On Earth

Do We Need Humans?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Sat, 10/11/2014 - 19:28

Robot worker There is a lot of speculation on the technological singularity - the point at which artificial intelligence has progressed beyond human intelligence. Between AI and advanced engineering, humans could quickly become extraneous to modern society, especially from the viewpoint of those who own the robots and see extra humans as needful beings who return little to the planet.

That's a very dystopian view, but a possible outcome all the same. The February 28, 2014 episode of NPR's Ted Radio Hour offers four viewpoints on the future of humanity.

Train your Robot Well - This Week in Law

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Sat, 10/11/2014 - 18:54

#255 of This Week in Law's weekly discussion focuses on the various issues we may face when regulating robots in the future. The discussion revolves around James Barrat's book Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era. Based on Barrat's writings, they discuss how a super intelligence might come to view its human 'captors' - humans that used to be the smartest creatures on the planet and now occupy a lower rung of intelligence as we are surpassed by our creation.

Topics include building sympathy into machines to instill ethics, robotic personhood, and a range of issues we might encounter after the Singularity occurs. The discussion of robotics lasts around an hour and is a very deep discussion.

Available as a video or audio download.

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.

CryptoDNA

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 08/18/2014 - 12:07

Microscopic view of a virus His alarm sounded, followed by three pings to let him know that many messages were waiting. Jack rolled over, grabbing his phone off the stand and heading for the toilet. Blinking, he palmed his right eye. It was hazy, like a filmy shower door.

Taking a seat, Jack's stomach rumbled and a tension headache was working up his neck. The flu? he wondered, but a quick review of his phone's health sensors didn't show anything of concern. They weren't infallible, but they'd catch any substantial temperature increase.

Jack thumbed up the first message and squinted. Rsrv @ Ice House 8:30. Dinner with his brother, Earl. He flipped it to his calendar and pulled up the next as his stomach made a fuss. Package printed, ready for shipping. Track via Y8DK848785984. He tapped the code and it shot offscreen to his tracking software. His stomach emptied so hard he shivered.

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.

TiMER (2010 comedy)

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 08/01/2014 - 16:08

While most science fiction uses action films to hide ways to make us think, TiMER is a relationship comedy. Set in a future where a wearable device counts down the time until the wearer is destined to meet his or her soul mate, this soft science fiction film looks at what we lose when we give too much control to a technology.

In the film, Oona (played by Emma Caulfield from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has a TiMER that doesn't register a number - meaning her soul mate has not yet had a TiMER installed. The film explores the myriad ways the service influences how users seek, wait, and find love. It's an interesting film that is a nice break from the explosion filled dystopias Hollywood tends to produce.

Gamma

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 07/29/2014 - 11:29

Factory Fifteen makes visually stunning short films and 'Gamma' is no exception. The story is set after nuclear wars have left some cities irradiated husks. Gamma is a product designed to clean the cities and make them habitable again. An artificial lifeform made from fungi and molluscs, the Gamma spores are seeded via floating ships and promise to make the cities safe within months. Sadly, this doesn't happen and we hear the narrator tell the tale of his home's fate.

Six and a half minutes long, 'Gamma' is worth a quick watch. It touches on issues surrounding modified life and what happens when they don't live up to the hype.

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.

River of Gods

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 07/14/2014 - 13:21

It's 2047, a hundred years after India gained independence from Britain, River of Gods is set in a country now broken into smaller nations. There hasn't been a monsoon season in years, resulting in a parched region with a Ganges trickling through Varanasi after being dammed upstream - a dam that has two nations on the edge of war.

The world is a different place in 2047. Genetic modification is everywhere, including superchildren and gender neutralizing body modifications. Artificial intelligence operates at different levels, some of them above the limits banned by international treaty. Otherwise, much of India is still poor, water is even more scarce, and the caste system carries on with only a few adjustments.

However, the Americans have found something deep in space. An object that causes a lot of questions and sends a specialist in search of her former lover. In India, someone else finds him first, someone with a strange past and who might not be completely human. Meanwhile, Mr. Nandha, one of the Krishna Cops, is hunting aeai's (artificial intelligence) with his team.

A winner of the British Science Fiction Association award and a nominee for both the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Hugo Award, River of Gods is a wild ride through a futuristic Indian culture. The complexity of the story, presenting normal human lives and emotions intertwined with decades of advancements, presents a believable backdrop against which events unfold.