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<< Headlines are listed according to date posted <-> Articles are organized by date published >>
October
31, 2002: To
the Liberal Arts, He Adds Computer Science. By Steve Lohr. The New
York Times (no-fee reg. req'd). "The challenge [Brian Kernighan]
has set for himself is to demystify computing for a classroom full of
liberal arts undergraduates at Princeton. It so happens that Mr. Kernighan,
60, is a renowned computer scientist, a member of the Bell Labs team of
the late 1960's and 70's that developed and nurtured the Unix operating
system and the C programming language, innovations with a far-reaching
impact on computing. He is also a best-selling author of technical books
on programming that have sold millions of copies and been translated into
more than 20 languages. None of that really matters in this course, 'Computers
in Our World.' ... 'I've always used computers, but I had no prior knowledge
of what goes on inside them,' said Lori Piranian, a freshman. 'Taking
the course has given me a new respect for computing. It's amazing what
goes into a computer and the history of how we got to where we are now.'
... After a late-October class, Mr. Kernighan explained that his goal
in the course was to impart an intelligent skepticism about computer technology,
an informed sense of its possibilities and limitations. 'And you can't
do that in the abstract,' he said, which is why programming and projects
are essential elements in his course. ... Mr. Kernighan genuinely enjoys
translating his technical field and explaining its significance for humanities
students. But in his understated way, he also thinks it is something that
must be done and perhaps contributes to the greater good. 'For better
or worse, the people who become leaders and decision makers in politics,
law and business are going to come from schools like Princeton,' Mr. Kernighan
said. 'What I'm trying to do is give them some of the tools of the trade
that will make it possible for them to think intelligently about this
technology for themselves.'" October
31, 2002: Insurer
wants to silence 2 ex-staffers. Former adjusters say Farmers' computer
devalues claims. By Candace Heckman. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Farmers
Insurance has asked a state court to silence two of its former employees
who say a new computer program being used throughout the industry places
unfairly low values on its personal-injury claims. ... The former adjusters
were scheduled to brief lawyers on a computer program called 'Colossus,'
now being used throughout the industry to remove the human element from
the claims-adjusting process. ... The session is to teach lawyers about
Colossus, an artificial intelligence program introduced to companies in
the 1990s as a tool to help adjusters place values on insurance claims." October 30, 2002: Bulletin
Board. By Cathy Martindale. Amarillo Globe-News. "You've probably
seen those office inspirational posters. You know, the ones with a fantastic
sunset, beautiful beach, awesome mountain peak, and some slogan about
teamwork, giving one's best, going the extra mile. Yeah, right. Here are
some my sister in Ohio sent me that seem to have a certain relevance to
reality. ... 'Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.' October 29, 2002: Golem
legend springs to life. By Pavla Kozakova. Cleveland Jewish News /
also
available from JTA. "One of Prague's most popular legends sprang
to life this month with a series of events celebrating the story of the
golem. ... According to people who spoke with JTA about the project, the
golem legend can be taken as an inspirational or cautionary tale. [Pedro]
Roth said he sees the golem as a symbol of the creativity and human invention.
'It is very important to dream and then make your dreams come true.' he
told JTA. Milos Pojar, director of the Jewish Museum in Prague's education
and culture center, said the golem is a very relevant topic in an era
of robots, cybernetics, artificial intelligence and cloning. 'I think
that the main message is that we should be careful with our inventions,
because they can get out of hand,' Pojar said." October
29, 2002: NYIT's
Medical School Celebrates Major PDA Rollout. Press Release available
from Newswise. "NYIT's New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM)
has big plans for tiny computers. Today, the medical school is distributing
PDAs (personal digital assistants) to some 700 first- and second-year
students, marking one of the largest handheld computer rollouts at an
educational institution anywhere. ... By the end of 2004, Dr. [Chellappa]
Kumar and his staff will launch a uniquely interactive and fully operational
'office of the future.' The office will feature artificial intelligence
to guide students and physicians gently through the patient encounter.
It also will track prescriptions to ensure medical mistakes are prevented." October
29, 2002: Scientists
try for a touchy-feely Net. By Reuters / available from CNET. "Scientists
in Britain and the United States will try to shake hands on Tuesday. No
big deal one might think -- only they will be 5,000 km (3,000 miles) apart,
using the Internet to connect them. In a technological first, they will
use pencil-like devices called phantoms to recreate the sense of touch
across the Atlantic, organizers of the experiment said. ... 'You can not
only feel the resulting force, but you can also get a sense of the quality
of the object you're feeling --whether it's soft or hard, woodlike or
fleshy.' ... In much the same way that the brain re-interprets still images
into moving pictures, the frequencies received by the phantom are similarly
integrated to produce the sense of a continuous sensation,' [University
College London] said. The implications of the experiment could be vast,
said UCL, which describes the event as the world's 'first transatlantic
handshake over the Internet.'" October
29, 2002: Smart
parts - Science fiction is becoming medical fact as a new generation
of artificial implants interact with the human body. By Shafiq Qaadri.
The Globe and Mail. "There are now computerized silicon implants
for all five senses -- hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. And the
gadgets are amplifying our conscious awareness. .. Such instruments, which
are fluent in the brain's own language of electricity, are a major --
even ominous -- scientific advance. 'These . . . devices join the two
worlds of information processing, the silicon world of the computer to
the water world of the brain,' says Dr. Peter Fromherz, a physicist at
the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany. ... 'Now we're treating
the brain like circuitry,' says Ray Kurzweil ... 'Our machines will become
much more like us, and we will become much more like our machines,' says
Dr. Rodney Brooks...." October
28, 2002:
Got 'bot? NASA offers sponsorships for robot competition. Cosmiverse.
"Heavy metal will rock -- and roll -- at seven different locations
across the country early next year. Students, engineers and their robotic
creations take center stage during NASA sponsored regional robotics competitions
and a final national championship 'Bot Bowl' in April 2003. Teams must
design a robot that can complete a specified set of tasks within rules
announced at the robotics kickoff ceremony in January 2003." October
28, 2002: Law
column - New Technology. By Dina Sanchez. The Orlando Sentinel. "Dayton,
Ohio-based Lexis/Nexis has teamed up with DolphinSearch Inc., a Ventura,
Calif., technology firm, to create Lexis Litigation Support, an e-discovery
search program that roots out relevant information from e-mails and databases.
'It's used in the discovery phase of litigation, one of the most intensive
and expensive parts of the process,' said Joe Swimmer, a market planner
in Lexis' legal-technology products division in San Francisco. The search
system boasts a sort of artificial intelligence. 'It finds documents that
don't even mention the word that you used to search,' Swimmer said." October
28, 2002: Scientists
to speak to public at Stanford's 'Wonderfest.' By David Perlman. San
Francisco Chronicle. "A dozen leading Bay Area researchers will discuss
some of the most contentious topics in science in a two-day series of
dialogues for the public at Stanford University next weekend. The annual
event, called 'Wonderfest,' is designed to highlight for lay audiences
some of the major controversies that face scientists as they explore areas
ranging widely from the birth of the universe to the nature of men's and
women's brains. ... Sunday Discussions ... 'Are There Natural Limits on
the Power of Computers?' discussed by John McCarthy, Stanford pioneer
in artificial intelligence, and Kenneth Taylor, Stanford philosopher."
October
28, 2002: Farmers
learning to grow the right crop in the right place - UT Ag group works
to bring high-technology tools to farms. By Larisa Brass. Knoxville News-Sentinel.
"At the University of Tennessee, John Wilkerson and his co-researchers
in the Precision Agriculture Research and Education Group's sensors and
controls lab test technologies available to farmers today and develop
technologies for the future. ... Wilkerson said he's particularly excited
about the work UT is doing with neural networks, or artificial intelligence,
to help farmers better know their crops. The lab has developed prototypes
of a technology that measures the wavelengths of light reflecting off
a plant to 'learn' how much fertilizer particular plants, such as health
or sick varieties, need. The farmer first introduces the device to different
types of plants, inputting information about the plants and how much fertilizer
should be dispensed in each case on a Palm-type device. Gradually the
computer learns to discern each plant's need on its own. When the 'training'
process is complete, the sensor would be attached to the front of a vehicle,
with the nutrient dispenser on the back. As the computer 'sees' each plant,
it communicates to the dispenser in the rear about which dose to dispense."
October
28, 2002: Privacy
advocates decry Patriot Act - Web monitoring targets terrorism. By
Nik Bonopartis. Poughkeepsie Journal. "Barely more than a month after
Sept. 11, as rescuers were still looking for bodies among the charred
remnants of the World Trade Center and the government was warning new
terror attacks could and would happen, lawmakers rushed to implement the
USA Patriot Act. The act gave law enforcement and intelligence communities
unprecedented powers of surveillance and communications listening on both
foreign and domestic targets. ... Privacy advocates are also worried about
Carnivore, a program used by the FBI that opponents say has been used
increasingly since Sept. 11. Carnivore, which can be installed back-end
to ISPs like America Online and Microsoft Network, uses artificial intelligence
to scan the subject lines of e-mails. If the artificial intelligence 'flags'
an e-mail as something possibly of value to an investigation, it is forwarded
for review by agents, experts say. That could cause certain groups to
become more prone to scrutiny, said Tala Dowlatshahi, New York's representative
of Reporters Without Borders, a journalism and free information advocacy
group." October
28, 2002: Army
HQs to go hi-tech soon. The Hindu. "The Indian Army is incorporating
a highly advanced decision support system, enabling commanders of 'formation'
headquarters to access information like details of resources and the time
required for their shipment to various points, according to defence sources.
The project codenamed 'Samhavak', developed by the Centre for Artificial
Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) is aimed at integrating operations, intelligence,
logistics and terrain, under the single fold by making it available to
various battalion HQs through WAN/LAN network." October
27, 2002: Computers
Are Front, Center as America Gears Up for War; Can Technology Help
Keep Troops Out of Harm's Way?; Next Generation of Vending Machines. Transcript
of NEXT@CNN broadcast. "SAN MIGUEL: Another sophisticated crime fighting
tool was sent to Maryland from Arizona this week to help in the sniper
investigation. As Lupita Mario (ph) of our affiliate KBOI reports, the
cop link system was developed to help sort out huge amounts of information.
JENNIFER SCHROEDER, TUCSON POLICE DEPT.: In an investigation this size,
they have so many leads coming in that they're having trouble being able
to make sense of them all. LUPITA MARIO (ph), KBOI CORRESPONDENT: This
is where cop link comes in, a system that was developed by Tuscon police
and the U of A artificial intelligence lab. Cop link will be able to sort
through and make a correlation between the data. SCHROEDER: We basically
have a good place to store the information, and then the ability to really
refine searches and, again, to go through a lot of information quickly
and to really hone in on the really pertinent pieces of information. ...
SCHROEDER: The thing that cop link does best is make correlations and
to uncover associations between people and locations and vehicles and
the very kinds of things that they need to be able to help solve this
case." October
27, 2002: Robot
photographer debuts at the Ritz. By Sara Shipley. The Post-Dispatch.
"Meet Lewis, the world's first robotic photographer, a machine that
may take pictures better than you do. The 300-pound, trash-can-sized robot
rolls around a room, detects faces and takes photographs based on classic
composition rules. Lewis debuted Sunday night in St. Louis at a conference
sponsored by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. 'You
can think of it as a computer on wheels,' said Bill Smart, an assistant
professor in computer science at Washington University. He created the
robot with his wife, Cindy Grimm, a fellow assistant professor in the
department. ... Smart and Grimm didn't set out to build the perfect automated
photographer. The project was simply a good way to meld Grimm's work in
modeling and computer graphics with Smart's research in robotic navigation
and artificial intelligence." October
26, 2002: Science
inspired by fiction. By Regis Behe. Tribune-Review / available from
PittsburghLIVE.com. "The ['Star Trek'] series not only anticipated
technological advances ranging from artificial intelligence to cryogenics,
but also played a role in inspiring the scientists who made those things
reality. ... More intriguing to Walter was the concept of the proposal:
To work with Shatner on a project that would compare technologies that
the series illustrated to scientific developments that are now coming
true. 'We knew we could make the connections between what the series envisioned
and what was going on,' [Chip Walter] says. 'And we found that science
was actually stranger than science fiction.' ... 'I'm Working on That'
is divided into four sections: Getting around, Basic computing, Artificial
intelligence, and Playing God and the ethical implications of technology."
The article concludes with: "Tomorrow is yesterday - Other science
fiction novels and movies have predicted the future." October
25, 2002:
Catalog of Tomorrow. Book review by Jonathan Jackson. Ecommerce Guide.
"In a book that can only be described as utterly fascinating, a group
of authors has taken the pulse of human knowledge and peered a few years
ahead. The Catalog of Tomorrow is a collection of essays by the leading
lights in a number of fields. ... An interesting theme of the book seems
to be that, while technology marches ahead, people often refuse to accommodate
the inventions. While online grocery shopping and e-books are possible,
those pesky human beings just don't want to change their ways. Perhaps
with the advent of cellular robots and cyborg implants, both discussed
at length in the book, the wetware can be modified. ... And plenty of
cool new stuff there is. The chapter on haptics, for example, describes
the efforts to create tactile interaction with computers while the chapter
on artificial intelligence leaves open the possibility that computers
may someday no longer wish to touch humans. Of course it's a cliche, but
fact often is stranger than fiction." October
25, 2002: Heinz
von Foerster - Cybernetician who expanded the range of his discipline
and set out to 'explain the observer to himself.' Obituary by Bernard
Scott. The Independent. "Cybernetics thrives to this day as, depending
on one's perspective, a specialism within the systems sciences, a complementary
approach to that of the general theory of systems first proposed by Ludwig
von Bertallanfy in the 1950s, as in the phrase 'cybernetics and systems';
or as the discipline that gives looser approaches such as 'systems thinking'
or 'artificial intelligence' clear and firm intellectual foundations.
Heinz von Foerster understood cybernetics in this latter sense and, indeed,
may be regarded as the chief architect in making clear the full structure
of cybernetics as a holistic transdiscipline that provides models and
concepts for dealing in a non-trivial manner with a range of formally
analogous issues concerned with the form and behaviour of complex systems
within a wide range of specialist disciplines (as examples, biology, psychology,
sociology, economics, management studies); and also as a metadiscipline
that comments on the processes whereby human observers come together as
a community and establish the many and varied research programmes that
make up the natural and social sciences and their many domains of application."
October
25, 2002: A
mental epic... By Charles Kelleher. Gulf Daily News. "The technological
advances of Deep Fritz are as important for what they don't provide as
for what they do. The computer keeps pushing for greater speed, requiring
faster hardware and better programming design. These techniques will eventually
trickle down to ordinary business computers. Just as the space race raised
all technology efforts during the 1960s, pursuits like Deep Fritz will
help raise technology efforts in the modern era. Deep Fritz fails in our
greatest computer goal: to capture human understanding. Because the designers
have placed overriding emphasis on speed over judgement, it emerges as
no more than a very large calculator - though an extremely sophisticated
one. ... Real history will be made when a computer judges position better
than the world champion, a feat that will require a breakthrough in simulating
human understanding." October
25, 2002: U
of M to spread research value. Foundation to help market technologies.
By Mark Watson. GoMemphis. "'I think there's some incredible technologies
that have a chance to generate wealth for the university,' [Jim Phillips]
said. 'You need a research foundation to be able to accomplish technology
transfer.' Phillips cited as an example of marketable technology the university's
Institute for Intelligent Systems's computer-aided education system, called
AutoTutor, which features artificial intelligence systems." October
24, 2002: What
is neuro-fuzzy logic? By Surjit Singh Bhatti. The Tribune (Chandigarh,
India). "It is common now-a-days to come across electronic gadgets
marketed by multinational companies that claim the use of 'fuzzy logic'
control systems. Nissan, for instance, has fixed fuzzy anti-lock brakes
in their vehicles. ... Samsung washing machines, among others, are examples
of consumer products that use the fuzzy control devices. Besides, automation
is being achieved in factories and process industries using sophisticated
fuzzy controls which are inexpensive and easier to maintain compared to
the conventional 'digital logic' control systems. Fuzzy logic models itself
on the pattern of human reasoning in its use of approximate information
and uncertainty to generate decisions. ... [F]uzzy controls avoid the
conventional rigidity of computers and allow them to use parameters based
on 'common sense.' Fuzzy logic application to a problem involves three
steps: converting crisp (numerical) values to a set of fuzzy values, an
inference system (based on fuzzy if-then rules) and de-fuzzification.
... While fuzzy logic uses approximate human reasoning in knowledge-based
systems, the neural networks aim at pattern recognition, optimisation
and decision making. A combination of these two technological innovations
delivers the best results. This has led to a new science called neuro-fuzzy
logic in which the explicit knowledge representation of fuzzy logic is
augmented by the learning power of simulated neural networks. October
24, 2002: Mining
robot to set bombs deep underground - Ottawa firm looks for global
sales. By Vito Pilieci. The Ottawa Citizen. "The company foresees
quick acceptance of the big machine in mines around the world, replacing
human workers in one of mining's most dangerous jobs, setting explosives
to blast new mine tunnels. 'The intent is to keep people away from what
could be dangerous,' said Andrew Young DYI vice-president of technology
management. 'The unit is trucked into the work site. It understands how
to load holes. It also understands when it runs into problems.' The robot,
developed in the Emulsion Loading Automation Project, is designed to fill
pre-drilled holes in a rock face with an explosive emulsion. The robot
then caps the emulsion with a detonator and vacates the blast area. It
performs its duties without instructions from the surface." October
24, 2002: Robots.
The Economist. "The United Nations World Robotics report estimates
that global robot installations will rise by an average annual rate of
7.5% over the next four years." October
24, 2002: Thinking
of Radio as Smart Enough to Live Without Rules. By Peter Rojas. The
New York Times (no-fee reg. req'd). "[R]ecent advances in a new technology
called cognitive radio might make it possible to think about the spectrum
as limitless. These researchers say that more powerful microchips and
improvements in signal processing - combined with networking ideas borrowed
from the Internet - may someday eliminate radio's current hub-and-spoke
model, in which high-powered transmitters blast signals to dumb receivers.
Instead, intelligent radios - smart in that they are able to sense, respond
to and work with other radios in their environment in order to transmit
in the most efficient manner possible -would be linked in a web in which
traffic was passed along in packets on constantly shifting frequencies
until it reached its destination. ... 'A cognitive radio will be able
to sense its surroundings and the presence of other signals and then adapt
- changing its modulation language and output energy - in cooperation
with the other cognitive radios around it,' [David P. Reed] said. Working
together without human intervention, cognitive radios in close proximity
would create an efficient wireless network that adapts to the communications
needs of the moment." October
24, 2002: Do
not pass Go. Computers can beat the world's best chess players but
have yet to master other classic games like Go. By David Levy. The Guardian.
"Ever since Garry Kasparov's sensational 1997 loss to the IBM chess
monster Deep Blue, the chess world has thirsted for revenge. But the first
opportunity ended in failure in Bahrain on Saturday, when Kasparov's former
pupil and successor as World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik, could only draw
an 8-game match against one of the world's leading chess engines, Fritz.
But this was just the latest in a long series of human versus computer
encounters that illustrate the inexorable march of artificial intelligence
(AI). It's a story that began at a Dartmouth University conference in
1956, when several of the founding fathers of AI defined the goals of
that infant science. One of them was to create a computer program that
could defeat the world chess champion. Success would, those scientists
believed, reach to the very core of human intellectual endeavour. By the
early 1990s, due in no small part to the successes achieved in computer
chess, the interest of the AI community had spread to many other games
of skill, including backgammon, bridge, Go and Scrabble. Where exactly
are we now in this fascinating struggle? ... Two games proving even tougher
to crack than chess are bridge and Go." October
23, 2002: Tucson
cops, local software to help in D.C. sniper probe. By Larry Copenhaver.
Tucson Citizen. "Federal officials asked Tucson police for help in
using the system, COPLINK. It allows investigators to feed leads and other
data on a case into a computer system, and a software program then provides
advanced analytical and search capabilities for investigators. ... HOW
COPLINK WORKS: The system digs through databases and reports to pick out
connections among suspects, vehicles, crimes, locations and other data.
It gives police the capability, with limited information, to find investigative
leads they don't get anywhere else. Simply put, it searches separate databases
at various agencies and returns information based on a query." >>
Photo caption: "Hsinchun Chen shows Tucson police Detective Tim Petersen
(right) how to use COPLINK software in January 2001. Chen led a University
of Arizona Artificial Intelligence Lab team in developing COPLINK software.
..." October
23, 2002: Young
ambassadors for century of flight - 3 Texans take part in student
program. By Lucas Wall. Houston Chronicle. "This year's high school
seniors graduate in 2003, the centennial of human flight. To make certain
they are part of this momentous occasion, the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics developed an educational program for a group of 20 students
who are now seniors, including three from Texas. ... [John] Oberg, who
attends the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science in Denton, said he
enjoyed exploring some of the new technology on display at the space congress.
'It's amazing how far it's come and how far it's going to go,' he said.
'I'm trying to get to all the booths with artificial intelligence and
all the different propulsion systems.'" October
23, 2002: At
the Intersection of Robbie and HAL. Contrary to sci-fi portrayals
where robots rule the world, tomorrow's robots will aid in the simplification
of our daily lives. USC is leading the Southern California effort to bring
them seamlessly into society. By Gia Scafidi. USC Today. "Aiming
to bring robotics out of the lab and into society, USC has established
its first robotics research center, the largest multidisciplinary robotics
effort in Southern California. ... 'As robotic technology becomes more
and more advanced, this field will have a huge impact on society,' said
Maja Mataric«, CRES [Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems] founding
director and USC associate professor of computer science. 'Until now,
societal pressures and fear of robots in our lives have kept robotics
at bay.' ... 'The key to fitting robotics into society is gradual change,'
said Mataric«. 'Robotic devices are socially acceptable today because
they don't stand out.' ... Innovative robotics research and development
could provide us with the means to care for more disabled persons, remotely
check in on elderly parents or children home alone or even replace underpaid
and overworked factory workers, suggested Mataric«." October
23, 2002: Sniper
probe to get help from Tucson. By L. Anne Newell. Arizona Daily Star.
"A program developed by Tucson police and the University of Arizona
will be used to try to capture the Washington, D.C.,-area sniper... COPLINK
works by combining databases, limiting the number of individual searches
officers have to perform. They can enter partial vehicle and suspect descriptions
and the program will locate everyone who fits the description. ... The
program - developed at the UA Artificial Intelligence Lab and funded through
grants from the National Institute of Justice and the National Science
Foundation - is also being used in Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, Iowa
and Washington state. ... [Sgt. Randy Force] said it will be especially
helpful to his department for the same reason it should help authorities
in the Washington, D.C., area: It helps alleviate many burdens of multi-jurisdictional
cases. There are about 20 law enforcement agencies in the greater Phoenix
area, he said." October
23, 2002: New
centre for intelligent computing to open in Auckland. Stuff. "A
research centre for 'intelligent' computer systems is to be launched in
Auckland next week by its Bulgarian-born director. The Knowledge Engineering
and Discovery Research Institute , based at the Auckland University of
Technology, is a collaborative effort by researchers at AUT, Massey, Otago
and Auckland universities. The new centre also has international partners
and is headed by Professor Nikola Kasabov, formerly of Otago University.
Industry representatives will be invited to the launch next Friday to
find out more about 'knowledge engineering' - part of the artificial intelligence
revolution, developing smarter ways to integrate and analyse information.
... Dr Kasabov said New Zealand's knowledge economy needed to put into
practice more advanced methods of information processing. 'This is what
is missing in many research areas - let's say biotechnology. Biotechnology
needs definitely more sophisticated tools to deal with this huge amount
of information and this information is very complex ... That is our business.'" October
22, 2002: AspenTech
launches Aspen Apollo manufacturing solution. EyeforChem. "According
to AspenTech, Aspen Apollo uses next-generation artificial intelligence
technology to apply advanced control to the complex processes found in
the polymers industry. AspenTech said the solution is designed to enable
manufacturers to gain benefits during all phases of plant operations,
but particularly during the critical transitions between different product
grades." October
22, 2002: Laboratory
is virtually safe. By Stefan Hull. This is Brighton & Hove. "Ben
Zayas, a postgraduate student at Sussex University's School of Cognitive
and Computing Sciences, has developed the virtual environment for safety
training laboratory (VEST-Lab) to teach chemistry students the importance
of safe practice. The computer-based VEST-Lab recreates one of the university's
chemistry labs in three dimension, enabling users to navigate their way
around searching for potential hazards and responding to emergency scenarios.
... 'The VEST-Lab can reduce the costs of training in this important area
and provides more interactive realism while not exposing students to the
dangers.'" October
21, 2002: Whitefish
high-tech business a lesson for state. By Michael Jackson. The Missoulian.
"[Dale] Johnson, with his background in electronics and hardware
engineering, and his partners Ron Behrendt (computer science) and Cody
Benkelman (physics and hard science) started writing software. The result
was Digital Images Made Easy, or DIME, a software package that pieces
individual aerial pictures together into one large image. It also recognizes
any individual pixel in an image and can attach that pixel to a specific
geographic point on the ground, providing its precise latitude and longitude.
That 'geo-referencing' allows users to layer the aerial montage directly
atop existing maps, or onto other aerial pictures of the same area. ...
He predicts his office of about 15 could be three times as large in the
next couple of years if he finds the investors he needs. Those additional
employees would work on adding an 'artificial intelligence' component
to the DIME software, allowing the computer to recognize changes on the
ground from one photographic layer to the next. October
21, 2002: British
Concern to Help U.S. Track Terrorists. By John Markoff. The New York
Times (no-fee reg. req'd). "Autonomy, a British developer of sophisticated
information retrieval software, plans to announce on Monday that it has
been chosen to provide an analysis system to help the United States government
track suspected terrorists. ... Autonomy's software uses statistical techniques
to search for patterns of information across large masses of data. Mr.
Cooper has said publicly on several occasions that the domestic security
effort will require technology that will allow government agencies to
share and analyze information, and that data-mining technologies will
be a central part of the operation. ... One early application for the
Autonomy software will be as part of a consolidated watch list for suspected
terrorists that the agencies will maintain, according to Mr. Cronin of
Autonomy. He described the possibility that dozens of separate data repositories
would be accessible by Autonomy software known as the Intelligent Data
Operating Layer, which is designed to integrate unstructured text documents
and traditional database information. ... The Autonomy software has the
flexibility to search names and words with variable spellings as well
as to retrieve information based on patterns that are related but may
not match exactly. The software is based on Bayesian statistical techniques,
which are used to match patterns and are gaining favor among software
designers and artificial-intelligence researchers." October
21, 2002: Researchers
see strides in biometrics. By Robert Lemos. CNET News. "Whether
you stroll, stride, lurch or lumber, researchers at the Georgia Institute
of Technology are studying ways to identify and track you by the way you
walk. The research, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA), aims to use radar and computer vision to create a unique signature
based on a person's gait, along with leg and arm movement. October
21, 2002: RightNow
Technologies Receives Innovation Award From American Association of
Artificial Intelligence. CNET Investor News (based upon a press release).
"RightNow eService Center uses a broad range of AI technologies and
techniques that it employs -- including natural language processing, intelligent
'clustering' of related knowledge items, and automated ranking of knowledge
items based on relevancy and age, for which RightNow recently received
a patent. RightNow eService Center represents, 'an excellent example of
how AI technology and the Internet can be used to provide increasing levels
of customer support in an economic fashion,' Steve Chien, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, IAAI Conference Chair for 2002 said. ... The academic paper
that led to RightNow's award from the AAAI can be viewed...." October
21, 2002:
Now you're talking - robot bank tellers get handier. The Record. "Talk
is cheap, and you'll soon be able to get it from an automated banking
machine. RBC Royal Bank plans to install 225 audio bank machines across
Canada between late October and the end of January. The bank has been
testing about a dozen of the machines, starting with one in Ottawa in
1997, and says they have received high praise for their technology, designed
to help the visually impaired as well as other clients with special needs,
such as the elderly and people with learning disabilities. The talking
ABMs work like other banking machines, except that they provide voice
assistance to guide customers step-by-step through transactions." October
21, 2002: Kramnik
holds Deep Fritz in chess battle. By Will Knight. New Scientist. "The
eighth and final game was drawn in just 21 moves, making it the shortest
game in the series. Following the final draw, Kramnik praised his computer
opponent saying that Deep Fritz 'understands positional chess better than
I could possibly have imagined'. ... The next chess challenge between
man and machine chess will see Kasparov will take on another powerful
chess program called Deep Junior, beginning on 1 December in Jerusalem,
Israel." October
21, 2002: Paul
Vallely: The perpetual struggle of man against machine - Kramnik was
not playing a machine, he was taking on the ghosts of grandmasters past.
The Independent. "Don't talk to me about man versus machine. It was
a grievous disappointment, but hardly a surprise, to hear over the weekend
that the world chess champion, Vladimir Kramnik, had failed to salvage
humanity's honour by beating the world's top chess computer, which exulted
in the name of Deep Fritz. ... The trouble with artificial intelligence
is that it is not intelligent at all, but something else masquerading
as cleverness. ... The truth is, of course, that in reality computers
do not emulate human methods of thinking. How could they, since we don't
really know ourselves how the brain works, with its unfathomable complex
labyrinth of interlocked neurons with processing and memory distributed
throughout? Machines can perform some specific functions better, faster
and more accurately than we can. But no formula exists for intuition,
let alone wisdom." October
21, 2002: Chess
- Man vs. Machine Plays Out. By Tania Hershman. Wired News. "So
why wasn't the Kasparov-Deep Blue match enough to settle the issue of
who's superior, humans or machines? 'As a scientist, a single data point
that is unrepeatable (because Deep Blue has since been dismantled) is
useless,' said Jonathan Schaeffer of the University of Alberta Department
of Computer Science's Games Group at the symposium, Man vs. Machine: The
Experiment. 'Now we have two more matches ... and we will get new data
to see whether the machine is better than the man.' ... Schaeffer, who
is the author of the world-champion checkers computer program, believes
that researchers should broaden their game-playing horizons. 'If you want
to understand intelligence, the game of Go is much more demanding,' he
said. 'It doesn't have the silver bullet: deep search. Chess has somewhat
outlived its usefulness. It turned out to be easier than we thought.'"
October
21, 2002: Student
explores interest in U.S. security at forum. By Patti Smith. Courier-Journal.
"Emily Renda may not be able to tell you the latest on characters
in popular television sitcoms, but she's fresh on the latest episode of
Forensic Files, CSI and 24. While she bears the brunt of her friends'
jokes regarding Court TV -- her channel of choice -- Emily hasn't let
that stop her from pursuing all the knowledge she can about her potential
future career as a profiler for the FBI. Last week, she received a firs--hand
look at national security while attending the National Youth Leadership
Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy in Washington, D.C. ... During
the six-day forum, she toured government buildings and the CIA headquarters.
In seminars, she learned about naval aviation, special military operations,
artificial intelligence, peacekeeping and diplomacy." October
20, 2002: Man versus machine:
it's official, it's a draw. By Juliette Garside. Sunday Herald. "An
epic contest between man and machine ended in a draw yesterday when the
reigning classical world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik drew four all
with Deep Fritz, the German-built successor to IBM's famous chess-playing
computer Deep Blue. Although the tournament lacked some of the drama of
the 1997 encounter between the then world champion Gary Kasparov and Deep
Blue, Kramnik proved that the human mind can still hold its own against
a machine capable of analysing 6 million moves per second. ... After the
finale, Kramnik said he had found Fritz 'much stronger' than programs
he had played a year ago. 'It is not just strong in terms of calculations,
which is to be expected, but in terms of positional moves. It plays like
a very strong human. These are 'human moves'.'" October
19, 2002: US
Hispanics not Keeping Up with Digital Technology. By Mona Ghuneim.
VOA News. "The Hispanic population in the United States, soon to
be the largest minority group in the country, is not keeping up with technology
advancement and higher learning. But, educators and some big names in
the hi-tech business are doing something about it. Students, parents,
teachers, community leaders and technology company representatives recently
came together at a public school in New York City for Tecnoferia, a technology
fair that allowed Hispanics to get their hands on computers, learn about
computer programs and surf the Internet. ... Children of all ages participated
in the technology fair, choosing from a variety of workshops. One science
workshop helped students build a robot." October
19, 2002: I
love Lucy - This robot is the cleverest in the world. Her creator
claims she is smarter than a frog. Is that as good as it gets in the search
for artificial intelligence? By Jon Ronson. The Guardian. "For 50
years, scientists across the world have dedicated themselves to inventing
a robot that, like Pinocchio, will come to life. This Herculean endeavour
is known as the race to create AI - artificial intelligence. It is a Tuesday
in late September. I'm on my way to meet Lucy, who is coming to life.
Lucy, it is said, is the world's most artificially intelligent robot.
For one so brilliant, it's a surprise that Lucy does not live in Harvard
or MIT. She lives near Weston-super-Mare, on a table in a shed in a back
garden down a country lane. ... Steve [Grand] says I'm impressed with
Lucy for all the wrong reasons. She looks good. She does things. That's
the problem with the public, he says. We only want something that does
something. We don't care about the means, just the ends. ... 'You know
why people fear machines? Because they fear that if machines are like
us, then we must be machines. Well, I'll tell you - I know machines better
than a lot of people, and I'm proud to be a machine.'" October
18, 2002: Welfare
Software. By Alan Leo. Technology Review. "Access to computers
alone won't help the working poor, experts say. The missing piece? Software.
... Although most of the applications were developed by not-for-profit
agencies through grants (the Women's Center's Self-Sufficiency Calculator
was funded by the United Way of New York), a few for-profit companies
have also joined the effort. Peter Martin Associates, a software firm
based in Chicago, IL, makes HelpWorks, a software package for human services
workers that not only calculates benefits eligibility, but also guides
client interviews and recommends appropriate services, such as health
care and counseling." October
18, 2002: The
ultimate battle between man and machine. By Jim Whyte. South African
Broadcasting Corporation. "After seven gruelling games, Kramnik and
Deep Fritz are level on points with only one game to play. A few hours
of play will answer the question of who, or what is superior, the creativity
and ingenuity of the human mind or the shear power of artificial intelligence.
The event has captured the imagination, not only of the Chess World, but
of a far wider audience, enthralled by the prospect of witnessing the
ultimate battle between human intelligence and artificial intelligence.
... Deep Fritz is currently a slight favourite amongst observers but most
say the result is too close to call. Whatever happens, tomorrow will see
the ultimate battle between Man and Machine, a chance for humans to take
revenge for the 1997 humiliation or a perhaps final confirmation of the
superiority of the machine." October
18, 2002: Lab
Report - New solution to detect fraud. By Aimie Pardas. Computimes.
"Financial service companies looking for fraud-detection solutions
may want to consider AIM@ Fraud from Integral Solutions (Asia) Pte Ltd.
The company's consulting director Irene Boey said that AIM@Fraud combines
artificial intelligence (AI) into analytics and leverages on Computer
Associates (CA)'s technology. AIM@Fraud uses a three-layer detection engine
that combines knowledge engineering, detection beams and AI to detect
fraud, Boey said, adding that it minimises false alarms and offers better
fraud detection. The solution, which analyses 16 million transactions
in half an hour, looks at every transaction to detect trends. With its
dynamic learning process, it can automatically discover new trends and
differentiate groups of customers based on similar behaviour." October
18, 2002: Man
and computer in chess cliff-hanger. BBC. "The man-versus-machine
chess duel is set for a dramatic finish on Saturday with world champion
Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and the computer Deep Fritz tied 3.5-3.5 after
seven games." October
17, 2002: Car
systems to reduce driving hazards. Business Day (South Africa). "Ultimately,
drivers will be alerted to potential hazards through a combination of
video cameras mounted around the car, speed calculation devices and software
based on artificial intelligence and heuristics. As an example, a camera
on the bonnet will capture images of the car ahead while computational
software monitors its speed. If the car in front suddenly stops, the software
will calculate how soon its own driver is destined to hit it. To avoid
a collision, the system would either alert the driver to the hazard or,
possibly, invoke evasive action itself. The idea that your car might suddenly
veer onto the pavement automatically because a truck pulls out in front
sounds hard to accept, but rest assured, says [Tom] MacTavish, the car
would have already ascertained that there was no vehicle alongside you
and that failing to swerve would be more dangerous than letting you blithely
plough straight on." October
17, 2002: A
Robotic Pet Gains an Independent Streak. By Barnaby Feder. The New
York Times (no-fee reg. req'd). "A series of improvements Sony is
introducing this month for Aibo, its dog-like robot, highlight the Japanese
company's uncertainty over whether the product is primarily a substitute
pet or the foundation for a family of mobile electronic servants. ...
'Everybody wants it to be a robot, but they want to think of it as a living
thing,' said Jon Piazza, a spokesman for Entertainment Robot America the
division of Sony Electronics that markets Aibo in the United States. 'They
feel cheated when they have to hook it up and recharge it.' The new energy-management
feature is embodied in software that Sony is to begin selling on Nov.
22. The new software also allows an Aibo to distinguish its owner's face,
voice and name from other humans." October
17, 2002: Chess
champ humbled by computer. BBC. "The latest chess battle to determine
whether man or machine has the better brain looks like being a much closer
contest than previously thought. World chess champion Vladimir Kramnik
took an early lead over the Deep Fritz supercomputer, but the machine
has now levelled the scores by beating him in two consecutive games." October
17, 2002: Reality
of drunk driving simulated. By Jennifer Burd. The Daily Telegram "The
simulators were developed through 40 years of NASA research, according
to Kramer employee Brian Beldyga, who was on hand to assist and educate
participants. The machines are rented for use at college campuses and
corporations so people can experience firsthand the dangers of driving
under the influence, he added. ... Using the second simulator, SHU junior
Jason Fry experienced the sensation of careening across a roadway that
was portrayed across five, 25-inch TV screens creating a 225-degree panoramic
view of his simulated driving environment. Through artificial intelligence
technology, the machine tracked his reactions as he responded to one of
'millions of (driving) scenarios' possible on the simulator, Beldyga said." October
17, 2002: Seminar
pushes technology transfer - Universities, labs work to turn ideas
into enterprise. By Julie Howard. The Idaho Statesman. "Idaho could
be the home of bio-engineered glue or new computer security software or
even a cure for cancer. Or the development of these technologies could
stay stuck in a laboratory if not nurtured, financed and marketed properly
in what«s known as technology transfer -- the process of turning new ideas
and processes into private enterprise. Pairing government labs with universities
is a powerful way to accomplish this, said representatives from several
regional universities and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory at a seminar this week. ... Montana State University has established
a TechLink center, an incubator that matches research labs in government
or private business with university programs that can provide assistance.
The center has students currently helping a software company license artificial
intelligence technology from the U.S. Navy and was an intermediary for
a Bozeman, Mont., company licensing NASA laser technology." October
17, 2002: Blood
test could save need for biopsy for prostate patients. By Health Newswire
reporters. Health-News.co.uk. "A simple 30-minute test on a single
drop of blood could help doctors decide whether a patient has prostate
cancer or a benign tumour, report US scientists. ...The technique devised
by the scientists relies on computer software that detects key patterns
of small proteins in the blood. The researchers analysed serum proteins
using mass spectroscopy to sort proteins and other molecules on the basis
of their weight and electrical charge. Patterns were then detected using
an artificial intelligence program that trained a computer to identify
the different patterns of proteins in patients with prostate cancer compared
to those with no evidence of the disease." October
16, 2002: The
heat is on. By Bob Shallit. The Sacramento Bee. "At the podium
will be Joe Liu, a student at Oakridge High who along with his 14-year-old
brother Sean and their dad, Mason has developed an intriguing software
product called 'Mongie.' The basic concept: Use artificial intelligence
to make computers a lot friendlier for those of us who still find them
mystifying. The Lius' program enables a computer to analyze information
requests from the user and respond intelligently." October
16, 2002: Topeka
police officers learn about Coplink. By Tim Hrenchir. The Capital-Journal.
"More than 30 officers from law enforcement agencies across northeast
Kansas gathered Tuesday in Topeka to learn about a computer software program
that could help them do a better job of sharing information. ... The technology
used in Coplink products was developed at the artificial intelligence
lab at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, under a $1.2 million contract
from the National Institute for Justice. ... Literature provided by Coplink
says the system enables agencies to identify, consolidate and share their
online criminal records. ... The system also uncovers crime-related links
in law enforcement databases regarding people, locations, vehicles, weapons
and organizations." October
15, 2002: A Review
of TRACFed - Lawyers Strike Gold Mining Government Data. By Patricia
Hassett and Linda Roberge. Law Library Resource Xchange. "Lawyers,
along with other professionals, are looking at the many advantages that
information technology holds for their profession. In this paper we discuss
a new class of information that goes beyond databases to the realm of
data warehouses and data mining. These state-of-the-art technologies and
the information they produce promise to redefine some of the best-practice
standards of the legal profession. ... Before giving advice based upon
a perception of how the system works, careful lawyers would like to know
whether their personal perceptions are consistent with actual facts. TRACFed
allows lawyers to confirm their impressions with actual data. Do cases
really move more slowly through Judge Smith's court? How frequently does
a particular prosecutor decline certain types of cases? What is the likelihood
that my client's tax return will be audited? How often do criminal cases
investigated by a particular agency result in a conviction?" October
15, 2002: Snowdroid
lands investment, developing toy robot. By Tony Monterastelli. Front
Range Tech Biz. "Longmont's Snowdroid Industries has closed its first
round of angel investment at just under $1 million and has begun work
on its first product, a small toy robot intended to use artificial intelligence
software to interact with kids, Chairman and CEO Stephen Matson said.
'It's the timeless fantasy of living toys, from Pinocchio to Buzz Lightyear.
We want to extend the fantasy that a toy really can respond to a child,'
Matson said." October
15, 2002: Protein
Patterns In Blood May Predict Prostate Cancer Diagnosis. ScienceDaily
Magazine (based on a press
release from NIH/National Cancer Institute). "The diagnostic
test relied on computer software that detects key patterns of small proteins
in the blood. Researchers analyzed serum proteins with mass spectroscopy,
a technique used to sort proteins and other molecules based on their weight
and electrical charge. They then used an artificial intelligence program
developed by Correlogic Systems, Inc., in Bethesda, Md., to train a computer
to identify patterns of proteins that differed between patients with prostate
cancer and those in which a biopsy had found no evidence of disease. These
patterns were identified using serum samples from 56 patients who had
undergone a biopsy and whose disease status was known. Once established,
the protein patterns were then used to predict diagnosis in a separate
group of patients, whose biopsy results were not known by the researchers.
... 'We have now demonstrated that combining proteomic technology with
artificial intelligence based bioinformatics can be a powerful tool, and
is a new paradigm in the detection and diagnosis of both ovarian and prostate
cancers,' said Lance Liotta, M.D., Ph.D., the senior investigator on the
study from NCI's Center for Cancer Research." October
15, 2002: Robot
'Judy' Center of Futuristic Theater Piece. By Travis Cannell. Daily
Nexus (UC Santa Barbara). "As computers continue to become faster,
smaller and cheaper, some cognitive scientists wonder if tomorrow's computers
will ever match human intelligence and become self-aware. Breaking away
from traditional hard science, the UCSB cognitive science program staged
a theatrical production, entitled 'Judy,' which posed the question: If
you build a robot smart enough to do the dishes, would it also be smart
enough to find them boring? ... Robert Bernstein, a local Santa Barbara
resident and robotics enthusiast, thought Judy's character presented a
plausible vision of artificial intelligence. ... Psychology Dept. Associate
Professor Mary Hegarty was dubious about the idea of a machine that could
think for itself in the near future." October
15, 2002: US Investment
Firm DFJ Plans to Invest in Russian Hi-Tech Industry. Rosbalt (Russia).
"Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), a US investment firm, is planning
to create a venture fund with a Russian company, DFJ Director Tim Draper
told the press in Moscow on Friday. The fund should be aimed at financing
developments in nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics and
the commercial application of military technology, Draper said." October
14, 2002: Invasion
of the Robo-Editors. Automated news services can gather headlines
in a flash. Is there still room for the human touch? Is there still room
for the human touch? By Joshua Macht. TIME. "I'm going on strike.
That was my first thought when I heard that the guys at Google had developed
a computerized news editor that could do for free what I do for a living
-- track news and pull the most important stories together into a vibrant,
continuously updated Web page. My website is TIME.com. Theirs is Google
News. But I get paid for what I do, while Google's news editor gets no
compensation --no salary, no medical, no free T shirts from failing dotcoms." October
14, 2002: Claude
E. Shannon: Founder of Information Theory. By Graham P. Collins. Scientific
American Explore. "Shannon's M.I.T. master's thesis in electrical
engineering has been called the most important of the 20th century: in
it the 22-year-old Shannon showed how the logical algebra of 19th-century
mathematician George Boole could be implemented using electronic circuits
of relays and switches. This most fundamental feature of digital computers'
design -- the representation of 'true' and 'false' and '0' and '1' as
open or closed switches, and the use of electronic logic gates to make
decisions and to carry out arithmetic -- can be traced back to the insights
in Shannon's thesis." October
14, 2002: Football injuries
are rocket science. By Karl Flinders. Vnunet. "Clubs could save
millions by using software to predict injuries: High-spending football
clubs are set to save millions on injury-prone players with biomedical
software from Computer Associates (CA), if a successful trial at Serie
A giant AC Milan is taken up by other clubs. The software collects data
during workouts over a period of time, which it then translates into predictions
on how likely players are to pick up injuries. ... CA is using its CleverPath
predictive analysis technology, which performs neural analysis and uses
artificial intelligence to transform vast amounts of numeric medical statistics
into meaningful predictions. ... CA is claiming an accuracy rate of over
70 per cent for the technology. "The club gave us unseen test data from
the previous season to see if we would predict the injuries that had already
happened and our success rate was in the high 70s." October
14, 2002: Intel,
Microsoft Dip into Speech with SALT. By Thor Olavsrud. siliconvalley.internet.com.
"Aiming to help businesses extend their Web presences with speech,
Intel and Microsoft Monday announced they are jointly developing technologies
and a reference design based on the Speech Applications Language Tags
(SALT) 1.0 specification submitted to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
in August. ... Intel and Microsoft said their tools will support both
telephony and multimodal applications on a range of devices. The partners
believe the value proposition of such technology is clear: it stands to
reduce costs associated with call center agents. A typical customer service
call costs $5 to $10 to support, while an automated voice recognition
system can lower that to 10 cents to 30 cents per call. Additionally,
voice recognition technology can be used to give employees access to critical
information while on the move. Earlier this year, market research firm
the Kelsey Group projected worldwide spending on voice recognition will
reach $41 billion by 2005. But Intel and Microsoft are by no means alone
in the space." October
14, 2002: Cyber
terrorism: fact or fiction? By Wendy Brewer. PC Advisor. "Are
net guerrillas new threat or same old hackers rebranded? ... Across the
pond, the US Defense Department last week awarded Carnegie Mellon University
$35m (£22.5m) to fight the growing threat of cyber terrorism over the
next five years. Back in the UK, the Corporate IT Forum today announced
a new scheme to fight the alleged threat posed by cyber terrorism to the
corporate community. ... But this is yet another example of cyber terrorism
being used as a blanket term covering the threat of viruses, hackers and
miscellaneous security breaches, regardless of whether or not they are
actually sent from terrorists. ... [Carnegie Mellon's] approach seems
to back the general feeling that most cyber attacks aren't actually from
terrorists at all, but from ordinary hackers and virus writers who have
been a nuisance for years. Carnegie is using the money to research ways
to engineer artificial intelligence into hardware, so that components
such as hard disk drives could take countermeasures in the event of a
hacker attack." | |||