy, a computer scientist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. But successful containment requires careful planning so that a clever AI cannot simply threaten, bribe, seduce or hack its way to freedom.

"It can discover new attack pathways, launch sophisticated social-engineering attacks and re-use existing hardware components in unforeseen ways," Yampolskiy said. "Such software is not limited to infecting computers and networks — it can also attack human psyches, bribe, blackmail and brainwash those who come in contact with it."

Humanity Must 'Jail' Dangerous AI to Avoid Doom, Expert Says


Hal 9000 AI in 2001: A Space Odyssey


Skynet AI in The Terminator

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Cheetah Robot Sets Speed Record: Designed to Strike Quickly, Pursue Humans, Reconnoiter

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DARPA Cheetah


Cheetah Robot Sets Speed Record: Designed to Strike Quickly, Pursue Humans, Reconnoiter

If you think being chased by a cheetah is horrific, then being chased by a faster and weaponized robotic cheetah is doom. This is assuming Petman or AlphaDog don't terminate you first. Mark our words, all the robots reported on this website will not only be refined, weaponized, and deployed by the military, but ultimately utilized by federal, state, county, and city law enforcement. Your children and grandchildren, if not you, will someday see these DARPA machines in everyday environs. One more terrifying twist, the final touch for these robots will be artificial intelligence and the ability to operate autonomously. That is, these robots will have independent decision-making ability without cables, remote control, or human handlers. Imagine a robotic cheetah with a bloodhound's sense of smell. Not sure if spreading out pepper on the ground a la Cool Hand Luke would confuse the robo-cheetah, bloodhound edition.

DARPA Cheetah Sets Speed Record for Legged Robots

This video shows a demonstration of the "Cheetah" robot galloping at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour (mph), setting a new land speed record for legged robots. The previous record was 13.1 mph, set in 1989. The robot's movements are patterned after those of fast-running animals in nature. The robot increases its stride and running speed by flexing and un-flexing its back on each step, much as an actual cheetah does.

The current version of the Cheetah robot runs on a laboratory treadmill where it is powered by an off-board hydraulic pump, and uses a boom-like device to keep it running in the center of the treadmill. Testing of a free-running prototype is planned for later this year. While the M3 program conducts basic research and is not focused on specific military missions, the technology it aims to develop could have a wide range of potential military applications. The DARPA M3 performer for Cheetah is Boston Dynamics of Waltham, Mass.




Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency


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Creating Colossus, the World’s First Electronic Computer

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A Colossus Mark 2 computer. Colossus became operational in January 1944. Source: Wikipedia

Creating Colossus, the World’s First Electronic Computer

Remembering Colossus, the World’s First Programmable Electronic Computer Google is reporting: It’s no secret we have a special fondness for Bletchley Park. The pioneering work carried out there didn’t just crack codes—it laid the foundations for the computer age. Today, we’d like to pay homage to a lesser-known contributor—Tommy Flowers. Bletchley Park’s breakthroughs were the product of theoretical mathematical brilliance combined with dazzling feats of engineering—none more so than Flowers’ creation of Colossus, the world’s first programmable, electronic computer.

By 1942 the hardest task facing Bletchley Park’s wartime codebreakers was deciphering messages encrypted by Lorenz, used by Germany for their most top-secret communications. Initially Lorenz messages were broken by hand, using ingenious but time-consuming techniques. To speed things up, it was decided to build a machine to automate parts of the decoding process. This part-mechanical, part-electronic device was called Heath Robinson, but although it helped, it was unreliable and still too slow. Tommy Flowers was an expert in the use of relays and thermionic valves for switching, thanks to his research developing telephone systems. Initially, he was summoned to Bletchley Park to help improve Heath Robinson, but his concerns with its design were so great he came up with an entirely new solution—an electronic machine, later christened Colossus.

When Flowers proposed the idea for Colossus in February 1943, Bletchley Park management feared that, with around 1,600 thermionic valves, it would be unreliable. Drawing on his pre-war research, Flowers was eventually able to persuade them otherwise, with proof that valves were reliable provided the machine they were used in was never turned off. Despite this, however, Bletchley Park’s experts were still skeptical that a new machine could be ready quickly enough and declined to pursue it further.

Fortunately Flowers was undeterred, and convinced the U.K.’s Post Office research centre at Dollis Hill in London to approve the project instead. Working around the clock, and partially funding it out of his own pocket, Flowers and his team completed a prototype Colossus in just 10 months.

The first Colossus came into operation at Bletchley Park in January 1944. It exceeded all expectations and was able to derive many of the Lorenz settings for each message within a few hours, compared to weeks previously. This was followed in June 1944 by a 2,400-valve Mark 2 version which was even more powerful, and which provided vital information to aid the D-Day landings. By the end of the war there were 10 Colossus computers at Bletchley Park working 24/7.

Once war was over, all mention of Colossus was forbidden by the Official Secrets Act. Eight of the machines were dismantled, while the remaining two were sent to London where they purportedly were used for intelligence purposes until 1960. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that Colossus could begin to claim its rightful crown at the forefront of computing history.

Tommy Flowers passed away in 1998, but we were privileged recently to catch up with some on his team who helped build and maintain Colossus.

This week heralds the opening of a new gallery dedicated to Colossus at the U.K.’s National Museum of Computing, based at Bletchley Park. The rebuilt Colossus is on show, and over the coming weeks it will be joined by interactive exhibits and displays. Bletchley Park is less than an hour from Central London, and makes a fitting pilgrimage for anyone interested in computing. Posted by Lynette Webb, Google, Senior Manager, External Relations

Colossus: Creating a Giant A short film made by Google to celebrate Colossus and those who built it, in particular Tommy Flowers. Colossus was the world's first electronic computer, used for code-breaking at Bletchley Park during WW2. A working rebuilt Colossus can be seen at The National Museum of Computing in the UK.



Official Google Blog: Remembering Colossus, the world’s first programmable electronic computer



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Petman and AlphaDog Robots: Man and Dog of the Future

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Strange Days Indeed An anthropomorphic robot (Petman) and a legged squad support system (AlphaDog) by Boston Dynamics generate worst-case science fiction scenarios. First for military deployment, then law enforcement, then all sorts of mayhem is possible as artificial intelligence increases with this duo. A combination of the Terminator and the War of the Worlds coming to our lives as we become progressively less relevant. AlphaDog is the descendant of BigDog, which was reviewed in a previous post, LittleDog & BigDog Robots, USC & DARPA show latest versions & abilities.

PETMAN PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot developed by Boston Dynamics for testing special clothing used by US military personnel. PETMAN balances itself as it walks, squats and does calisthenics. PETMAN simulates human physiology by controlling temperature, humidity and sweating inside the clothing to provide realistic test conditions. PETMAN development is lead by Boston Dynamics, working in partnership with Measurement Technologies Northwest, Oak Ridge National Lab and MRIGlobal. The work is being done for the DoD CBDP. For more information about PETMAN visit us at www.BostonDynamics.com
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Meet the Future: Petman


AlphaDog Proto The AlphaDog Proto is a lab prototype for the Legged Squad Support System, a robot being developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. When fully developed the system will carry 400 lbs of payload on 20-mile missions in rough terrain. The first version of the complete robot will be ready in 2012. This video shows early results from the lab where we are developing the control systems and locomotion platform. This lab prototype is powered remotely. AlphaDog will draw power from an internal combustion engine, which we designed to be 10x quieter than BigDog. The field version of AlphaDog will have a sensor head packed with terrain sensors. Boston Dynamics leads a development team that includes AAI Corp, Bell Helicopter, CMU/NREC, FEV, JPL and Woodward HRT. For more information visit us at www.BostonDynamics.com.




Meet the Future: AlphaDog



Worst-Case Scenario: Petman of the Future in a Bad Mood



Worst-Case Scenario: AlphaDog of the Future in a Bad Mood


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The Artificial Intelligence Threat to Humanity: Skynet Rising?

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Proposed Sign for "Dangerous Artificial Intelligence"


The Artificial Intelligence Threat to Humanity: Skynet Rising? The worst-case technological singularity scenario is unimpeded artificial, machine intelligence exceeding human, biological intelligence. That is, humans create an artificial intelligence greater than themselves that is unhindered. The singularity then occurs because the future cannot be determined beyond this event horizon. In this scenario, there is no merger of machines and humans into cyborgs and humans becoming transbiological. Humans are left behind and become evolutionary artifacts as happened to the Neanderthals.

It is machines versus humans. Humans attempt to contain the superior artificial intelligence. Is this event inevitable and unstoppable as technology increases at an increasing rate? Could this nightmare singularity be prevented by imprisoning an artificial super-intelligence? Successful, long-term imprisonment of super-intelligence will most likely fail and is a last-ditch, futile effort of a then-obsolete life-form to justify their superseded and antiquated existence.

Skynet Rising: The AI Threat to Humanity's Existence with Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy Alex talks with Roman Yampolskiy, a computer scientist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, who recently wrote an article about the danger to humanity from AI and super-intelligent computers. Mr. Yampolskiy is trained in the fields of programming, forensics, biometrics and artificial intelligence.



Humanity Must 'Jail' Dangerous AI to Avoid Doom, Expert Says Super-intelligent computers or robots have threatened humanity's existence more than once in science fiction. Such doomsday scenarios could be prevented if humans can create a virtual prison to contain artificial intelligence before it grows dangerously self-aware.

Keeping the artificial intelligence (AI) genie trapped in the proverbial bottle could turn an apocalyptic threat into a powerful oracle that solves humanity's problems, said Roman Yampolskiy, a computer scientist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. But successful containment requires careful planning so that a clever AI cannot simply threaten, bribe, seduce or hack its way to freedom.

"It can discover new attack pathways, launch sophisticated social-engineering attacks and re-use existing hardware components in unforeseen ways," Yampolskiy said. "Such software is not limited to infecting computers and networks — it can also attack human psyches, bribe, blackmail and brainwash those who come in contact with it."

Humanity Must 'Jail' Dangerous AI to Avoid Doom, Expert Says


Hal 9000 AI in 2001: A Space Odyssey


Skynet AI in The Terminator


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Petman and AlphaDog Robots: Man and Dog of the Future

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Strange Days Indeed An anthropomorphic robot (Petman) and a legged squad support system (AlphaDog) by Boston Dynamics generate worst-case science fiction scenarios. First for military deployment, then law enforcement, then all sorts of mayhem is possible as artificial intelligence increases with this duo. A combination of the Terminator and the War of the Worlds coming to our lives as we become progressively less relevant. AlphaDog is the descendant of BigDog, which was reviewed in a previous post, LittleDog & BigDog Robots, USC & DARPA show latest versions & abilities.


PETMAN PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot developed by Boston Dynamics for testing special clothing used by US military personnel. PETMAN balances itself as it walks, squats and does calisthenics. PETMAN simulates human physiology by controlling temperature, humidity and sweating inside the clothing to provide realistic test conditions. PETMAN development is lead by Boston Dynamics, working in partnership with Measurement Technologies Northwest, Oak Ridge National Lab and MRIGlobal. The work is being done for the DoD CBDP. For more information about PETMAN visit us at www.BostonDynamics.com.



Meet the Future: Petman


AlphaDog Proto The AlphaDog Proto is a lab prototype for the Legged Squad Support System, a robot being developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. When fully developed the system will carry 400 lbs of payload on 20-mile missions in rough terrain. The first version of the complete robot will be ready in 2012. This video shows early results from the lab where we are developing the control systems and locomotion platform. This lab prototype is powered remotely. AlphaDog will draw power from an internal combustion engine, which we designed to be 10x quieter than BigDog. The field version of AlphaDog will have a sensor head packed with terrain sensors. Boston Dynamics leads a development team that includes AAI Corp, Bell Helicopter, CMU/NREC, FEV, JPL and Woodward HRT. For more information visit us at www.BostonDynamics.com.




Meet the Future: AlphaDog


Worst-Case Scenario: Petman of the Future in a Bad Mood


Worst-Case Scenario: AlphaDog of the Future in a Bad Mood


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Ray Kurzweil: The Six Epochs of Technology Evolution (Video) *Humanity & the evolution of information*

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Countdown to the Technological Singularity

Ray Kurzweil: The Six Epochs of Technology Evolution Ray Kurzweil has postulated, and views evolution as, six epochs of technology. Each epoch defines how information is stored and processed and are stages in the evolution of information. These epochs are:
● Epoch 1 Physics and Chemistry: Information in atomic structures
● Epoch 2 Biology: Information in DNA
● Epoch 3 Brains: Information in neural patterns
● Epoch 4 Technology: Information in hardware and software designs
● Epoch 5 Merger of Technology and Human Intelligence: The methods of biology (including human intelligence) are integrated into the (exponentially expanding) human technology base
● Epoch 6 The Universe Wakes Up: Patterns of matter and energy in the Universe become saturated with intelligent processes and knowledge

Ray Kurzweil We are now in late Epoch 4. Ray Kurzweil states, "This is the advanced state of Epoch 4, where humans are creating technology and putting our knowledge base in that technology. Epoch 5 is when we are going to merge with that non-biological intelligence that we are creating. To do that, we need to create intelligence that is equal to us and we need to create the nanotechnology to put it inside our bodies and brains. That's where we're headed, that will be Epoch 5. Then Epoch 6 is when we go out into the rest of the Universe." In Epoch 5 the Law of Accelerating Returns, that information technology grows exponentially, is utilized to maximum advantage and the Technological Singularity occurs.

The Near Future Ray Kurzweil predicts that computers will be able to simulate the human brain by 2020. By 2029 the human brain will have been reverse-engineered and computers will be able to simulate all of the brain's capabilities, including emotional intelligence. Machines will then be more intelligent than humans.

The Six Epochs from The Singularity is Near The Singularity is real. By virtue of second law of thermodynamics it is inevitable. In the absence of Truth it creates fear. In thermodynamics it emerged as heat death of the universe. In General Relativity it emerged as the point to which all the matter collapses in time to take new birth [Big bang]. In modern world it is the black hole into which all the information collapses. From the point of biology and evolutionist it becomes the point where machines grow to beat the potentiality of Human mind and makes him slave. All this potentially fearful evolution emerges, from our basic vision and assumption that universe is material. These fears vanish and hope emerges the moment you switch your fundamental assumption that universe is material and think it as living conscious and intelligent being. Then all the conceptual thinking of singularity becomes valid as Living Science, centered on one Super Soul and Mind that Creates and controls everything. Our present Evolution of the universe becomes a journey of the Creator in time to awaken human consciousness and intelligence to meet the Mind of God or the Creator, such that we humans beat death and gain life. We are approaching the gate of singularity and Truth is the Key to open the door to Golden Age or Kingdom of God. We are in the edge of death and destruction, the more we delay comprehending the Truth greater will be the destruction. Universe needs to be understood as Consciousness and intelligence [Information] unfolding and enfolding eternally sustaining the universe in time.

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Living in a Post-Human World (Video) Michio Kaku: "We will become the gods that we once feared"

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Will transbiological humans be like the gods of mythology?

The Future of Humanity Michio Kaku asserts that humans have not changed, but are the same as the cavemen of 100,000 year ago. The basic personality is the same. The difference is the technology modern humans have developed. The post-human world will be similar socially and culturally. Further, through technology, "we will become the gods we once feared", having their abilities and powers. The capabilities of Zeus, Athena, and Apollo will become reality in a post-human world. Even new animals will be created, such as Pegasus, and extinct animals will be resurrected, such as dinosaurs. While our ancestors would be in awe of our current technology, our descendants would be seen by us as gods.

Living in a Post-Human World Big Think reader Liam Stein asks Dr. Michio Kaku the question "How will the world look post-singularity? Can you walk us through a day in the life of a transhuman?" Michio Kaku: At some point in the future we will have robots as smart as us. Why not enhance ourselves?Fundamentally we are the same cavemen and cavewomen of 100,000 years ago that emerged from Africa, except we have all the gizmos and gadgets of today, but our basic personality hasn’t changed so much. People will still want to look acceptable to their peers, acceptable to members of the opposite sex and so living in a post human world is not going to be that much different than living in the human world except we’ll have perfect bodies, except we’ll be ageless. We will become the gods that we once feared. We will like Zeus mentally control objects around us. Like Venus we will have perfect bodies and ageless bodies. Like Apollo we will have carriages that make us fly effortlessly in the sky with no energy from the outside and like Pegasus we’ll have animals that have never walked the surface of the earth or ceased walking the surface of the earth tens of thousands of years ago. In other words, if we today were to meet our grandparents of 1900 they would view us with our rockets and GPS systems and iPads. They would view us as sorcerers, wizards. How would we today view someone from 2100? We would view them as the gods of mythology.

About Michio Kaku Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, best-selling author, and popularizer of science. He’s the co-founder of string field theory (a branch of string theory), and continues Einstein’s search to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into one unified theory. He has appeared on television (Discovery, BBC, ABC, Science Channel, and CNN to name a few), written for popular science publications like Discover, Wired, and New Scientist, been featured in documentaries like Me & Isaac Newton, and hosted many of his own including BBC’s recent series on Time. He received a B.S. (summa cum laude) from Harvard University in 1968 where he came first in his physics class. He went on to the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley and received a Ph.D. in 1972. In 1973, he held a lectureship at Princeton University. Michio continues Einstein’s search for a “Theory of Everything,” seeking to unify the four fundamental forces of the universe—the strong force, the weak force, gravity and electromagnetism. He is the author of several scholarly, Ph.D. level textbooks and has had more than 70 articles published in physics journals, covering topics such as superstring theory, supergravity, supersymmetry, and hadronic physics. He holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York, where he has taught for over 25 years. He has also been a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, as well as New York University (NYU).

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