Interface (tech control)

An Hour with Will McIntosh

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 12/16/2014 - 19:45

If you aren't familiar with Will McIntosh, he isn't surprised. Like many authors, Will is happy just to have a writing career and thankful for the opportunities his readers provide, even if his name isn't well known. But given the quality of his previous work and a new young adult science fiction series in development (The first novel, Burning Midnight, is scheduled for 2016), don't be surprised if you start hearing his name more often.

But you should know his short story "Bridesicle" won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story and also the Asimov's Reader Poll in 2010. It was also a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story that same year. His short version of "Soft Apocalypse" was a finalist in 2005 for both the British Science Fiction and British Fantasy Awards.

I.R.I.S. - The day an AI goes rogue

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 12/01/2014 - 13:42

A short film by Hasraf HaZ Dulull, I.R.I.S. is a military artificial intelligence with an expanded battle capacity plus strike autonomy. A short action film at heart, events unfold as the military sends in humans to attempt to regain control over the system. The script and scenes are not very informative, but do offer some nice visuals and a drone swarm I haven't seen used before.

Magic Leap: A Virtual World In Our Reality

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Wed, 11/26/2014 - 13:32

Magic Leap has pulled in half a billion in funding from names such as Google and is the brainchild of a medical robotics billionaire and a cofounder of Weta Workshops. Sean Hollister at Gizmodo provides a deep look into the history of the company and looks at their current work - including hands-on opportunities, patent information, and hiring practices – to see what they’ll be selling in the future.

It’s a lengthy article with several videos, some as long as 22 minutes. And that video is an excellent look at Magic Leap by Graeme Devine and worth the time to watch.

Grossout (nasty fun with 3D food printing)

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 10/31/2014 - 13:00

Each printed meal offered four bites per player. When you were targeted, you had to eat two bites and hold it down for one whole minute and then eat the last two bites before another minute had passed. Some items were so nasty the minute made the player realize he never wanted to eat the stuff again and then couldn't wolf it down before the rest of the time ran out - even if they were willing to try!

Using cybernetics to synthesize biology and create an "Internet of Living Things"

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 10/17/2014 - 14:38

In an article on Huffington Post, Professor Lee Cronin offers some insight and asks some interesting questions about the future of cybernetic biology. He specifically focuses on developing an ability to control bacteria and plants in order to create a networkable ecosystem we could use to benefit society.

He also asks for ways such a technology could be misused. It's a brief, but compelling piece pointing out the benefits, concerns and even the issues of avoiding such research. Certainly worth reading to get some insight into an expert's view of this future and some of his points about how starting the conversation ahead of the ability can benefit researchers to increase technology safety before it arrives.

For more information on Gage and Marzullo's research, check out our article on their work.

Cybernetic Synthetic Biology And The Internet of Living Things via Huffington Post

Abundance 360 and Exponential Technologies (2014)

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Sat, 10/11/2014 - 20:49

A 5 minute video illustrating 6 expected technology advancements over the next 25 years and how they will impact our future. Developed for Peter Diamandis' Abundance Summit attendees as an introduction to his view of an abundant future, it's now online for us to enjoy.

Robot concept art from Elysium by WETA concept artist Aaron Beck

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Sat, 10/11/2014 - 15:07

Robot head from Aaron Beck's concept art for Elysium WETA artist Aaron Beck has worked on Avatar and District 9. If you're looking for interesting artwork to stoke your imagination, he has a blog post including dozens of his concept art images for Elysium including 20 robots, 9 synthetic organisms, and a dozen weapons, along with cars, characters and fight scenes.

The Hyperloop is down...speculative fiction by Crave's Eric Mack

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 10/10/2014 - 12:13

Eric Mack, from CNET's Crave, wrote a two piece story using today's news to speculate on what the futre might look like a decade or two from now. Worth a few minutes read to see what he thinks about a few things. Especially with humor like this:

With all my high-speed transport options out of commission for the day, I should be posting my own angry EEG GIF showing my brainwaves mashed up with some vintage footage from an old Dwayne Johnston flick, back before he was elected, before his groundbreaking presidency united the American and Canadian states (largely to allow for American drone fleets to better protect Arctic borders from polar pirates) and led to the annexation of Mexico, back when -- for some reason -- everyone simply called him "The Rock."

Part 1: The Hyperloop is down and I'm late for work
and part 2: Smart wig on and lightsaber packed, I visit the future.

Enjoy.

Surrogates (Graphic novel and 2009 film)

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Wed, 08/06/2014 - 11:08

The Surrogates is a 2005 comic series that explored a future society where humans control robots from the comfort and safety of their own homes. These robots provide what appears to be perfect telepresence by connecting the owners to the outside world - without risk to their physical bodies.

The series was made into a motion picture in 2009, titled Surrogates, with a slightly altered storyline in which humans can be killed through through the Surrogate interface. In both works, investigators (police in the graphic novels and FBI agents in the film) attempt to solve a series of crimes involving attacks on surrogates, with the investigation taking them deep into societal issues between a modern world and a militant group who refuses to interact with surrogates.

They are both engaging stories exploring extreme telepresence and the positives and negatives that come with the technology. The graphic novels are thoughtful and very well written with a lot of believability. The film is science fiction as an action film, though Surrogates takes time to explore additional elements not included in the graphic novels, adding to the plot and in the background of the main storyline. It's an intelligent movie behind the gunshots and car chases.

No Maps For These Territories

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 07/15/2014 - 11:30

An independent documentary by Mark Neale, No Maps puts William Gibson in the back of a limo and provides an informal interview while riding around North America, Ireland, and the UK. Most of the content is Gibson's responses to unheard questions with the presentation coming off as a stream of consciousness.

Covering a range of topics, Gibson provides his views on culture, the current technology revolution, and his writing process. It's a rare and interesting opportunity to hear thoughts from a winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards (both for his novel Neuromancer) and worth the time to enjoy.