Goto

Collaborating Authors

 Media


Wednesday's TV Highlights: 'The Expanse' on Syfy

Los Angeles Times

Hunted The Hunters set up a fake online dating profile in an attempt to lure two out of hiding. Showtime at the Apollo Steve Harvey hosts a new reboot of the classic talent showcase featuring Chaka Khan, T.I. with Meek Mill, Quavo and RaRa, Mike Epps and comic Gabriel Iglesias. Spy in the Wild: A Nature Miniseries This new documentary features footage from cameras disguised as wildlife that are able to capture candid and closeup footage of wild animals including wild dogs, elephants and monkeys. Star Star, Simone and Alex (Jude Demorest, Brittany O'Grady, Ryan Destiny) are invited to perform at a charity event in this new episode. NOVA In a new episode "Search for the Super Battery," host David Pogue investigates how batteries work and what the future may hold for technical innovation.


Plex Adding Watchup News Feature Into Main App Following Acquisition

International Business Times

Plex has news, and it is great for cord-cutters out there. The media server company is finally bringing news video streaming to its platform, all thanks to its latest acquisition. The move comes a few months after the company introduced Plex DVR. On Tuesday, Plex announced its acquisition of Watchup on its official blog. "It gives us great pleasure to announce that we've acquired the streaming news service."


How To Make VR That People Really, Really Like (Hint: Don't Forget The Kittens)

Forbes - Tech

When I think about what makes a fun VR experience, I constantly come back to the work of Tyler Hurd: lead artist on a batch of experiences that can best be described as smile machines. His beat-heavy bits basically force participants to dance like they just don't care (a trick aided by the fact that eye-covering VR headsets allow you to pretend that you're dancing like nobody is watching). When I first came across his work at the Tribeca Film Festival, where his VR video the Future Islands song Old Friend made a well-received appearance, I spent a fair chunk of time simply watching people glow with joy as they danced with abandon. This January at the Sundance Film Festival, I witnessed a similar stream of smiles with his newest experience, Chocolate, which he produced with Viacom Next. Towards the end of Sundance, I caught up with Tyler to talk about his new experience, and what the secret is to making VR that people seem to really, really like.


The Nightmare Machine: How AI is Taking Fear to the Next Level - Deep Core Data

#artificialintelligence

Rest assured that despite the constant Matrix-like scenarios, we're actually big fans of AI technology. But we're also sci-fi geeks, so we have to get it out somewhere. Earlier this year, I wrote about the basics of how machine learning works, and how we've been using it to train computer programs to beat us at the Chinese strategy game, Go. You'd think that teaching a computer how to think strategically and crush their opponents beneath their cybernetic heel would be enough for researchers, but they've decided to raise the bar again. Now, they want to teach computers just what it is that humans fear.


The Essential Artificial Intelligence Glossary for Marketers

#artificialintelligence

Thank goodness for live chat. If you're anything like me, you look back at the days of corded phones and 1-800 numbers with anything but fondness. But as you're chatting with a customer service agent on Facebook Messenger to see if you can change the shipping address on your recent order, sometimes it's tempting to ask, am I really talking to a human? Or is this kind, speedy agent really just a robot in disguise? Believe it or not, this question is older than you might think.


Three makes calling and texting over Wi-Fi easier when customers have no signal

The Independent - Tech

Three has made its Wi-Fi calling service significantly easier to use, which should help customers cut their monthly mobile bills. Previously, users could only take advantage of the feature through Three's additional inTouch app, which delivered a less-than-pleasant user experience. However, customers can now make calls and send texts over a Wi-Fi connection without the app. It's a handy service, allowing users to both save money and stay in touch with friends and family whenever a Wi-Fi network is available, even when signal is poor or non-existent. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar.


Porn stars replaced by realistic computer-generated actors

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Robots threaten the jobs of many hard-working people. But porn stars will be among the first hit by the robot revolution. Sex technology, such as interactive and virtual reality porn is becoming cheaper and more socially acceptable. And super-realistic computer generated'actors' could replace the porn industry's need for real-life stars. Realistic computer generated'actors' could replace the industry's need for real-life stars.


Star Wars Science: Droids [Infographic]

Forbes - Tech

Androids are robots or artificial people that are meant to resemble humans. They are meant to look like us and behave like us and the technology is advancing every day. In the Star Wars galaxy Droids are a part of everyday life. They are mechanical beings that possess artificial intelligence and are used for all kinds of purposes from communicating with vaporators to waging galactic warfare. At the time the Death Star was attacking the Rebel Base on Yavin, Droids had been in use for over 5000 years.


Discovery channels' final day on Sky TV: How to watch Animal Planet and Eurosport after they disappear

The Independent - Tech

Deadline day has arrived for Sky, which is unlikely to reach a deal with Discovery Communications over its portfolio of 13 channels. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar.


This scary artificial intelligence has learned how to pick out criminals by their faces

#artificialintelligence

With the advent of photography, a tiny fraction of 19th-century scientists believed they could develop methods of accurately identifying criminals by their facial features. While their hypotheses were eventually discredited, new artificial intelligence technology suggests their claims might've been valid after all. Xiaolin Wu and Xi Zhang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have resurrected this facial recognition tradition and built a neural network that can supposedly pick out criminals by simply looking at their faces. Gary Vaynerchuk was so impressed with TNW Conference 2016 he paused mid-talk to applaud us. To accomplish this, the researchers used an array of machine-vision algorithms to examine a series of facial juxtapositions between photos of criminals and non-criminals with the goal of finding out whether a neural network can reliably tell them apart.