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It’s Elementary. The Problem With Artificial Intelligence Agents

Posted April 29th, 2016 at 11:55 am (UTC-4)
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The rapid advance of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies could change the landscape in health, education and social interaction. But it is also a cause for concern in the absence of safety regulations or a code of ethics to govern the use of humanoids. They are already on the job – AI helpers in factories, hotels, […]

Artificial Intelligence Learns to Improve Lip Reading Accuracy

Posted April 22nd, 2016 at 10:43 am (UTC-4)
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Accurate lip reading is notoriously hard under ordinary circumstances and gets harder and less reliable in noisy conditions. But one team of researchers is putting artificial intelligence and machine learning to work to improve accuracy in the hope that it will one day benefit forensic experts and the hearing-impaired. Ordinary people lip read all the […]

Asia Mobile Banking Apps Riddled With Malware

Posted April 15th, 2016 at 10:55 am (UTC-4)
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Mobile users are more likely to fall victim to cyberattacks in Asia than in any other region, in part because the continent’s Android mobile banking system is riddled with malware, thanks to a lack of awareness and the proliferation of third-party software. While cybercriminals are likely to attack wherever they can get a foothold, the […]

VR Aids Therapy, but What Happens to Your Brain?

Posted April 8th, 2016 at 9:05 am (UTC-4)
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Virtual reality (VR) is finally becoming a reality for consumers, thanks to a new generation of affordable gear that could expand its use beyond travel and entertainment to medicine. But what you might not know is that VR is already in use for therapy and has been for the past 20 years, although its long-term […]

Palmyra Triumphal Arch Comes to Life in 3-D-printed Display

Posted April 1st, 2016 at 10:55 am (UTC-4)
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The Triumphal Arch of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra – destroyed by Islamic State (IS) militants last October – is being resurrected, thanks to digital technology and 3-D printing. The replicated structure is going on display around the world on April 19 in a fitting tribute to the city’s recent liberation from IS control. […]

Diversity Contest Looks for Common Ground Amid Discord

Posted March 25th, 2016 at 10:43 am (UTC-4)
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Update: The Grand Prize was awarded to Los Angeles-based creative team, Tonia Beglari, Jazmin Garcia, Emilia Yang, and Allison Comrie – all women of color – for Downtown Browns. The second and third prizes went to Samantha Pyra and Rose Glaeser for Mysteries of NYC, and Ram Devineni for Fabulous Hair! The prickly issue of […]

How to Stop Locky Ransomware; the Promise of Artificial Intelligence

Posted March 23rd, 2016 at 11:58 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: This Bag of Tricks May Help Stop a Locky Ransomware Infection Remember Locky? That’s the name of a recent malware that used email spam to trick computer users into opening fake attachments loaded with malicious code. The ransomware appeared a few months ago and locked California’s Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center out of […]

Four Young Entrepreneurs Making the World a Better Place

Posted March 18th, 2016 at 10:46 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s world of cutting-edge technology clearly belongs to the young – brash, innovative, unafraid to take a risk. Some of these young entrepreneurs are already at the pinnacle of success. Others are slowly creating a name for themselves. Techtonics connected with four of them. Mateusz Mach Eighteen-year-old Mateusz Mach, CEO of Five, a messaging app […]

‘Design Squad Global’ Hooks Up US, Africa Kids in STEM Exchange

Posted March 11th, 2016 at 11:05 am (UTC-4)
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In an increasingly digitized world, cultivating a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) mindset is crucial to mint a new generation of makers who understand unmet global needs. One partnership is looking to do that by building bridges between U.S. and southern African kids to give STEM skills a boost. Using after-school programs or “clubs,” […]

Google AI Wins Second Go Match; Future Hacks Could Cause Injuries

Posted March 10th, 2016 at 11:57 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Google’s AI Wins Pivotal Second Game in Match With Go Grandmaster AlphaGo, Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) program, won a second round in the ancient Chinese board game Go against grandmaster Lee Sedol. No machine has ever beaten humans at Go, a complex strategy game where players vie for more ground. AlphaGo needs […]