Ken Garen, CPA, Co-Founder and President, UBCC

Robot that thinks for itself from scratch brings forward rise the self-aware machines After 35 hours the arm began performing tasks with reasonable accuracy - Columbia University       By Henry Bodkin January 30, 2019 The rise of “self-aware” robots has come a major step closer following the invention of a machine capable of thinking for itself from scratch, scientists have said. Engineers at Columbia University claim to have smashed one of the biggest barriers in the field of robotics after a mechanical arm, which had not been programmed with any instructions, began performing practical tasks after just a few hours. The team said this is the first time a robot has shown the ability to “imagine itself”, thereby working out what its purpose is and how to perform it. Until now, some experts had pointed to the failure to achieve this as evidence that machines would never be able to develop their own intelligence   in the complex way ...

Robot that thinks for itself from scratch brings forward rise the self-aware machines After 35 hours the arm began performing tasks with reasonable accuracy - Columbia University       By Henry Bodkin January 30, 2019 The rise of “self-aware” robots has come a major step closer following the invention of a machine capable of thinking for itself from scratch, scientists have said. Engineers at Columbia University claim to have smashed one of the biggest barriers in the field of robotics after a mechanical arm, which had not been programmed with any instructions, began performing practical tasks after just a few hours. The team said this is the first time a robot has shown the ability to “imagine itself”, thereby working out what its purpose is and how to perform it. Until now, some experts had pointed to the failure to achieve this as evidence that machines would never be able to develop their own intelligence   in the complex way ...

East Bay Biochemist Sells ‘Gene-Editing Kit’ For The Masses By John RamosJanuary 29, 2019 at 6:49 pm MORAGA (KPIX 5) — After scientists unlocked the secrets of the human genome in 2003, there was immediate concern about how that knowledge might be abused in the wrong hands. Now, an East Bay entrepreneur wants to put that power in everyone’s hands. Dr. Josiah Zayner has a PhD in biochemistry and worked for NASA, engineering organisms to help astronauts survive on Mars. But that wasn’t innovative enough for the young, self-described “Bio Hacker.” “Normal scientists want to study, like, how fruit flies have sex or something, something that nobody really cares about,” said Dr. Zayner. “And what I want to study is, how do we make dragons or super-humans or something like that?” Zayner wants others to do it as well. Out of a West Oakland apartment, he operates a company called The Odin that sells “gene-editing” kits; they come with all that’s necessary to create your ow...

Scientists invent 'self-aware' robot that operates ON ITS OWN and able to REPAIR ITSELF SCIENTISTS have created a self-aware robot capable of operating on its own without any instructions, in a major scientific breakthrough. By  LATIFA YEDROUDJ PUBLISHED:  22:52, Wed, Jan 30, 2019   | UPDATED:  23:00, Wed, Jan 30, 2019 Engineers at Columbia University, in New York, have reached a pinnacle in robotics inventions, inventing a mechanical arm able to programme itself - even after it is malfunctioned. Professor Hod Lipson, who leads the Creative Machines lab, where the research was carried out, likened the robotic arm to how a "newborn child" adapts to their environment and learns things on its own. The group of scientists claimed this is the first time a robot has shown the ability to "imagine itself" and work out its purpose, figuring out how to operate without inbuilt mechanics. In the study, published in the journal Science Robotics, Prof Lips...

White-Collar Robots Are Coming for Jobs A combination of AI and globalization could reshape the workforce like nothing we’ve seen before. Richard Baldwin, professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute, Geneva, explains Until recently, most service-sector and professional jobs were shielded from automation by humans’ cognitive monopoly. Amelia and other ‘white-collar robots’ are changing that.  By Richard Baldwin Jan. 31, 2019 8:00 a.m. ET Amelia works at the online and phone-in help desks at the Swedish bank SEB. Blond and blue-eyed, she has a confident bearing softened by a slightly self-conscious smile. Amelia also works in London for the Borough of Enfield and in Zurich for UBS. And did I mention that Amelia can memorize a 300-page manual in 30 seconds, speak 20 languages and handle thousands of calls simultaneously? Amelia is a white-collar robot. She interacts with customers over the phone, as a chatbot and as a three-dimensional avatar...

Generation of child web addicts: Youngsters are becoming so obsessed with the internet they spend more time on YouTube than with friends as parents struggle to keep control of their online usage   ·         Shocking scale of children's internet obsession revealed by new Ofcom study ·         Seven out of ten take their phone to bed and even under-5s spend hours online ·         A fifth of children 8-12 are on social media – despite supposed ban on under-13s  ·         A growing number of parents admit to having 'lost control' of children's habits By  KATHERINE RUSHTON FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED:  19:00 EST, 28 January 2019  |  UPDATED:  03:39 EST, 29 January 2019 ·           Children have become such screen addicts they are abandoning their friends ...

A CURE FOR CANCER? ISRAELI SCIENTISTS SAY THEY THINK THEY FOUND ONE “We believe we will offer in a year's time a complete cure for cancer." BY  MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN  JANUARY 28, 2019 23:14   A small team of Israeli scientists think they might have found the first complete cure for cancer. “We believe we will offer in a year’s time a complete cure for cancer,” said Dan Aridor, of a new treatment being developed by his company, Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies Ltd. (AEBi), which was founded in 2000 in the ITEK incubator in the  Weizmann Science Park.  AEBi developed the SoAP platform, which provides functional leads to very difficult targets. “Our cancer cure will be effective from day one, will last a duration of a few weeks and will have no or minimal side-effects at a much lower cost than most other treatments on the market,” Aridor said. “Our solution will be both generic and personal.” It sounds fantastical, especially considering that...

Engineers translate brain signals directly into speech   Advance marks critical step toward brain-computer interfaces that hold immense promise for those with limited or no ability to speak Summary: In a scientific first, neuroengineers have created a system that translates thought into intelligible, recognizable speech. This breakthrough, which harnesses the power of speech synthesizers and artificial intelligence, could lead to new ways for computers to communicate directly with the brain. January 29, 2019 The Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University In a scientific first, Columbia neuroengineers have created a system that translates thought into intelligible, recognizable speech. By monitoring someone's brain activity, the technology can reconstruct the words a person hears with unprecedented clarity. This breakthrough, which harnesses the power of speech synthesizers and artificial intelligence, could lead to new ways for computers to communicate directly w...

Apple FaceTime bug lets you listen in on people you call, even if they haven't picked up their iPhone   ·         A bug in FaceTime lets you listen in to the audio if you try to call someone — even if they don't pick up. ·         You first video call someone then try to add yourself to the group call. ·           ·         The FaceTime bug seems to be a huge privacy problem. By Todd Haselton |  @robotodd January 29, 2019 There's a FaceTime bug that lets you hear through someone else's iPhone, even if they haven't answered your phone call. It was previously reported on Twitter by user Benji Mobb and  reported by 9to5Mac . CNBC tested it and verified that it's a real bug. I tried placing a video call to my editor from my iPhone using Apple's FaceTime app. Then, before he picked up, I used the menu option ...