An AI-driven robot hand spent a hundred years teaching itself to rotate a cube

A more efficient approach than brute programming:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611724/artificial-intelligence-driven-robot-hand-spends-a-hundred-years-teaching-itself-to-rotate/

This Mind-Controlled Robotic Limb Lets You Multitask With Three Arms

Apparently our brains are capable of controlling three arms. How cool is that?

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/31/this-prosthesis-lets-you-multitask-with-three-arms/

Next-Gen Nuclear Is Coming—If Society Wants It

Yeah, don't forget nuclear power:

https://www.wired.com/story/next-gen-nuclear/

Can a Robot Be a Very Good Doggo? Boston Dynamics Hopes So

https://www.inverse.com/article/47137-boston-dynamics-plans-for-robot-dogs-in-2019

4 Billion New Minds Online: The Coming Era of Connectivity

100% high-bandwidth global connectivity by 2025?

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/27/4-billion-new-minds-online-the-coming-era-of-connectivity/

DNA Computing Gets a Boost With This Machine Learning Hack

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/24/dna-computing-gets-a-boost-with-this-machine-learning-hack/

Making Sense of Solar Energy Innovations

A summary of the solar technologies in the works:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/making-sense-solar-energy-innovations-georges-sassine/

Virtual Reality Has Reached A “Tipping Point.” It’s Officially Here to Stay.

https://futurism.com/virtual-reality-tipping-point/

And a VR game custom designed to scare the shit out of you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGB_ehJy4K0&feature=youtu.be

DARPA To Fund New AI Concepts With Millions

Nice to see funding to speed A.I. research:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/samshead/2018/07/23/darpa-to-fund-new-ai-concepts-with-millions/#2928d44b251f

New Study Sounds a Note of Caution in the Development of CRISPR Gene Therapies

Crispy cancer:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/23/new-study-sounds-a-note-of-caution-in-the-development-of-crispr-gene-therapies/

We live in a time when robots paint better than us

It was going to happen sooner or later:

https://www.cnn.com/ampstories/us/we-live-in-a-time-when-robots-paint-better-than-us

From Here to Human-Level Artificial General Intelligence in Four (Not All That) Simple Steps

"I do believe they are achievable within our lifetime, maybe even in the next 5-10 years."

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/22/from-here-to-human-level-artificial-general-intelligence-in-four-not-all-that-simple-steps/

Evolutionary algorithm outperforms deep-learning machines at video games

Who needs programming when evolution can do the job for you?

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611568/evolutionary-algorithm-outperforms-deep-learning-machines-at-video-games/

Why the chess community actually grew when computers learned to play

"Humans have a deep appreciation for other humans doing remarkable things. Because of this, there will always be a demand for outstanding chess players, artists, and anyone pushing the boundaries of what is humanly possible. Even if computers can win every chess game, or create incredible art in every form, the fact that a machine did it is actually diminishing. We like the constraint of being human, and seeing what’s possible from within those boundaries. When we see a performance, we don’t just see it for what it is. We see the entire history, the years of training that led up to them being able to perform with such excellence."

https://work.qz.com/1329974/jobs-and-ai-if-you-are-worried-about-human-obsolescence-consider-chess/

Vivek Wadhwa: Get Ready for The Next Wave of Tech Disruptions

Disruptions galore:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czNzulNl31s&feature=youtu.be

This Drug Combo Extends Lifespan and Healthspan in Mice by Killing ‘Zombie’ Cells

This is a pretty stunning potential game-changer:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/17/this-drug-combo-extends-lifespan-and-healthspan-in-mice-by-killing-zombie-cells/

Why Most of Us Fail to Grasp Coming Exponential Gains in AI

This article explains the problems with exponential growth charts (I myself have been guilty of misunderstanding the "dog leg" of exponential increase):

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/15/why-most-of-us-fail-to-grasp-coming-exponential-gains-in-ai/

Four Challenges for LiDAR on the Road to Autonomous Vehicles

The adoption of self-driving cars has some snags we don't think about:

https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/four-challenges-lidar-on-road-autonomous-vehicles/213073188758977

New DNA Synthesis Method Could Soon Build a Genome in a Day

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/10/new-dna-synthesis-method-could-soon-build-a-genome-in-a-day/

How do the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3 compare?

https://pluginamerica.org/how-do-chevy-bolt-and-tesla-model-3-compare/

Inside a $1 Billion Real Estate Company Operating Entirely in VR

A taste of what working remotely is like in VR:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/08/inside-a-1-billion-real-estate-company-operating-entirely-in-vr/

An Overview of National AI Strategies

This worldwide push toward A.I. is why calls to keep the genie bottled up won't work:

https://medium.com/politics-ai/an-overview-of-national-ai-strategies-2a70ec6edfd

An AI learnt to drive an autonomous car in 20 minutes

It's breakthroughs like this that make me doubt autonomous car pessimists:

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/an-ai-learnt-to-drive-an-autonomous-car-in-20-minutes/

This Map Shows the Fastest-Growing Job in Every State — and What Each One Pays

Solar and wind power jobs lead the way:

http://time.com/money/5325812/fastest-growing-job-map/

Three Huge Ways Tech Is Overhauling Healthcare

VERY nice:

"We are on the brink of a revolution in healthcare. AI is making the drug discovery process >100X faster and cheaper, and 90 percent more likely to succeed in clinical trials. Mobile health is predicted to become a $102 billion market by 2022, putting a virtual doctor, on-demand, in your back pocket. And the cost of sequencing your genome (3.2 billion base pairs) has decreased 100,000-fold over 13 years, a staggering speed that is 3 times faster than the rate of Moore’s Law."

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/06/three-huge-ways-tech-is-overhauling-healthcare

Discovering new drugs and materials by ‘touching’ molecules in virtual reality

Very science fictiony way to design new materials:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/discovering-new-drugs-and-materials-by-touching-molecules-in-virtual-reality

The Infinadeck Omnidirectional Treadmill - Smarter Every Day 192 (VR Series)

You can see the future of VR gaming here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvu5FxKuqdQ

MIT’s Cheetah 3 blind robot can climb a staircase littered with debris, leap, and gallop across rough terrain

https://youtu.be/QZ1DaQgg3lE

We may have answered the Fermi Paradox: We are alone in the universe

This would suck...and make preserving out planet even more imperative:

https://qz.com/1314111/we-may-have-answered-the-fermi-paradox-we-are-alone-in-the-universe/

China's New Laser Gun Can Zap You with a Silent, Carbonizing Beam

I suspect this is bullshit, but here's the claim:

https://www.livescience.com/62973-china-laser-guns.html

Skeptics weigh in:

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2153791/laser-ak-47-chinese-developer-answers-sceptics-videos

Update: Yeah, certainly bullshit:

https://bigthink.com/news/we-call-bullshit-on-that-chinese-army-laser-gun-thats-making-the-rounds

Self-Driving Cars are Headed Toward an AI Roadblock

I really hope this isn't the case:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/3/17530232/self-driving-ai-winter-full-autonomy-waymo-tesla-uber

The New Energy Storage Tech Gates, Bezos, Ma, and Branson Are Investing In

Another potential avenue for solving the battery problem:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/02/the-new-energy-storage-tech-gates-bezos-ma-and-branson-are-investing-in/

One of these has to pay off sooner or later.

Disney Imagineering has created autonomous robot stunt doubles

Just because it's cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENa98h7M7qY

New material eliminates need for motors or actuators in future robots, other devices

"It can exert a force of up to 3000 times its own weight — producing stress and speed comparable to mammalian skeletal muscles, according to the researchers."

http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-material-eliminates-need-for-motors-or-actuators-in-future-robots-other-devices