DeepMind's AI will learn inside Unity's video game worlds

This is massively more efficient than real-world testing...assuming the virtual worlds are sufficiently accurate analogs:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90240010/deepminds-ai-will-learn-inside-unitys-video-game-worlds

How Zinc Batteries Could Change Energy Storage

"NantEnergy said that at $100 per kilowatt-hour, the cost of zinc air batteries compared favorably with that of lithium-ion batteries, which can be $250 per kilowatt-hour but are more typically $300 to $400"

However,

"At the present rate of production of zinc, zinc reserves will last about 25 years. So it is not clear from the reserves available if we will have enough zinc to support the enormous need that will result from the demand for grid-scale batteries."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/business/energy-environment/zinc-battery-explain.html

When Will We Have Artificial Intelligence As Smart as a Human? Here’s What Experts Think

https://futurism.com/human-level-artificial-intelligence-agi

New Lithium-Based Battery Design Makes Use of Greenhouse Gas

Yet another battery option:

https://scitechdaily.com/new-lithium-based-battery-design-makes-use-of-greenhouse-gas/

Polestar unveils first production EV with aim to overtake Tesla

Ambitious:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/21/polestar-unveils-first-production-ev-with-aim-to-overtake-tesla/

The World’s First Practical Quantum Computer May Be Just Five Years Away

https://futurism.com/quantum-computer-first-practical/

“Synthetic Skin” Could Give Prosthesis Users a Superhuman Sense of Touch

Not just touch...superhuman touch. Nice:

https://futurism.com/synthetic-skin-prosthesis-superhuman/

Thinking Like a Human: What It Means to Give AI a Theory of Mind

https://singularityhub.com/2018/09/19/thinking-like-a-human-what-it-means-to-give-ai-a-theory-of-mind/

This Creepy Toddler-Sized Robot Will Haunt Your Dreams

Telerobotics still has a way to go:

https://futurism.com/creepy-toddler-sized-robot/

Imagine how future soldiers would benefit from this concept.

Quantum computing is on the way

Deterministic teleportation of a quantum gate achieved:

https://bigthink.com/quantum-computing-teleportation-logic-gate

Germany Just Rolled Out the World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Trains

A very practical application for hydrogen power:

https://futurism.com/hydrogen-powered-trains/

How Electronic Tattoos Will Change The World — And Ourselves

Cool uses for 3D printing in the near future (and it's about a lot more than mere tattoos):

https://futurism.com/glimpse-electronic-tattoos/

Scientists Are Developing New Ways to Treat Disease With Cells, Not Drugs

Specifically stem cells:

http://time.com/5394912/stem-cell-treatment/

Why Rigetti’s New Quantum Hybrid Cloud Service Is a Big Deal

https://singularityhub.com/2018/09/13/why-rigettis-new-quantum-hybrid-cloud-service-is-a-pretty-big-deal/

MIT CSAIL uses AI to teach robots to manipulate objects they’ve never seen before

Another important step in the development of a general-purpose home robot:

https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/09/mit-csail-uses-ai-to-teach-robots-how-to-manipulate-objects-theyve-never-seen-before/

The Pentagon plans to spend $2 billion to put more artificial intelligence into its weaponry

It's a good start, DARPA...although I'd rather this not be so military:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/8/17833160/pentagon-darpa-artificial-intelligence-ai-investment

This Battery Is Made of Paper and Powered by Bacteria

Clean and biodegradable:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/09/06/this-battery-is-made-of-paper-and-powered-by-bacteria/

Japan Takes Tiny First Step Toward Space Elevator

Baby steps...but it's happening:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-take-tiny-first-step-toward-space-elevator-180970212/

In Europe, Scientists Need to Share Their Research for Free if They Want Government Funding

This should be a boon to science (although what about weapons and other necessarily secret research?):

https://futurism.com/open-access-science-europe/

Tech Can Sustainably Feed Developing World Cities of the Future. Here’s How

A good summary of all the likely measures:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/09/05/tech-can-sustainably-feed-developing-world-cities-of-the-future-heres-how/

Jobs changing with AI but no mass unemployment expected

I would never bet on this long-term:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/jobs-changing-with-ai-but-no-mass-unemployment-expected-un-labour-experts/articleshow/65682669.cms

Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new super-dense drive

"Using nanotechnology and computer engineering, physicists at the University of Alberta have developed a solid-state drive with 1,000 times more storage capacity than before."

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/9/3/researchers-use-nanotechnology-to-develop-new-super-dense-drive

This Autonomous Drone Is Ready to Defend the Great Barrier Reef From Predators

I could see the world being filled with such monitoring robots (of all sorts) within a couple decades:

https://futurism.com/rangerbot-autonomous-drone-reef/

The New AI Tech Turning Heads in Video Manipulation

Creating fake but realistic videos (using alternative audio or video, or even still images) keeps getting better and better:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/09/03/the-new-ai-tech-turning-heads-in-video-manipulation-2/

Anybody have a video of Trump they can have fun with? ;-)

New Artificial Intelligence Does Something Extraordinary — It Remembers

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence-remember-agi/

Would You Eat ‘Meat’ from a Lab? Consumers Aren’t Necessarily Sold on ‘Cultured Meat’

It's not encouraging now, but I'll bet that changes. It always seems to:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/08/31/would-you-eat-meat-from-a-lab-consumers-arent-necessarily-sold-on-cultured-meat/

How China Is Quickly Becoming an AI Superpower

Ugh. Looks like the US lead in AI is about to go bye-bye bigly:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/08/29/china-ai-superpower/

California Lawmakers Pass Historic Bill Mandating Only Carbon-Free Power By 2045

This is one reason I love living in CA:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-100-percent-clean-energy_us_5b219200e4b09d7a3d79fbba

China added as much battery-storage capacity in 2018 as all previous years combined

Come on, 'Merka!

https://qz.com/1371099/china-added-as-much-battery-storage-capacity-in-2018-as-all-previous-years-combined/

If We Ever Want Artificial General Intelligence, Governments Need To Invest In It

Some projects just need the resources and broader spectrum a government can provide (although I'm not sure I buy the argument that private industry won't want to create AI or that it's that far away):

https://futurism.com/artificial-general-intelligence-governments-invest/

It’s the year 2038–here’s how we’ll eat 20 years in the future

https://www.fastcompany.com/90222618/what-the-future-of-food-will-look-like-in-2038

Sony's New Aibo Robot Dog Is Nearly $3,000, But It Can Tell How You're Feeling

Robot pets are getting better and better:

http://time.com/5376649/sony-aibo-robot-dog-america/

Will Machine Learning AI Make Human Translators An Endangered Species?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/08/24/will-machine-learning-ai-make-human-translators-an-endangered-species/#2606c3902315

The Future of Cars Is Electric, Autonomous, and Shared—Here’s How We’ll Get There

https://singularityhub.com/2018/08/23/the-future-of-cars-is-electric-autonomous-and-shared-heres-how-well-get-there/

Why the Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think

Predictions from Peter Diamandis:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/08/22/why-the-future-is-arriving-faster-than-you-think/

Landmark FDA Approval Brings Powerful Gene Silencing Method to Market

"Earlier this month, the FDA approved an entirely new family of drugs, one so powerful that it could put CRISPR-based gene therapy to shame."

https://singularityhub.com/2018/08/21/landmark-fda-approval-brings-powerful-gene-silencing-method-to-market

Algorithms Outpace Moore’s Law for AI

"Professor Martin Groetschel observed that a linear programming problem that would take 82 years to solve in 1988 could be solved in one minute in 2003. Hardware accounted for 1,000 times speedup, while algorithmic advance accounted for 43,000 times. Similarly, MIT professor Dimitris Bertsimas showed that the algorithm speedup between 1991 and 2013 for mixed integer solvers was 580,000 times, while the hardware speedup of peak supercomputers increased only a meager 320,000 times."

https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1333617

Could this mean AI may arrive a lot sooner than anticipated?

Machine learning: Japan to boost English teaching in schools with AI robots

$227,000 for a robot to teach English? Um...isn't there a free app for that (#Duolingo)?

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2160678/circuits-love-japan-boost-english-schools-ai-robots

Yuval Noah Harari on what the year 2050 has in store for humankind

How we should change education to fit a rapidly-changing society:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/yuval-noah-harari-extract-21-lessons-for-the-21st-century

Stacking concrete blocks is a surprisingly efficient way to store energy

This seems so clunky, yet it's almost as efficient as lithium-ion batteries:

https://qz.com/1355672/stacking-concrete-blocks-is-a-surprisingly-efficient-way-to-store-energy/

You Can Now Buy The World’s First Graphene Jacket, And It’s Everything You Want It To Be

At $695 it's too expensive right now...but that'll change:

https://futurism.com/graphene-jacket-vollebak/

What if A.I. is coming for jobs faster than we thought?

This is more like I was thinking it would be:

https://bigthink.com/alex-salkever/what-if-ai-is-coming-for-jobs-faster-than-we-thought

The next major innovation in batteries might be here

This innovation to DOUBLE battery energy storage is a little more promising than most:

https://qz.com/1349245/the-next-major-innovation-in-batteries-might-be-here/

DARPA will fund 18 month experiments of potential AI breakthroughs

Yay DARPA:

https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2018-07-20a

Why China will win the global race for complete AI dominance

They're serious about A.I. because it's the one technology they can do as well as anyone:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/why-china-will-win-the-global-battle-for-ai-dominance

Graphene and Beyond: The Astonishing Properties and Promise of 2D Materials

https://singularityhub.com/2018/08/05/beyond-graphene-the-promise-of-2d-materials/

Your Life in 2027: A Look at the Future | Vivek Wadhwa

This is a great summary of what technology we can expect to see over the next decade or so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0wy0YYzU0s

In the Future, We’ll Know Everything—Thanks to This Tech

Sensors will be ubiquitous:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/08/02/in-the-future-well-know-everything-thanks-to-this-tech/

Five of the scariest predictions about artificial intelligence

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/01/five-of-the-scariest-predictions-for-ai.html

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

A New Cloaking Approach Could Potentially Make Objects Invisible From Every Direction

No products yet, though:

https://futurism.com/cloaking-device-invisibility/

Organic Compounds Bubble Up from the Depths of Enceladus

And more encouragement for extraterrestrial life closer to home:

https://scitechdaily.com/organic-compounds-bubble-up-from-depths-of-enceladus/

Astronomers Discover More Clues That Earth-Like Exoplanets Are Indeed Earth-Like

This is encouraging for the prospects of extraterrestrial life:

https://scitechdaily.com/astronomers-discover-more-clues-that-earth-like-exoplanets-are-indeed-earth-like/

Nuclear Fusion Power Could Be Here by 2030, One Company Says

Well this is a step up from fusion power always being 30 years in the future:

https://www.livescience.com/62929-plasma-fusion-reactor-tokamak.html

The Smart Road Tech That’s Making Driving Faster, Safer, And Just Better

Very slick. Now if they can just integrate solar power:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/06/27/the-smart-road-tech-thats-making-driving-faster-safer-and-just-better/

Aliens May Be Rearranging Stars to Fight Dark Energy, Awesome Study Suggests

One way to possibly discover highly advanced alien life by simply looking at the stars:

https://www.livescience.com/62917-aliens-rearrange-stars-fight-dark-energy.html

DARPA Literally Reinvented The Wheel

Another very science-fictiony piece of tech:

https://taskandpurpose.com/darpa-wheel-combat-vehicles/

What it’s like to watch an IBM AI successfully debate humans

I watched a documentary on this. The amount of not just knowledge but ability to understand spoken debate and respond to it in kind is pretty amazing:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/18/17477686/ibm-project-debater-ai

Flying Dragon Robot Transforms Itself to Squeeze Through Gaps

Very science-fictiony cool (watch the video):

https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/drones/flying-dragon-robot-transforms-itself-to-squeeze-through-gaps

Lab-Grown Neanderthal Minibrains Reveal How They’re Different From Humans’

https://futurism.com/lab-grown-neanderthal-minibrains-communicate/

Transdifferentiation Can Create An Endless Supply of Brain Cells—And Fast

A potential cure for aging?

https://singularityhub.com/2018/06/26/transdifferentiation-can-create-an-endless-supply-of-brain-cells-and-fast/

Electronic Skin Lets Amputees Feel Pain Through Their Prosthetics

An important step in truly useful bionics:

https://futurism.com/e-dermis-electronic-skin-pain/

This Jet Suit Agility Test Looks Like Something Straight Out Of An Action Film

More out of science fiction than an action film. Cool either way:

http://digg.com/video/jet-suit-testing

Hyundai teams up with VW's Audi to boost hydrogen cars

I think electric batteries are ultimately the way to go, but it's good to see alternatives being worked on:

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hyundai-audi/hyundai-teams-up-with-vws-audi-to-boost-hydrogen-cars-idUKKBN1JG0MM?il=0

CRISPR Doesn’t Cause Unintended Mutations in Monkeys, Study Finds

Good news:

https://futurism.com/crispr-off-target-mutations-monkeys/

Is AI on Track to Achieving Superintelligence?

Some fascinating developments...like being able to tell what a person looks like and much more from voice alone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls1_tqlpMww&feature=youtu.be

Artificial intelligence wins a debate against a human—twice

http://bigthink.com/brandon-weber/ibm-computer-wins-debate-against-humans