Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryGlobal Technology

Tesla Motors logo sign
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 30, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology
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2019 AI Hype Countdown #1: Tesla’s Robotaxis—Tales of a Phantom Fleet

Musk put out a tweet on December 22, saying “Sorry, it's been a bit of a struggle.” At last, a claim we can unreservedly believe
Jonathan Bartlett
December 30, 2019
7
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology

Because Tesla has yet to make a yearly profit in any of its sixteen years of existence, it depends on capital raises of various forms (equity, debt, etc.) to stay in business. Capital raises require big promises and Tesla’s overstatements about its self-driving cars are always good for a few billion.

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The mankind races - ethnic and multi ethnic - scientific model - concept
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 26, 2019
Categorized
Ethics, Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy
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China: DNA Phenotyping Profiles Racial Minorities

In the United States, targeting minorities means political pushback; in China, no such discussion is allowed
Heather Zeiger
December 26, 2019
7
Ethics, Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy

While there is some merit to the idea that the population of a particular geographic region will have similar DNA patterns, this science comes with a host of assumptions that, when taken too far, crosses the line into pseudoscience.

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science-in-hd-1WBN-JKSmKI-unsplash
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 26, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Medicine and Health
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2019 AI Hype Countdown #6: AI Will Replace Scientists!

In May of this year, The Scientist ran a series of pieces suggesting that we could automate the process of acquiring scientific knowledge
Jonathan Bartlett
December 26, 2019
6
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Medicine and Health

In reality, without appropriate human supervision, AI is just as likely to find false or unimportant patterns as real ones. Additionally, the overuse of AI in science is actually leading to a reproducibility crisis.

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thousands of umbrella in causeway bay hong kong in rainy day on august 18 2019
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 20, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Global Technology
Tagged
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Can a Totalitarian State Advance AI?

China vs. Hong Kong provides a test case
Denyse O'Leary
December 20, 2019
6
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Global Technology

George Orwell identified two characteristics of a totalitarian state that offer insight into its central intellectual weaknesses.

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Asia cyclist injured on the street bike after collision accident car and bike.
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 16, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Medicine and Health
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, , , , ,

New Tech to Warn Drivers and Cars of Cyclists Ahead

Most people I have talked know (or knew) people who were struck by motor vehicles, either as cyclists or pedestrians
Jonathan Bartlett
December 16, 2019
4
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Medicine and Health

Hopefully, in ten years’ time, a bike suddenly emerging from behind a roadside dumpster will be fully visible to both the car and the driver long before a driver would usually see it today.

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China and Australia puzzles from flags, 3D rendering
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 11, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology
Tagged
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Weighing the Costs of China’s High-Tech Power

Western nations like New Zealand, Australia, and Canada must weigh Beijing’s demands carefully
Denyse O'Leary
December 11, 2019
10
Global Technology

Smaller Western countries, dependent on high-tech cooperation and the promise of huge markets in China, have muted their protests over Hong Kong and even accept Chinese government censorship in their own territories. That can put them in conflict with their own stated values.

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Scene of modern urban transportation style. People using smartphone to request a ride sharing, autonomous bus in bus stop. Electric truck and minivan moving on the road. Subway entry near to the inter
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 9, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Global Technology
Tagged
, , , , ,

Gladwell’s Autonomy: The Future of Our Cars But Not Ourselves?

Malcolm Gladwell’s recent film probes independence, individuality, and what cars mean to us
Jonathan Bartlett
December 9, 2019
5
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Global Technology

In order to allow for autonomy to develop, the degrees of freedom available on the public roadways will probably have to decrease.

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green orc holding a huge axe in a white background side view
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 6, 2019
Categorized
Business and Finance, Global Technology
Tagged
, ,

Inventor? Entrepreneur? Beware the Patent Troll!

Touch screen inventor Hal Philipp shares tips for fending off spurious claims of ownership
News
December 6, 2019
6
Business and Finance, Global Technology

Big companies have been known to just pay patent trolls to go away but individual inventors must be more resourceful.

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One belt one road. New Chinese trade silk road. map infographics
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 3, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Surveillance
Tagged
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Why China Leans Hard on Central Asia

The region is critical to China’s ambitions, hence the generous offers of state-of-the-art surveillance technology
Heather Zeiger
December 3, 2019
11
Global Technology, Surveillance

Where is all of the data going and where is it stored? The short answer is China. The Central Asian countries’ current laws do not adequately protect their citizens’ privacy. In fact, most countries in the world do not have adequate laws to deal with the potential harms of facial recognition technology.

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asian business woman in a heated discussion
Type
post
Author
News
Date
November 29, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Religion, Surveillance, Technocracy
Tagged
, , ,

How Tech Savvy Helps Hong Kong Hold Off China

Several other factors help, including spirituality and a sense of unique identity as Hongkongers
News
November 29, 2019
7
Global Technology, Religion, Surveillance, Technocracy

The stakes are high. Hongkongers have been energized by the dramatic recent win for democracy at the polls. But so have the police.

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protest in hong kong 2019 june 12
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 19, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy
Tagged
, ,

Hong Kong: The Dread That Lies Ahead

They fear the fate of the Uyghurs, under "complete video surveillance"
Heather Zeiger
November 19, 2019
8
Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy

They dread 2047 when Hong Kong comes completely under the jurisdiction of the Communist Party and is subject to the CCP’s rule of law rather than Hong Kong’s own laws under the current “one country, two systems” regime.

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May Name is, Free Hong Kong.
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 8, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy
Tagged
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Tiananmen Square 30 Years On: Words Still Have Power

Back then, students fought oppression via the fax. They depended on free media in Hong Kong to tell the world
Heather Zeiger
November 8, 2019
9
Global Technology, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy

The Chinese government has described the Hong Kong protests as violent riots by extremists. And, as with mainland China’s reports on Tiananmen Square, the abuses by police in Hong Kong have been scrubbed from the Chinese internet, while violence by protesters has been highlighted.

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Chain with lock on computer keyboard. It means laptop banned or internet banned. Symbol of computer addiction, games, social networks and so on
Type
post
Author
Mind Matters
Date
November 8, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Social Media
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, , ,

India’s Social Media Content Removal Order Is a Nail in the Coffin of the Internet As We Know it

The High Court of Delhi ordered Facebook, Google, and Twitter to remove content globally if it is considered defamatory locally
Mind Matters
November 8, 2019
5
Global Technology, Social Media

In reaching its decision, the Indian court relied on a string of recent decisions from around the world. For example, it drew from the Canadian approach in Equustek, where the Supreme Court of Canada ordered Google to remove content globally. 

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2 million protesters stand out to oppose a controversial extradition bill on June 16 2019 hong kong
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 28, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy
Tagged
,

Hi-Tech Freedom Game in Hong Kong

Technology can oppress a people group or it can give them a voice
Heather Zeiger
October 28, 2019
7
Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy

In the end, technology, like any tool, depends on who wields it and whether they use it to help people or to control them.

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COSM-3527
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 25, 2019
Categorized
Business and Finance, Global Technology
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Wall Street Journal columnist to Big Tech: You are doomed

Companies like Google and Facebook aren’t monsters, says Andy Kessler, but each nourishes the seeds of its own destruction
Denyse O'Leary
October 25, 2019
4
Business and Finance, Global Technology

Kessler told his audience at the COSM National Technology Summit that Big Tech companies are so vulnerable that, for legal reasons, the United States is the only safe place for their headquarters.

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COSM-4138
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 25, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology
Tagged
, , , , , , , , ,

Have Millennials broken up with America’s car culture?

They are less likely to have licenses; they prefer ride-sharing, says auto data analyst
Denyse O'Leary
October 25, 2019
3
Global Technology

“People envision a future delivering mobility as a service,” Bryan Mistele of INRIX told the COSM Technology Summit, contrasting the Millennials’ approach with that of earlier generations who tended, at the same age, to see driving as a form of freedom.

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COSM-3296
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 24, 2019
Categorized
Data Privacy, Global Technology
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , ,

Your smartphone will disappear, says AT&T CTO

New 5G computing will introduce an era of ever smarter wearable devices, according to Andre Fuetsch
Denyse O'Leary
October 24, 2019
4
Data Privacy, Global Technology

Fuetsch asks us to think of 3G (2001) and 4G (2010) internet as the difference between a junior high school rock band and a high school rock band: “The high school band is a lot louder and a lot faster.” And 5G? “It is a 40-piece orchestra. A wide spectrum of abilities but tight structure and control.”

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Hong Kong Protesters
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 16, 2019
Categorized
Business and Finance, Global Technology, Surveillance
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

How Business in China Becomes Ethically Expensive

Hong Kong raises the cost of rights and freedoms rhetoric steeply. Many advocates are bowing out
Heather Zeiger
October 16, 2019
11
Business and Finance, Global Technology, Surveillance

Apple had once positioned itself in opposition to Big Brother. The NBA had been a strong advocate of social justice. But with Hong Kong, they suddenly caved to Beijing. What’s at stake?

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Technocracy Alex Kotliarskyi-QBpZGqEMsKg-unsplash
Type
post
Author
News
Date
October 11, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Work
Tagged
, , ,

Anti-Technology Backlash: What’s Real? What’s Myth?

First, the Luddites, who started it all, were smarter than many people think
News
October 11, 2019
7
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Work

But there is not much point in being a traditional Luddite today. You don’t want to smash the robot; you want to bring the price down to where you can own a piece of it.

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Microprocessor on girls fingertip
Type
post
Author
News
Date
October 10, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Machine Learning
Tagged
, , ,

Carver Mead Asks, Where Did AI Come From?

The microprocessor pioneer who was a colleague of Feynman and named Moore’s Law is certainly in a position to know
News
October 10, 2019
5
Global Technology, Machine Learning

In 2002, he received the National Medal of Technology for a number of “pioneering contributions to microelectronics,” which underlies cell phones and computer neural networks.

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