Masdar Buys Inkjet Printer for 3D Printing Solar Cells! The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) in Abu Dhabi, which is affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has purchased a Fujifilm Dimatix DMP283 inkjet printer – the learning institute’s first step towards printing its very own solar cells! For the longest time, the United Arab Emirates had no chance to keep pace with the western world’s clean tech advancements mostly because of a dearth of skills and a non-existent supply chain of necessary materials. But that is changing now as government and civil society leaders recognize the importance of keeping pace with western developments – particularly to secure the region’s energy hegemony for the future. As such, Beirut recently opened the first 3-D printing shop and now MIST, a branch of Masdar, has announced that it has purchased a Fujifilm Dimatix DMP283 inkjet printer in order to prepare its graduate students to learn how to print their own organic optoelectronics. “Dr. MIST President Dr. :: Arab Brains
Robot Morality: Can a Machine Have a Conscience Robot Morality: Can a Machine Have a Conscience? By Brian Green As part of the Markkula Center's yearlong series of talks on conscience, George Lucas of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, formerly of the US Naval Academy, and previously a professor of philosophy at Santa Clara University, came to campus to discuss the ethics of giving autonomous military robots the authority to kill. Lucas answered the title question of the talk "Can a machine have a conscience?" Beginning with a discussion of the current use of military drones, which are piloted by humans and can only fire by human authorization, Lucas moved on to what he thought would be more likely scenarios for autonomous robots. Lucas emphasized that even human commanders in military situations often must contact leadership in order to know how to react or to authorize the use of force. That simple situation is quite like what one might encounter on the ground in Afghanistan. October 2013
Vernor Vinge on Technological Unemployment | THE DECLINE OF SCARCITY Vernor Vinge is consistently one of the most interesting and conceptually dense futurists I’ve had an opportunity to listen to. While watching this excellent talk of his at Singularity University, my ears perked up at the mention of technological unemployment, the primary focus of this blog. About halfway into the talk he broached the general issue of technological disruption: “In the present era we all seem to be involved in the Red Queen’s race. Myself as a writer, I’m up against eBooks, and I’m up against all the piracy. Soon afterward he addressed the topic of technological unemployment more directly: “What comes after technological unemployment? Essentially Vinge is describing a theoretical crowdsourcing platform (or platforms) that could systematically harness human minds and direct them towards the tasks humans still do best. Of course today we do not have anything like such a platform, though we might have potential precursors. Vinge then continues:
7 Company Blogs That Build Community (And More) Company blogs aren’t usually considered supreme ROI-generators. Some simply see them as a necessity for SEO, while others hire writers because everyone else is doing it. A good blog is a community builder, a resource that users, friends, and partners turn to when they’re looking for information, advice, or even just a smile. A great blog is one that people talk about with their friends, read on a regular basis, and wait with bated breath for the next post. A blog is not only an opportunity to show off your authority, but it also helps keep your business top of mind. With that in mind, let’s look at 7 company blogs that do it right, along with some practical tips for getting the same success in your blog. Mint doesn’t offer a glamorous service — the platform helps users manage their budgets by categorizing their transactions. A blog about personal finance is a natural fit, and Mint does an exceptional job of providing practical advice that is relatable. 1. 2. Lessons to learn from Mint:
Firefighting Robot Paints 3D Thermal Imaging Picture for Rescuers Engineers in the Coordinated Robotics Lab at the University of California, San Diego, have developed new image processing techniques for rapid exploration and characterization of structural fires by small Segway-like robotic vehicles. A sophisticated on-board software system takes the thermal data recorded by the robot’s small infrared camera and maps it onto a 3D scene constructed from the images taken by a pair of stereo RGB cameras. This allows small mobile robotic vehicles to create a virtual reality picture that includes a 3D map and temperature data that can be used immediately by first responders as the robot drives through a building on fire. The research is part of a plan to develop novel robotic scouts that can help firefighters to assist in residential and commercial blazes. The robots will map and photograph the interior of burning buildings by using stereo vision. Computer scientists in Prof.
Patients Scarred After Robotic Surgery Intuitive Surgical, which makes the da Vinci, declined to discuss their cases because of pending litigation. Most robotic procedures take place without a hitch, but there are a growing number of complaints and lawsuits that allege complications and even deaths from the da Vinci surgery. "The robot has a place in surgery," said Dr. Francois Blaudeau, a lawyer and practicing Alabama gynecologist who is serving as the lead plaintiffs' attorney on a slew of cases focused on da Vinci-related injuries. CNBC.com's Da Vinci Debate series:Part 1: Controversy Over Surgical Robotics Heats Up Part 2: Patients Scarred After Robotic Surgery Part 3: Counting the Problems of Robot-Assisted Surgery Part 4: Marketing Is Key to Surgical Robot's Success According to lawsuits, complaints, interviews with alleged victims, plaintiff attorneys and an FDA database, many of the reported injuries during robotic surgery appear to be burns and other heat-related damage to intestines, ureter, bowels and other organs.
Basic income versus the robots Two weeks ago, I wrote about the idea of a citizen's income: the state replacing the vast majority of the benefit system with one cash payment made to everyone, regardless of employment or income. The advantages of such a change are legion. At a stroke, the thorny issues of incentives are done away with, since work always pays; the deadweight loss associated with means testing disappears (albeit replaced with the deadweight loss of giving money to people who don't need it); those most likely to fall through the cracks of a regimented welfare state find the barrier to re-entry done away with; and it allows for a recognition of the value of certain types of non-market labour, like caring or raising children. The New York Times' Paul Krugman and the Financial Times' Izabella Kaminska now wade into the fray, proposing another advantage of the policy: its redistributive effect. Now, redistribution is already, prima facie, one of the absolute best things a government can do. Krugman writes:
A parent's love -- no matter what - alice.default - HEC Paris Mail Power JMD From PESWiki "E pure si muove / And yet it moves."-- Galileo said of the Earth Compiled by Sterling D. Allan Pure Energy Systems News June 18, 2013 A French company, Power JMD, appears to have an exotic free energy device that is getting close to market (some time in "2013 or 2014"). From what I can gather, it uses some kind of rotational mechanism that is able to self-loop and provide excess energy; and it is fairly bulky and fairly well engineered. On their site, they say: "With the POWERJMD system, you will get an independent and almost free ecologic source of electricity. And on their "goals" page, they say: "This new system has the potential to end the mass production of electric energy as we know it today." "Who has not dreamed of producing his own electricity? "The POWERJMD system does not pollute and emits very little noise. "Here is a generator for every use: Homes, apartment buildings, industry, commercial centers, and municipalities." Official Websites Videos Clean, Free Energy
How Should the Law Think About Robots? by Neil M. Richards, William Smart The robots are coming. We don’t mean this in a scary, apocalyptic way, like in The Terminator or Battlestar Galactica, or in a tongue-in-cheek way, like in the Flight of the Conchords song “The Humans are Dead.” What we mean is this: Robots and robotic technologies are now mature enough to leave the research lab and come to the consumer market in large numbers. This essay is an attempt to think through some of the conceptual issues surrounding law, robots and robotics, to sketch out some of their implications.
Will a Robot Take Your Job? Slowly, but surely, robots (and virtual ’bots that exist only as software) are taking over our jobs; according to one back-of-the-envelope projection, in ninety years “70 percent of today’s occupations will likewise be replaced by automation.” Should we be worried? Kevin Kelly, “senior maverick” at Wired magazine, and source for the above guestimate, says we shouldn’t. Instead, argues Kelly, in a Utopian piece titled “Better than Human,” we should welcome our new robot overlords. If history repeats itself, robots will replace our current jobs, but, says Kelly, we’ll have new jobs, that we can scarcely imagine: In the coming years robot-driven cars and trucks will become ubiquitous; this automation will spawn the new human occupation of trip optimizer, a person who tweaks the traffic system for optimal energy and time usage. Well, maybe. One possibility is that it won’t matter. Everyone has personal workbots…at their beck and call. Nobody knows for sure what will come next.
Born Rich First-time filmmaker Jamie Johnson, a 23-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, captures the rituals, worries and social customs of the young Trumps, Vanderbilts, Newhouses and Bloombergs in the documentary special, Born Rich. Offering candid insights into the privileges and burdens of inheriting more money than most people will earn in a lifetime. Narrated by Johnson, a history student at New York University, and filmed over a three-year period, Born Rich spotlights ten young adults who came into the world knowing they would never have to work a day in their lives. These society-column names speak frankly about the one subject they all know is taboo: money. Most wealthy people are told from a very young age not to talk about money, notes Johnson. Among the peers Johnson interviews are: Josiah Hornblower, heir to the Vanderbilt and Whitney fortunes; S.I. Watch the full documentary now
THE 18 MOST SUPPRESSED INVENTIONS Perhaps the most notorious suppressed invention is the General Motors EV1, subject of the 2006 documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? The EV1 was the world’s first mass-produced electric car, with 800 of them up for lease from GM in the late ’90s. GM ended the EV1 line in 1999, stating that consumers weren’t happy with the limited driving range of the car’s batteries, making it unprofitable to continue production. Many skeptics, however, believe GM killed the EV1 under pressure from oil companies, who stand to lose the most if high-efficiency vehicles conquer the market. In 1921, if the streetcar industry wasn’t actually naming streetcars Desire, it was certainly desiring more streetcars. The holy grail of automotive technology is the 99-mpg car. Nikola Tesla was more than just the inspiration for a hair metal band, he was also an undisputed genius. Despite how silly it sounds, water-fueled vehicles do exist. Dr. Comments comments