22 Jan

Posted at 20:26h in Scoop.it

What will War in Space look like in the Future

One day humanity will take to the stars, and just like it did in the sea and the air, it will bring its weapons with it. Though we can hope that the rise of mankind from the cradle of its infancy to the heavens above will be accompanied by a similar

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.thefuturist.co

14 Jan

Posted at 21:56h in Scoop.it

Combining quantum computing with neural networks could produce AI that can make very complex decisions quickly.

 

The human brain has amazing capabilities making it in many ways more powerful than the world’s most advanced computers. So it’s not surprising that engineers have long been trying to copy it. Nowadays, artificial neural networks inspired by the structure of the brain are used to tackle some of the most difficult problems in artificial intelligence (AI). But this approach typically involves building software so information is processed in a similar way to the brain, rather than creating hardware that mimics neurons.

 

 

Sourced through Scoop.it from: theconversation.com

14 Jan

Posted at 21:55h in Scoop.it

A new study in the journal Science has found that the Earth’s oceans are warming far faster than experts had previously predicted, leading to a bleak outlook among climate scientists who say the rapid environmental shifts will lead to international disputes, humanitarian crises and deadly freak weather events.

 

The New York Times, for instance, summarized researchers’ view of the findings as “catastrophic.” “It’s spilling over far beyond just fish, it’s turned into trade wars,” Rutgers professor Malin Pinsky told the newspaper. “It’s turned into diplomatic disputes. It’s led to a breakdown in international relations in some cases.” As the greenhouse effect has intensified, according to the new research, the oceans have born the brunt of global warming. Readings suggest that 2018 will be the hottest year on record for the planet’s seas, replacing 2017 and 2016 before it.

 

The effects for weather patterns and marine life are dire, experts warn — and food shortages and displacement will leak into geopolitics long before we scorch life above the waterline as well.

“If the ocean wasn’t absorbing as much heat, the surface of the land would heat up much faster than it is right now,” Pinsky told the Times. “In fact, the ocean is saving us from massive warming right now.”

 

READ MORE: Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds [The New York Times]

Sourced through Scoop.it from: futurism.com

14 Jan

Posted at 21:53h in Scoop.it

Neural networks are famously incomprehensible, so Been Kim is developing a “translator for humans.”

 

If a doctor told that you needed surgery, you would want to know why — and you’d expect the explanation to make sense to you, even if you’d never gone to medical school. Been Kim, a research scientist at Google Brain, believes that we should expect nothing less from artificial intelligence. As a specialist in “interpretable” machine learning, she wants to build AI software that can explain itself to anyone.

 

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.quantamagazine.org

07 Jan

Posted at 22:39h in Scoop.it

Scientists have developed a ew device which can listen to and stimulate electric current in the brain at the same time.

 

A new neurostimulator developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, can listen to and stimulate electric current in the brain at the same time, potentially delivering fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson’s. The new device, named the WAND, works like a "pacemaker for the brain," monitoring the brain’s electrical activity and delivering electrical stimulation if it detects something amiss.

 

 

Sourced through Scoop.it from: news.berkeley.edu

07 Jan

Posted at 22:36h in Scoop.it

Researchers have found that neighboring cells can take over functions of damaged or missing insulin-producing cells. The discovery may lead to new treatments for diabetes.

 

Diabetes is caused by damaged or non-existing insulin cells inability to produce insulin, a hormone that is necessary in regulating blood sugar levels. Many diabetes patients take insulin supplements to regulate these levels. 

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.uib.no