Reviews

Under-predicting the Future

by Matt Swayne
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The new movie, Source Code, contains lots of technology that people interested in the Singularity and Transhumanism would recognize: Consciousness uploading. Parallel universes. Immersive virtual reality. Time travel. And on. There’s also some technology we might not expect. For instance, people are still traveling to work in trains. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? Obviously the writers will explain that this “source code” technology is a super-secret, government-eyes-only technology that has yet to be released (or unleashed) on the world at large. Obviously, Wikileaks has been closed in the near future. But the writers of Source Code aren’t the only folks that have a difficult time grasping the pre-Singularity and post-Singularity world. I recently read Damien Broderick’s 2001 book, The Spike: How Our Lives Are Being Transformed By Rapidly Advancing Technologies. It’s a fantastic book. I recommend it. However, I [...]

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Tobii and Lenovo Unveil the First Eye-Controlled Laptop

by Socrates

The human-computer user interface has been one of the slowest to evolve and typewriter-style of keyboard and mouse controls are still the norm. The interface, however, is not going to be limited forever by the above combo, no matter how prevalent it may be today. We have already witnessed the introduction and growing success of touch-screen and voice-control devices becoming widely available to the public. Ultimately, the future of human-computer interface is one of direct brain-computer communication - you think of something and the computer starts doing it. Voice control and eye-control, however, are likely the intermediary stages on the way to direct brain-computer interface. We have already seen the wide introduction and consequent adoption of the former and it is about time we also start seeing the latter. Recently, my favorite laptop company - Lenovo, partnered with Swedish eye-control [...]

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Forget Flying Cars, Brain Driven Cars are the Next Big Thing

by Tara Miller

“Look Mom, no hands!” might not only be a phrase used for excited  young bicyclists but may also translate onto speedy and congested highways if a group of Artificial Intelligence German researchers perfect their latest project—brain-powered vehicles. The team of researchers, who work for AutoNOMOS innovation labs in Freie Universitat Berlin, are in the midst of compromising a technological system called the BrainDriver that will make all of those pesky tasks like using hands and feet to steer and brake obsolete. Drivers will also be able to spark the ignition, turn left and right, and accelerate or decelerate simply using their brain waves. Sounds like something ripped out the pages of a H.G. Wells novel right? Well if lead researcher Paul Rojas and his colleagues can work out all the kinks in their state-of-the-art technology, then the steering wheel might just [...]

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Under Armour E39: Enter the Smart T-shirt

by Socrates

The latest addition to the smart clothes coming down the pipe towards the end of 2012 is the Under Armour E39 compression shirt which uses sensors to track and transmit heart rate, breathing, g-force and horsepower. This smart t-shirt is based on Zephyr Technologies, who make similar gear for the US special forces, and has a removable “bug” sensor equipped with a triaxial accelerometer, processor, and 2GB of storage flanked by additional monitors that measure heart rate and breathing. In addition, the software provided by Zephyr can then record and transmit wirelessly all the relevant biometric data about the athlete’s movements to a number of devices such as laptops and cellphones and help identify performance issues. Hear the story of the world’s most innovative smart T-shirt directly from the Under Armour innovators responsible for making it. Under Armour E39 Commercial [...]

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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (free book)

by Socrates

I have received a number of emails from blog readers who truly enjoyed different chapters of Cory Doctorow‘s self-published collection of short stories called With A Little Help. Today I decided to follow up with Little Brother - another one of Doctorow’s previous publications. As always, Cory has provided a link to a free Creative Commons version of the text of Little Brother. You can click here to download it in a variety of formats from ePub to Kindle, Pdf, plain text and many others. Alternatively, you can purchase the print version from Amazon here or check out a sample of the DRM-free audio book and buy it below. Related articles Scroogled By Cory Doctorow (The Day Google Became Evil) (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Human Readable By Cory Doctorow (With A Little Help Chapter 6) (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Chicken Little by Cory Doctorow (With A [...]

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The Change Agent: Onwards to Utopia or backwards to the Dark Ages?

by Andrew Crofts

“I’ve just bought an island in Bermuda. You must come out there so we can talk properly.” James Martin (“Britain’s leading futurologist,” according to The Times), knows how to catch a person’s attention. Partly because of the imminent arrival of the Singularity, he believes we are entering the greatest transitional phase of human development ever and that by the end of this century we will either have created a global Utopia or we will have catapulted ourselves back into the Dark Ages. So steeped is he in the subject he has become Oxford University’s biggest ever donor by gifting them well in excess of £100-million in seed money to set up the Oxford Martin School to study all the big issues of the 21st Century. When it comes to creating Utopia Jim is well ahead of the game. Over the [...]

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James Martin’s The Meaning Of The 21st Century

by Socrates
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Last night me and Julie watched James Martin‘s documentary The Meaning Of The 21st Century. The movie is based on his titular book and is aimed to provide what James calls A Vital Blueprint for Ensuring Our Future. In his 1 hour documentary Martin catalogues all the major perils and promises that humanity faces in the 21st century. In addition, he doesn’t forgo issues arising from advances in the fields of artificial intelligence, genetics, robotics and nanotechnology, or interviewing other futurists, scientists, inventors, singularitarians and transhumanists such as Ray Kurzweil, Hugo de Garis, Nick Bostrom and others. The video is narrated by Michael Douglas and I think it is worth watching. Synopsys: We are at an extraordinary crossroads of human history. Our actions, or failure to act, during the next 20 years will determine the fate of the Earth and [...]

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Word Lens: Augmented Reality Translation For Your iPhone

by Socrates

Word Lens is an augmented reality instant translation app. The first version is available only on the iPhone/iPod Touch and is capable to translate English to Spanish, or Spanish to English. (More languages and platforms are coming soon.) Word Lens costs $5 and each additional language will cost an extra 5. It can translate instantly most printed signs, provided that they are not hand-written or printed in some super fancy font. The app is unplugged so you don’t need internet of phone connection, and you will not incur any usage or roaming fees during its usage. Check out the videos below and let me know if that is not the coolest augmented reality translation app that you have ever seen…

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