Europe
Cracking the shell of Yorgos Lanthimos' 'The Lobster'
Yorgos Lanthimos makes enigmatic films that exist in universes all their own. His latest, "The Lobster," is at once cerebral and emotional, an abstracted allegory on power, love and the power of love. His films can also be so cryptic and inscrutable that they remain mysterious even to their maker. Few filmmakers are as reticent to give definitive answers, open to outside interpretations or willing to simply respond to questions with an "I don't know." "Well, what am I going to do, fake it?"
Fighting Developing World Disease With AI, Robotics, and Biotech
While CRISPR, nanobots and head transplants are making headlines as medical breakthroughs, a number of new technologies are also making progress tackling some of the toughest age-old diseases still plaguing millions of people in the poorest parts of the world. In low income countries, over 75% of the population dies before the age of 70 due to infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, lung infections, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, malaria, and increasingly, cardiovascular diseases. Over a third of deaths in low income countries are among children under age 14 primarily due to pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, malaria and neonatal complications. In the developed world, those living in extreme poverty, such as homeless populations, also die on average at age 48. Over the last year, artificial intelligence, robotics and biotechnology have all generated a number of new solutions that have the potential to dramatically reduce these problems.
Algorithm Clones Van Gogh's Artistic Style and Pastes It onto Other Images, Movies
The nature of artistic style is something of a mystery to most people. Think of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, Picasso's work on cubism, or Edvard Munch's The Scream. All have a powerful, unique style that humans recognize easily. Deep neural networks are revolutionizing the way machines recognize and interpret the world. Machine vision now routinely outperforms humans at tasks such as object and face recognition, something that was unimaginable just a few years ago.
A day in the life of an F-35 test pilot
At 100million a pop, you might expect F-35 fighter jets to take-off at the first time of asking. But the life of a test pilot is not that simple, with dozens of computer systems to calibrate and reset before the Air Force's most sophisticated plane can even taxi to the runway. Defense News got a glimpse of how testing F-35s works during a visit to Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. Major Raven LeClair, of the 461st flight test squadron, begins his day at around 10am by checking the plane for any issues. It immediately became clear that the day's testing would not pass without a hitch, with an alarm sounding as soon as he got to the aircraft.
Why Design is Going to Become a Team Sport for Humans Machines
Something interesting is happening in the design world. Tools -- which used to be things we utilized to perform a specific function -- are increasingly becoming much more than just things. They're becoming more like colleagues or co-workers -- members of the team who can collaborate with us to solve problems. As the relationship between humans and machines evolves, it promises to turn design into a team sport where humans and machines are playing side-by-side, together. This new way of working will transform design in exciting ways, expanding the possibilities of what we can make and how we can shape the world around us.
When it comes to interracial romances, the movies need to catch up
"Interspecies love is in the air!" enthuses one movie fansite at the prospect of the forthcoming Warcraft movie. There's a lot to get up to speed with in Warcraft. The original video games were so wildly popular that their community of players exceeds the population of Norway, and the World of Warcraft wiki has over 100,000 pages. For novices, it's a fantasy world not far removed from Lord of the Rings or Dungeons and Dragons: a realm of elves, dwarves, mythical creatures and medieval weaponry. Warcraft the movie revolves around Azeroth, a kingdom apparently ruled by European humans.
Pentagon Turns to Silicon Valley for Edge in Artificial Intelligence - NYTimes.com
In its quest to maintain a United States military advantage, the Pentagon is aggressively turning to Silicon Valley's hottest technology -- artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter made his fourth trip to the tech industry's heartland since being named to his post last year. Before that, it had been 20 years since a defense secretary had visited the area, he noted in a speech at a Defense Department research facility near Google's headquarters. The Pentagon's intense interest in A.I. -- and by connection the Silicon Valley companies specializing in that technology -- has grown out of the "Third Offset" strategy articulated by Mr. Carter last fall. Concerned about the re-emergence of China and Russia as military competitors, he stated that computer-based, high-tech weapons would give the American military an edge in the future.
The man behind Doom on the blood-soaked series' new instalment and the 'people who always complain' about violent video games
Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display
Lola's Booking Experiment Mixing Artificial Intelligence and Travel Agents Is Live
Many travel agencies are working to better integrate mobile messaging into the travel booking process for clients. But a new service from online travel veterans is looking to take a technology-first approach to providing concierge-like service in the online travel booking space. Lola launches today on the Apple App Store, combining augmented chat with artificial intelligence and a staff of travel agents and customer service specialists to book travel for users. An Android-compatible version will follow before the end of the year. Kayak co-founder Paul English's newest project pairs deep-learning artificial intelligence technology with travel agents and customer service experts in order to present users with a more organic travel booking experience than has previously been available to both leisure and business travelers.
Man downs drone with spear
You may consider yourself an awesome drone pilot, able to fly skillfully at breakneck speed while dodging hazardous obstacles with a few nimble finger movements, but how would you deal with a steamed up eagle, or a chimp with a stick? Filming a historical reenactment at a recent festival in the Lipetsk region in central Russia, some poor drone pilot clearly got a little too close to the action. Watch carefully and you can see the spear-wielding guy on the ground, in full period costume, launch his weapon skyward. We have to say, it was an impressive throw, scoring as it did a perfect hit on the flying machine, sending it crashing to the ground. The video comes courtesy of Russia Today, though the news site offers few details of the reenactment event, or, more importantly, the drone calamity.