Lifeboat Foundation

As much as the title states India isn’t ready for AI; much of the world isn’t fully ready either. Very few businesses are planning and prepping for an AI transformation or introduction into their businesses or companies; many schools still require newer methods (if not a program/ set of courses) to teach AI; many financial structures like insurance for business using AI capabilities such as robots that will interact regularly with the public are not widely available for businesses; etc. Lots of planning and work remains even across the US for AI adoption to truly be appreciated by the masses.

India still not ready for Artificial Intelligence (Tech Feature) — New Delhi, Feb 10 : At a time when the global technology giants are set to leverage the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for your daily lives — from taking care of businesses to fulfilling your personal needs — India seems to be reluctant to get on to this bus.

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Someday this could happen as well as US congress, Supreme Court, the UN, Nato, IAEA, WTO, World Bank, etc.

IBM’s AI researchers seem to favour recreational drug use, free university education and free healthcare.

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To all parents and techers out there: here is a great program for the kids.

A brand new interactive theatre show for 8–11 year olds, We’re Stuck! takes children on a fun adventure with scientists and robots which could change their whole attitude to maths. Inspired by the extraordinary abilities and limitations of our brains, award-winning theatre-maker Sarah Punshon uses the latest educational neuroscience to tackle how utterly rubbish our brains can be. Ever got terribly stuck on a problem? Ever made a stupid mistake and felt like a fool? Then this show is for you.

Young adventurers will go on a special tour deep into the heart of Volcano Industries where they meet cutting edge scientists struggling with some unusual and extremely tricky problems in their top-secret research laboratory. In a promenade performance, the ridiculous heroes and the brave young audience go on a voyage of discovery, pitching themselves against ludicrously difficult tasks, getting horribly stuck, and risking total failure. It’ll be fun.

Continue reading “WE’RE STUCK! Teaches Maths to Children Using Cutting Edge Neuroscience” »

A cutting edge surgical procedure is set to improve the quality of life of eligible transplant patients, who will receive a state funded hand transplant.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will be the first hospital in the UK to offer hand transplants. The hospital is set to begin performing operation towards the latter end of this year (2016).

Notably, consultant plastic surgeon Professor Simon Kay states that this will be the first nationally funded hand transplant hospital: “There have been lots of hand transplants around the world but this is the first time a national funding organisation has closely examined the issue, come up with the conclusion that it’s worth pursuing and is now going to fund it nationally in one centre,” he stated in an interview with the Telegraph.

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A few weeks into sixth grade, Colman Chadam had to leave school because of his DNA.

The situation, odd as it may sound, played out like this. Colman has genetic markers for cystic fibrosis, and kids with the inherited lung disease can’t be near each other because they’re vulnerable to contagious infections. Two siblings with cystic fibrosis also attended Colman’s middle school in Palo Alto, California in 2012. So Colman was out, even though he didn’t actually have the disease, according to a lawsuit that his parents filed against the school district. The allegation? Genetic discrimination.

Yes, genetic discrimination. Get used to those two words together, because they’re likely to become a lot more common. With DNA tests now cheap and readily available, the number of people getting tests has gone way up—along with the potential for discrimination based on the results. When Colman’s school tried to transfer him based on his genetic status, the lawsuit alleges, the district violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and Colman’s First Amendment right to privacy. “This is the test case,” says the Chadam’s lawyer, Stephen Jaffe.

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Cool!

Stardrive, ISEP, Internet Science Education Project.

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This just in: Aipoly Vision* — a free AI app that runs on your iPhone/iPad** (Android coming) and recognizes objects and colors — is now live on the App store, Aipoly Inc. co-founder Alberto Rizzoli just told me in an email.

Of course, I immediately downloaded the app, launched it on my iPhone 6s+, and tested it. It works spectacularly. Its voice names objects or colors in real time as a walk around and also displays objects’ names. I am blown away. Here’s a sample:

Continue reading “‘Aipoly Vision’ AI app opens up the world live for visually impaired” »

Artificial intelligence researchers at Google DeepMind are celebrating after reaching a major breakthrough that’s been pursued for more than 20 years: The team taught a computer program the ancient game of Go, which has long been considered the most challenging game for an an artificial intelligence to learn. Not only can the team’s program play Go, it’s actually very good at it.

The computer program AlphaGo was developed by Google DeepMind specifically with the task of beating professional human players in the ancient game. The group challenged the three-time European Go Champion Fan Hui to a series of matches, and for the first time ever, the software was able to beat a professional player in all five of the games played on a full-sized board. The team announced the breakthrough in a Nature article published today.

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