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Facial Recognition Aids Persecution of Chinese Christians, Muslims
Western companies still seek business ties with an increasingly authoritarian regimeThe crackdown on religion is said to stem from Xi Jinping, who became President in 2012. After he got term limits removed in March 2018, some have begun to privately call him “Emperor Xi.”
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Google.com or Google.gov?
A political analyst argues that Google is beginning to mesh with governments whose values are compatible with its own.
Yes, the Placebo Effect Is Real, Not a Trick
But the fact that the mind acts on the body troubles materialists. Such facts, they say, require revision
AI, it turns out, can solve any problem
As long as we are not too persnickety about what we consider a solution
The virtual bride
The answer to relationship problems: Your new spouse is a hologram. So far, only in Japan
If a Robot Read the News, Would You Notice a Difference?
The Chinese government thinks not. Is this the way of the future?
Panpsychism: You Are Conscious but So Is Your Coffee Mug
Materialists have a solution to the problem of consciousness, and it may startle you
Noted Astronomer Envisions Cyborgs on Mars
Sir Martin Rees thinks of this “post-human evolution” as going beyond Darwin to “secular intelligent design.”
The “superintelligent AI myth”
The problem that even the skeptical Deep Learning researcher left out
Who needs wisdom? We’ve got algorithms!
On a decision about a TV series, the Algorithm offered a narrow view (ratings) while Hollywood offered a “big picture” view. Who was right?
Brains are not billions of little computers
Despite the hype. Also, life forms are not machines and neurons are not neural networks
Can Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web, save it from humanity?
Berners-Lee has launched a global campaign for a Magna Carta to “protect people’s rights online from threats such as fake news, prejudice and hate”
Is social media the best communications tool that ever happened?
The worst communications tool that ever happened? Or something less comfortable than either?
Researchers find loneliness is hard on the brain
What we think about our lives really does affect our health.
Software pioneer says general superhuman artificial intelligence is very unlikely
The concept, he argues, shows a lack of understanding of the nature of intelligence
Machines just don’t do meaning
And that, says a computer science prof, is a key reason they won't compete with humans
Meet the everyday people behind AI
Not famous, not lone geniuses, usually not even well-paid. Without them, ambitious systems would gather dust.
Canada demands intimate banking data from a half million citizens
The goal of the program, recently uncovered by media, is to develop a “new institutional personal information bank” for government use.A Canadian TV station recently provided a dramatic insight into how far Western governments are prepared to go, using advanced data gathering techniques, to surveil the lives of citizens: Statistics Canada is asking banks across the country for financial transaction data and personal information of 500,000 Canadians without their knowledge. Global News has learned. Documents obtained by Global News show the national statistical agency plans to collect “individual-level financial transactions data” and sensitive information, like social insurance numbers (SIN), from Canadian financial institutions to develop a “new institutional personal information bank.” Andrew Russell and David Akin, “EXCLUSIVE: Stats Canada requesting banking information of 500,000 Canadians without their knowledge” at Global News Further investigation showed that the government agency has already Read More ›
