Jun 17 2009 It's Been Fun: Teaching AI How To Kill Us All
In one of the sickest and twistedest announcements I've read in recent history, programmers attending the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers symposium will attempt to program AI to destroy us all in a game of DEFCON.
Part of the symposium is a sort of "Turing Test" challenge, in which contestants program an AI to play a videogame. The objective is to try to trick a panel of human judges into thinking the AI is a human player.
This year's videogame is DEFCON, the brilliant nuclear war strategy game from indie developer Introversion.A group of talented programmers will pitch their DEFCON bot against enemy bots in a series of one-on-one thermonuclear chess games. The winner is the programmer whose bot successfully annihilates its opponents and racks up the highest death count. IEEE is offering a $500 prize to the deadliest DEFCON AI bot competition winner.
WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! Like I don't have enough to worry about without people programming artificial intelligence to kill us all. You KNOW the robots are behind this. And also, BEHIND YOU -- DUCK! *pew pew* I just saved your life. No need to thank -- actually, yes, sing my praises. *cocking laser blaster* DO IT!
Symposium will teach AIs how to wage nuclear war [fidgit]
Thanks Kenny, shall we play a game?
Feb 22 2009 Zzzz: A Ring Pillow For When You're Tired
Let's be honest with ourselves: sleeping is awesome, especially in class or at work. But face down on the keyboard isn't exactly the most comfortable position (4th, behind 'in the handicapped stall'). Well enter Pilo-Pilo, a $25-$35 pillow ring made for falling asleep on and NOT punching people in the face with.
Pilo-Pilo is a finger ring with a mini cushion attached to it. People have the tendency of resting their cheek on their fist when they are thinking, daydreaming... falling asleep; a fashionable yet portable cushion might just provide the companionship that you've long sought in those tedious boring hours in school, at work... or when you got stood up in a date.
Oh man, I remember the FIRST! time I was stood up on a date. Her name was Maggie, and I killed her whole family afterward. What can I say, I'm a psychopathic killer hopeless romantic.
Thanks to MLou, who drooled all over her pillow ring while asleep in class one day. RAWR! I love a woman that drools.
Feb 16 2009 Hooray?: Microsoft Opening Retail Stores
In a power move of questionable questionableness, Microsoft has decided to open actual brick-and-mortar retail stores. Yay? Nay? Yay-nay? Yay-no? Yay-yo?
When Microsoft demoed its retail experience privately last month, reactions were predictably mixed: some thought it made sense, others found themselves sizing it up with the Apple Store. Microsoft has a strong brand to sell, with Windows on desktops, laptops, cells and smartphones, and the Xbox 360 is no slouch, either. Putting it all together in one store, controlling its presentation, and having a physical space to demo products to the public -- such as the Surface or Sync -- seems like a smart move. Though it'll be interesting to see if the company wants to directly compete with stores such as Best Buy and Gamestop, who sell Microsoft products at retail.
I think I speak for all of us when I say I am honestly not excited about this one bit. Unless they give you a free Coke and popcorn when you enter, in which case, okay, but the Coke better come in a bottle.
Microsoft retail experience becomes a retail reality, stores to be announced soon [dvice]
Dec 10 2008 Microsoft 'Software', A New Clothing Line
Yes, for real. Microsoft is launching a clothing line named Software. I don't get the pun, but I'm sure it's funny. Hit the jump for three more available styles, all of which have a retro feel to them (including Bill's mugshot). So -- who's buying? Anybody? Apparently this is all part of Microsoft's new marketing campaign. But, I've got to tell you, Microsoft: your marketing dollars would go a lot further if you just bought up all the advertising space on Geekologie. And also, hired me as your spokesperson. Check out this new slogan I've been working on:
Microsoft - Macrohard when you need it to be.
BOOYA! That was a freebie, the rest you'll have to pay for.
Hit it for the other shirts.
Continue Reading " Microsoft 'Software', A New Clothing Line "
Aug 7 2008 We're All Gonna Die! (Just Kidding, Nothing To Worry About): Robots Learn How To Move
Despite their better judgment and several threatening letters from yours truly, researchers in Leipzig, Germany are writing software that allows robots to teach themselves how to move. This is great news.
The software mimics the interconnected sensing and processing of a brain in a so-called "neural network". Armed with such a network, the simulated creatures start to explore.The network then sends out signals to move in a particular way, and predicts where it should end up, based on that movement. If it encounters an obstacle such as itself, a wall or the floor, the prediction is wrong, and the robot tries different moves, learning about itself and its environment as it does so.
This approach is far more flexible than traditional programming, in which movements are painstakingly planned out in a well-defined space. As conditions change, so can the robot's behavior.
Uh-huh. Now I'm not saying there's nothing to worry about here, but seriously folks, these robots could never figure out how to wield a knife or gun. And I'm not just saying that because I want plenty of robot-fodder standing around while I make my escape to the moon. Wait, yes I am. Gotta look out for #1.
Hit the jump for a video simulation of a dog learning to jump a fence and humanoid dancing.
Apr 30 2008 Portal Technology Makes For Neat Video
Remember Portal, the sweet little game that came with The Orange Box? Yeah, I heart my companion cube too. Well, using the technological basis of the game, a company has made a video demonstration of what portals would look like in the real world (and yes, it's better than the see-through display video).
Created by EmmanuelMFr of France's Total Immersion, the illusions in the video really are reminiscent of those in the game. Using his company's D'FUSION software, he was able to swap the images on each virtual screen surface in real time, including full 3-dimensional transformations.
Okay now that video left me pretty confused, but I think what they're getting at is how awesome it would be to grab a beer from the fridge without leaving the couch. And I think we can all agree that would be Nobel Prize worthy. Hell, if I could grab beer from the grocery store (and not pay) without leaving the couch, I'd nominate that shit for a Pulitzer.
portal technology in the real world [technabob]
Feb 26 2008 Adobe To Start Making Hardware Products?
Adobe recently displayed a camera lens they've developed that's capable of taking 19 different depth of field pictures with a single snap. Then, using their custom software they showed how you can manipulate a picture's focus and potentially bring objects at farther focal lengths into focus with nearer ones, etc. Pretty freaking neat. Adobe built this prototype to show off their software, but similar products could be on the market in a few years. And I'm going to buy one, damnit. I'm tired of all the hot girls in the background of my vacation photos turning out blurry because the camera decided to focus on my boring girlfriend.
Several more pictures, including one with an explanation of how the camera works, along with a video of Adobe demonstrating the prototype, after the jump.
Continue Reading " Adobe To Start Making Hardware Products? "
May 17 2007 Software restores shredded documents
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute's Production Systems and Design Technology lab have created software designed to take scans of shredded documents and piece them back together. The scans are "analysed by a cluster of 16 computers for 25 features, including color, shape, texture, handwriting and typeface" and then pieced back together. Which is almost as effective as my method: guessing. And tape. Lots and lots of tape.
Jan 19 2007 3D morphable model face animation
They can do this but they still can't make a proper robot sex slave? Damn you, technology! Why do you tease me?
