Top News in the Age of Autonomy (Through July 10)
Robots Answer Questions at UN Conference, Tesla Showcases It's Robot, and World Powers Race To Perfect Their AI Military Weapons
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Blockchain
Bank of America Says Ripple Making Waves in Cross-Border Payments With Blockchain
Daily Hodl | Alex Richardson
“In a recent report, BofA analysts say Ripple is an exception to blockchain’s relatively modest effect on international payments systems, particularly in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.”
Web3 Games Don’t Need to Highlight Blockchain Elements to Succeed
TechCrunch | Jacquelyn Melinek
“To win Web 2.0 audiences over, it appears the industry will have to meet them where they are. To do that, web3 game devs should move web3 components to the back end and avoid promoting games as being based on web3, according to Sumeet Patel, founder of NFT-based algorithmic prediction game Exiled Racers.”
ArtificiaI Intelligence
World Powers in Rush to Get Killer Robots on Battlefield in AI arms Race, as Concerns Grow They Can Turn on Humans
New York Post | Alex Mitchell
“There are also fears that a comfortable reliance in the technology’s precision and accuracy — referred to as automation bias — may come back to haunt, should the tech fail in a life or death situation.
One major worry revolves around AI facial recognition software being used to enhance an autonomous robot or drone during a firefight. Right now, a human being behind the controls has to pull the proverbial trigger. Should that be taken away, militants could be misconstrued for civilians or allies at the hands of a machine, the director warns.”
Google’s Medical AI Chatbot is Already Being Tested in Hospitals
The Verge | Wes Davis
“In the study, physicians found more inaccuracies and irrelevant information in answers provided by Google’s Med-PaLM and Med-PalM 2 than those of other doctors. Still, in almost every other metric, such as showing evidence of reasoning, consensus-supported answers, or showing no sign of incorrect comprehension, Med-PaLM 2 performed more or less as well as the actual doctors.”
Robotics
UN Tech Agency Rolls Out Human-Looking Robots for Questions at a Geneva News Conference
AP News
“The nine robots were seated and posed upright along with some of the people who helped make them at a podium in a Geneva conference center for what the U.N.’s International Telecommunication Union billed as the world’s first news conference featuring humanoid social robots.
Among them: Sophia, the first robot innovation ambassador for the U.N. Development Program, or UNDP; Grace, described as a health care robot; and Desdemona, a rock star robot. Two, Geminoid and Nadine, resembled their makers.”
Tesla Optimus Robot Arrives in Stores; You Can See One in NYC
Electrek | Fred Lambert
“Tesla has recently released images of a bunch of working prototypes in its labs, but it’s unclear when the company will offer the product commercially. The automaker is expected to first use the robot as part of its own manufacturing operations. The company previously said that it plans to have ‘thousands of Humanoid Robots within its factories.’ In the meantime, Tesla plans to use robot display units to help with retail customer engagement. ”
VR/AR
Virtual Reality Helps Germany U17 Team Win European Championship as Players Use VR Goggles to Improve Scanning
Sky Sports | Adam Bate
“As a result of great teamwork throughout the federation, virtual reality has been integrated into Germany's training programme. A small group of players had been exposed to additional work with VR glasses to improve their awareness. Ten of that group were on the pitch as they became European champions.”
Report: Samsung XR headset Delayed ‘Up to Six Months’ as a Result of Apple Vision Pro
9to5Google | Ben Schoon
“A report from Korean publication SBS Biz claims that Samsung has delayed its Apple Vision Pro competitor by ‘up to six months.’ The delayed headset was originally expected to enter production as soon as early 2024 but has been postponed.’
Why the delay? Apparently, Samsung is partially going back to the drawing board.”