The Google Assistant Needs You

https://backchannel.com/google-our-assistant-will-trigger-the-next-era-of-ai-3c72a4d7bc75#.rvybnpth7

"This 2016-to-2017 Transition is going to move us from systems that are explicitly taught to ones that implicitly learn.” Think of it as a mini-Singularity."

A Secret Ops AI Aims to Save Education

https://backchannel.com/a-secret-ops-ai-aims-to-save-education-c1c887a56a67#.365fmcwnn

“I haven’t been able to tell,” says Duri Long, a student in Goel’s physical class, to the nods of her friends. “I think if you can’t tell, it’s pretty effective, and I think it’s a good thing, because people can get help more rapidly.”

That's a good sign for passing the Turing Test.

Method discovered to remove damaging amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer’s disease

http://www.kurzweilai.net/method-discovered-to-remove-damaging-amyloid-plaques-found-in-alzheimers-disease

Exponential Growth Will Transform Humanity in the Next 30 Years

https://singularityhub.com/2016/12/21/exponential-growth-will-transform-humanity-in-the-next-30-years/#.WFw-lSlBrKo.facebook

Unfortunately, this all assumes Trump doesn't outlaw science....

Laser-Based Propulsion System Could Get Us to Mars in Record Time—Just Three Days

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/laser-based-propulsion-system-could-get-us-to-mars-in-record-time-just-three-days

Mark Zuckerberg Just Unveiled His Newest Creation, an AI Named Jarvis

Watch the video. It's probably not entirely "real," but impressive nevertheless:

https://futurism.com/mark-zuckerberg-just-unveiled-his-newest-creation-an-ai-named-jarvis/

$5.2 Trillion in Investments Pulled From the Fossil Fuel Industry

Nice to see such a seismic shift away from fossil fuel investing:

https://futurism.com/5-2-trillion-in-investments-pulled-from-the-fossil-fuel-industry/

Parkour! Watch This Animal-Inspired Robot Spring Off Walls

This should ultimately be more effective than the big, lumbering Terminators:

https://futurism.com/videos/parkour-watch-this-animal-inspired-robot-spring-off-walls/

The ‘Miracle Material’ Strikes Again. Graphene Can Turn CO2 Into Liquid Fuel

The big question is...can it pull CO2 directly out of the atmosphere?

https://futurism.com/the-miracle-material-strikes-again-graphene-can-turn-co2-into-liquid-fuel/

Sunny Days: Solar is Officially Becoming the Cheapest Form of New Electricity

"Solar power is now around half the price of coal and gas, making it cheaper than wind energy, and ultimately the cheapest form of new electricity."

https://futurism.com/sunny-days-solar-is-officially-becoming-the-cheapest-form-of-new-electricity/

A New Theory of Gravity Just Passed its First Test. Here’s What This Means for Physics

https://futurism.com/a-new-theory-of-gravity-just-passed-its-first-test-heres-what-this-means-for-physics/

Limitless Energy: South Korean Reactor Sets a New Record for Stable Nuclear Fusion

https://futurism.com/limitless-energy-south-korean-reactor-sets-a-new-record-for-stable-nuclear-fusion/

What the F... reeze: MIT Researchers Create Nano-Ice At Scorching Temperatures

Boiling hot ice? What's next? Rational Trump supporters?

http://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/ice-when-there-should-be-fire

A robotic hand with a human’s delicate sense of touch

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-robotic-hand-with-a-humans-delicate-sense-of-touch

Ageing process may be reversible, scientists claim

I hope we are still young enough to take full advantage of this by the time it becomes available:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/15/ageing-process-may-be-reversible-scientists-claim?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1

This Is the Holographic AI Servant of Your Dreams…or Maybe Your Nightmares

SO Japanese:

https://futurism.com/this-is-the-holographic-ai-servant-of-your-dreams-or-maybe-your-nightmares/

How Japan’s Radically Different Approach to AI Could Lead to Wild New Tech

http://time.com/4602600/honda-car-emotional-ai-artifical-intelligence-neuv/?xid=newsletter-brief

Self-Driving Uber Blows Through Red Light On First Day In San Francisco

Uh-oh:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/self-driving-uber-san-fran-red-light-video_us_5851c9c5e4b0732b82fedb01

U.S. Sets Staggering Record with 191% Growth in Solar Power Installations in 2016

https://futurism.com/u-s-sets-staggering-record-with-191-growth-in-solar-power-installations-in-2016/

New Method Could Accelerate Graphene Production

http://scitechdaily.com/new-method-could-accelerate-graphene-production/

Scientists Turn Nuclear Waste into Diamond Batteries That’ll Last for Thousands of Years

They're too weak and expensive right now, but if they can be improved, practical nuclear batteries could last thousands of years...without recharging!

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/scientists-turn-nuclear-waste-in-diamond-batteries-thatll-last-for-thousands-of-years

Meet Waymo, Google's self-driving car company

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN142223?ncid=newsltushpmgnews

Automation and Robots Could Permanently Disrupt Capitalism

https://futurism.com/automation-and-robots-could-permanently-disrupt-capitalism/

This Self-Healing Tech Could Let Us Reach the Closest Alien Stars in Just 20 Years

https://futurism.com/this-self-healing-tech-could-let-us-reach-the-closest-alien-stars-in-just-20-years/

A machine-learning system that trains itself by surfing the web

Self-improvement...THE central element of the singularity:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-machine-learning-system-that-trains-itself-by-surfing-the-web

A ‘Star Trek’-like anti-matter engine could power humanity to the nearest star

Light on details, but intriguing nevertheless:

http://www.astronomy.com/news/2016/12/alpha-centauri-anti-matter-engine

Super strong graphene foam

https://futurism.com/sciencenonfiction/graphene/

Nuclear Plant 'Doesn't Fit' In The Future Grid, Utility Executive Says

Nuclear failing for an unexpected reason:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2016/12/07/nuclear-plant-doesnt-fit-in-the-future-grid-utility-executive-says/#4a5bbf8611b1

Supercapacitor Breakthrough Allows Electric Vehicle Charging In Seconds

This would require massively powerful charging stations, but it sounds extremely promising:

http://www.hybridcars.com/supercapacitor-breakthrough-allows-electric-vehicle-charging-in-seconds/

The CRISPR Pioneers: Their Breakthrough Work Could Change the World

I really love the potential of this technology:

http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-crispr-runner-up/?xid=newsletter-brief

The W7-X Is One Step Closer to Creating Nuclear Fusion

The video shows how massively complicated the torus structure is:

https://futurism.com/the-w7-x-is-one-step-closer-to-creating-nuclear-fusion/

How Much Does It Cost To Charge An Electric Car?

For some perspective:

https://pluginamerica.org/how-much-does-it-cost-charge-electric-car/

Scientists Target Protein Imbalance In Blood To Slow Aging

https://futurism.com/scientists-target-protein-imbalance-in-blood-to-slow-aging/

Living Forever: What it Means to Have an “Indefinite Lifespan”

https://futurism.com/living-forever-what-it-means-to-have-an-indefinite-lifespan/

Atlas the Life-Sized Robot Just Became a Bit More Human

 Boston Dynamics robots keep getting better and better balance:

https://futurism.com/atlas-the-life-sized-robot-just-became-a-bit-more-human/

Nation's Largest Solar Installer to Open Florida Facility

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/nations-largest-solar-installer-open-florida-facility-43899405

Flexible Muscle-Based Locomotion for Bipedal Creatures

This is old, but it shows a fascinating evolution of bipedal robotic muscle action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgaEE27nsQw

TODAY ONLY: Get Involved in the World’s Biggest Quantum Physics Experiment Happening Right Now

This is different!

https://futurism.com/get-involved-in-the-worlds-biggest-quantum-physics-experiment-happening-right-now/

Nanotubes can turn water solid when it should be boiling

Boiling hot water ice and Donald Trump was elected president. Now I've seen everything:

https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/29/nanotubes-can-turn-water-solid-when-it-should-be-boiling/

Controversial New AI Can Tell Whether or Not You’re A Criminal

Suck it, Minority Report:

https://futurism.com/controversial-new-ai-can-tell-whether-or-not-youre-a-criminal/

New neural-network algorithm learns directly from human instructions instead of examples

http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-neural-network-algorithm-learns-directly-from-human-instructions-instead-of-examples

I think it bears repeating that the AI learned to outperform its teacher.

Battery breakthrough charges in seconds, lasts for a week

Sounds like a massive game-changer...if it comes to market:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/battery-breakthrough-charges-in-seconds-lasts-for-a-week

Remarkable New Theory Says There's No Gravity, No Dark Matter, and Einstein Was Wrong

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/remarkable-new-theory-says-theres-no-gravity-no-dark-matter-and-einstein-was-wrong

New, Groundbreaking Revelation Brings Us Closer to Nuclear Fusion

https://futurism.com/new-groundbreaking-revelation-brings-us-closer-to-nuclear-fusion/

Intelligence May Stem From a Basic Algorithm in the Human Brain

https://futurism.com/intelligence-may-stem-from-a-basic-algorithm-in-the-human-brain/

Hmm, I'd thought the equation was 6x9=42....

Solar's Feast in Famine

https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-11-23/solar-industry-makes-feast-of-price-famine

Semiconductor-free microelectronics using metamaterials: faster, can handle more power

http://www.kurzweilai.net/semiconductor-free-microelectronics-using-metamaterials-faster-can-handle-more-power

Blood from human teens rejuvenates body and brains of old mice

This is the best argument for vampires yet:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2112829-blood-from-human-teens-rejuvenates-body-and-brains-of-old-mice/

New Record! Robot Solves Rubik's Cube in Less Than a Second

Case in point:

http://www.livescience.com/56828-robot-sets-rubiks-cube-world-record.html

IBM's Watson is the newest hip songwriter

The song doesn't stand out from any of the other average stuff out there...but one must never forget: machines just keep getting better:

http://mashable.com/2016/10/24/ibm-watson-writes-song/#oTVrOsfrBOq9

Inside Magic Leap, The Secretive $4.5 Billion Startup Changing Computing Forever

The next step in augmented reality. I love it when technological advancements are shown to be moving faster than we think:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2016/11/02/inside-magic-leap-the-secretive-4-5-billion-startup-changing-computing-forever/#13cc6162e83f

IBM Is Developing a Super Molecule to Destroy All Viruses

Speeding up mutations in viruses until they collapse:

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/watson-supercomputer-will-help-ibm-create-a-cure-for-all-viruses

3D-printed permanent magnets outperform conventional versions and enables batteries with complex shapes

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/11/3d-printed-permanent-magnets-outperform.html

MIT Engineers Design a New Weapon Against Bacteria

Defeating bacteria and viruses is critical to our long-term survival (at least until we have nanomachines in each of our cells, monitoring for infection and destroying invaders), so this is important:

http://scitechdaily.com/mit-engineers-design-a-new-weapon-against-bacteria/

Alice, Bob, and Eve Are Neural Networks. And They Have Secrets.

AI can lie. Uh-oh:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/alice-bob-and-eve-are-neural-networks-and-they-have-secrets

Cambridge Scientists Develop Quintuple-Power Battery Inspired By Gut Bacteria

With all these promising battery technologies in the works, surely one has to succeed soon:

http://bigthink.com/natalie-shoemaker/how-we-digest-food-could-inspire-better-longer-lasting-lithium-sulfur-battery

How Nanoscience Will Improve Our Lives in the Coming Years

http://scitechdaily.com/how-nanoscience-will-improve-our-lives-in-the-coming-years/

The Google Assistant Needs You

It's thrilling to watch the incremental steps toward true general A.I.:

https://backchannel.com/google-our-assistant-will-trigger-the-next-era-of-ai-3c72a4d7bc75#.f126ryiio

"This 2016-to-2017 Transition is going to move us from systems that are explicitly taught to ones that implicitly learn.” Think of it as a mini-Singularity."

Elon Musk is using Apple’s playbook to make your roof a beautiful solar power plant

With the PowerWall 2 holding twice the charge, this is very tempting:

http://qz.com/822642/elon-musk-is-using-apples-playbook-to-turn-your-roof-into-a-gorgeous-solar-power-plant/

Planets Around Stars Like Proxima Centauri Are Probably Earth-Sized Water Worlds

Damn, that's some serious water-worlding:

http://www.universetoday.com/131668/planets-around-proxima-likely-water-worlds/#

Would You Like to Be Uploaded to a Computer When You Die?

https://howwegettonext.com/would-you-like-to-be-uploaded-to-a-computer-when-you-die-7026ac931278#.6c3vz7z0x

‘Atomic sandwich’ computing material uses 100 times less energy

http://www.kurzweilai.net/atomic-sandwich-computing-material-uses-100-times-less-energy

Ultra-low-power transistors could function for years without a battery

"If we were to draw energy from a typical AA battery based on this design, it would last for a billion years." Wow.

http://www.kurzweilai.net/ultra-low-power-transistors-could-function-for-years-without-a-battery

Why humans should bully driverless cars

Just for fun:

https://medium.com/abc-news-australia/why-humans-should-bully-driverless-cars-87eebd9814b0#.p5jt242e0

New Wind Energy Study Aims to Break Transmission Barriers

I really, really hate the Koch brothers....

http://www.triplepundit.com/2016/10/new-wind-energy-study-aims-break-transmission-barriers/

Self-Driving Trucks Are Going to Hit Us Like a Human-Driven Truck

A good, detailed analysis of the inevitable impact of the self-driving car...and an appeal for a universal basic income:

https://medium.com/basic-income/self-driving-trucks-are-going-to-hit-us-like-a-human-driven-truck-b8507d9c5961#.tuohzxsmc

Plunging solar equipment prices fuel trade complaints

Trouble in paradise....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/plunging-solar-equipment-prices-fuel-trade-complaints/2016/10/25/9b91a1ca-9a6b-11e6-b552-b1f85e484086_story.html

Waste, Families Left Behind As Nuclear Plants Close

Maybe toss the waste into volcanoes? Better yet, subduction plates?

http://www.npr.org/2016/10/24/498842677/waste-families-left-behind-as-nuclear-plants-close

The Pentagon’s ‘Terminator Conundrum’: Robots That Could Kill on Their Own

They say it's not about terminators...but come on, it is:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/us/pentagon-artificial-intelligence-terminator.html

AI predicts outcomes of human rights trials

Despite what the article says, could this be the beginning of the end of judges and lawyers? Fuck yeah!

http://phys.org/news/2016-10-ai-outcomes-human-rights-trials.html

Fooling The Machine The Byzantine Science of Deceiving Artificial Intelligence

http://www.popsci.com/byzantine-science-deceiving-artificial-intelligence

Historic Achievement: Microsoft researchers reach human parity in conversational speech recognition

I already dictate almost every email and text on my phone, so this is a welcome achievement:

http://blogs.microsoft.com/next/2016/10/18/historic-achievement-microsoft-researchers-reach-human-parity-conversational-speech-recognition/#sm.0000euuun0ph8d53wy62kw5oi2fdi

Atieva, Now Lucid Motors, Previews a Camaro-Looking Tesla Model S Fighter

https://www.yahoo.com/news/atieva-now-lucid-motors-previews-205358275.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb

Barack Obama on Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity

Obama is a fellow geek! I hadn't realized how well versed he is in matters like science fiction and the singularity:

https://www.wired.com/2016/10/president-obama-mit-joi-ito-interview/

Scientists Accidentally Create Simple Solution to Global Warming

This is pretty stunning:

http://bigthink.com/laurie-vazquez/scientists-accidentally-create-easy-solution-to-global-warming

GE Buys LM Wind Power For $1.6B For Bigger, Cheaper Wind Turbines

"Although onshore wind is cost-competitive with fossil fuels and even with hydropower in some parts of the world, a recent study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found wind power could see another 25 percent cost decline by 2030."

http://breakingenergy.com/2016/10/17/ge-buys-lm-wind-power-for-1-6b-for-bigger-cheaper-wind-turbines/

Give a 3D printer artificial intelligence, and this is what you’ll get

"Ai Build’s first stand out structure was printed for just $185 — a fraction of the $31,000 Cam said a competitor quoted to print a structure with the same specifications."

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/ai-build-wants-to-change-the-way-we-build-the-future/

Self-Driving Car Sensors Just Got Smaller, Cheaper, and Better All at Once

"Quanergy competitor Velodyne’s most advanced sensor, the PUCK VLP-16, is currently priced at $7,999. Quanergy plans to sell the S3 for $250. It will take three S3s for a car to get an all-around view, but that’s still well under a grand. Velodyne is also developing the VLP-32, which will sell for under $500 and will be powerful enough for autonomous driving."

http://singularityhub.com/2016/10/16/driverless-car-sensors-just-got-smaller-cheaper-and-better-all-at-once/#.WASyjXkvIEY.facebook

How Apple Scaled Back Its Titanic Plan to Take on Detroit

Not great news:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-17/how-apple-scaled-back-its-titanic-plan-to-take-on-detroit

Quantum Physics – Teleporting Toward a Quantum Internet

http://scitechdaily.com/quantum-physics-teleporting-toward-quantum-internet/

MIT’s Alcator C-Mod Tokamak Nuclear Fusion Reactor Sets World Record

Solar is more promising in the short run, but fusion still has great potential:

http://scitechdaily.com/mits-alcator-c-mod-tokamak-nuclear-fusion-reactor-sets-world-record/

Sam Harris: Can we build AI without losing control over it?

Yeah, this the kind of potential suicide I still want to pursue:

https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_harris_can_we_build_ai_without_losing_control_over_it

Electric cars reportedly may account for 2/3 of all cars in wealthy cities by 2030

http://venturebeat.com/2016/10/11/electric-cars-reportedly-may-account-for-23-of-all-cars-in-wealthy-cities-by-2030/

Berkeley Lab announces first transistor with a working 1-nanometer gate

And Moore's Law just keeps chugging along, despite the feared quantum tunneling problem:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/berkeley-lab-announces-first-transistor-with-a-working-1-nanometer-gate

Kites Could Soon Power An Entire Region of Scotland

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/kites-are-poised-to-power-an-entire-region-of-scotland

MIT’s new software makes multi-material 3D printing easy

And another step in home manufacturing:

https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/11/mits-new-software-makes-multi-material-3d-printing-easy/amp/

Charlie Rose interviews…a robot?

Getting there...slowly but surely:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-charlie-rose-interviews-a-robot-sophia/

Warren Buffett stuffs Donald Trump's tax lies right back in his orange-tinted face

This SHOULD shame Trump into releasing his tax returns...but if he's hiding something, he won't (besides, he's shameless):

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/10/1580436/-Warren-Buffet-stuffs-Donald-Trump-tax-lies-right-back-in-his-orange-tinted-face

The Spooky Secret Behind Artificial Intelligence's Incredible Power

http://www.livescience.com/56415-neural-networks-mimic-the-laws-of-physics.html

This is what an A.I.-powered future looks like

http://venturebeat.com/2016/10/07/this-is-what-an-a-i-powered-future-looks-like/

Tech billionaires think we live in the Matrix and have asked scientists to get us out

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tech-billionaires-think-live-matrix-093735189.html

I'm not putting any money on it, and I'm open to this sort of idea....

Physicists just created the world's first time crystal

If this doesn't make your head spin, you weren't paying attention:

http://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-just-created-the-world-s-first-time-crystal

Snow-melting solar roads are being tested publicly for the first time in the US

http://www.businessinsider.com/solar-road-panels-first-public-test-2016-10

As a motorcyclist, my biggest concern would be how good the traction is while leaning and breaking on a glass surface. That could be a real problem even for cars.

Don’t be fooled, the cost of clean energy continues to drop dramatically

I myself noticed the flattening indicated by the charts in this post:

http://advancingtechnologies.blogspot.com/2016/10/doe-charts-show-why-climate-doom-and.html

But this article seeks to note how the perception of flattening isn't the actuality:

https://thinkprogress.org/clean-energy-chart-confuses-media-63088cdeadf3#.ef6qnm7zx

I was concerned

The Race to Autonomy -- An Investor's Guide to Self-Driving Cars

http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/02/the-race-to-autonomy-a-capitalists-guide-to-self-d.aspx#.V_QP3ScJOAI.facebook

2016 Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded for the design and synthesis of molecular machines

Another step toward mature nanotech:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/2016-nobel-prize-chemistry_us_57f4c8b9e4b04c71d6f112b2

Dramatic Price Drops For Solar & Wind Electricity Set To Continue

https://irenanewsroom.org/2016/06/15/dramatic-price-drops-for-solar-wind-electricity-set-to-continue/

Germany’s Clean Energy Revolution Focuses On Empowering Individuals

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/germany-clean-energy_us_57f2bb50e4b0d0e1a9a92a54?

I initially read and rejected posting this as only mildly interesting, but your FB post, Mark, convinced me it should be blogged. :-)

DOE charts show why climate doom and gloom isn't needed

https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/flip.it%2Frl_v2v-doe-charts-show-why-climate-doom-and-gl/f-af31e0f358%2Ftheguardian.com