Robotics
The article I chose for “robotics” was written by Cade Metz from The New York Times on Oct. 15, 2019 titled “If A Robotic Hand Solves A Rubik’s Cube, Does It Prove Something?”
A team at OpenAI built a robotic hand capable of solving a rubik’s cube in approximately 4 minutes. In the past, machines, non-human featured machines, are said to have been able to solve a rubik’s in under a minute. What makes this specific feat special is the fact that the appropriate hand gestures are used to turn the cube and solve the puzzle. The other major difference is that this robotic arm is actually learning to solve the puzzle as opposed to repeating a pattern known to eventual solve the cube. The team achieved this by changing the conditions of the cube while running the simulation. These changes may have included using different colors or textures intended to prepare the robot for unexpected circumstances. This technology is said to be applicable towards future mechanics capable of sorting packages and making decisions on its own.
AI
The article I chose for “AI” was written by Brian X. Chen from The New York Times on Jan. 1, 2020 titled “The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives In 2020.”
The article lists how some recent advances in consumer friendly technology may shape the new year. Recent Smart home technology appears to be centered around the voice controlled assistants known as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. It is said that the separate companies are cooperating to have their systems work simultaneously within the same home for ease of the consumer. Recent cellular technology has been upgraded to 5G speeds which allows for quicker internet usage and downloading speed. The response time of the 5G may also be useful for cars communicating with each other and the surrounding environment for preventing collisions. Companies are starting to introduce a new type of wearable technology in the form of an all purpose earpiece capable of taking one’s pulse, listening to music, tracking fitness progress, or even acting as a hearing aid.
3D Printing
The article I chose for “3D Printing” was written by Robert F. Service from ScienceMag on Oct. 17, 2019 titled “Fast new 3D printing method creates objects as big as an adult human.”
3D Printing has increased its capabilities in terms of strength, speed, and size. One of the biggest limitations that was leading to cracks and warping of the 3D material was due to the major release of heat in the curing process. This was accommodated through the use of a liquid coolant passing through a cooling unit used to extract heat from objects while printing. The process is said to be applicable to producing car parts and even shoes.
Future
The article I chose for “Future” was written by Jon Porter from The Verg on Oct. 23, 2019 titled “Google confirms ‘Quantum Supremacy’ breakthrough.”
It has been proposed that Google was able to accomplish a processor capable of what is being referred to as a quantum computer. It is said that most complicated supercomputer in the world, housed by IBM whome is disputing Google’s technological achievement, can compute the same problem at the rate of 10,000 years compared to what to took the new technology less than 4 minutes to complete. If this is true, this is said to be a major milestone in human history.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/23/20928294/google-quantum-supremacy-sycamore-computer-qubit-milestone
To Amanda:
What I found interesting in your discussion of the article “What Will the Future of Work Look Like?” was that there is so much concern for all the jobs expected to be lost with the coming of new technology. With the expected occurrences predicted within your article to begin only a decade away now, it is frightening to consider the consequences this could have on ourselves and even our children. It’s walking the line between potentially advancing the human race or leading it into its own demise. What was especially interesting was the note pertaining to the necessity of other jobs expected in the future due to the population increase and its implications when generations reach an age of necessary professional treatment and care. One can only hope that the workforce will adapt and simply become more specialized in certain areas you’ve mentioned like healthcare and medicines.
To Andrew:
I liked you’re personal connection to the advancement of farming technology introduced in the article “How High Tech Is Transforming One of the Oldest Jobs: Farming.” I had not even considered the fact that the farming community is likely very hesitant to changes, but having your inside experience was interesting. Also, I like your question of whether or not farmers will even adapt or be wiped out completely. My first reaction was more so that farming has been this method of survival that has a history as old as man itself. It makes me excited and anxious to discover we are entering a new era of human evolution that improves upon some of the oldest practices.
To Reese:
I found this discussion super enlightening in that it poses a question or innovation I had not even begun to realize or predict. “Shared Devices” as it is said to be called at first sounded a bit unsafe and unnecessary, but still an interesting view on this possibilities of future personal devices. I wonder how this would change these major phone companies’ marketing processes, because it would seem that now you are not marketing the phone to each individual user now but instead to the company housing these shared devices within their real estate. In a very protective and possessive world, are humans really going to give up their own personal device in exchange for a shareable one? Whether the invention is plausible or not, it poses a new question I’d never thought of before.
Bibliography:
Metz, Cad. “If A Robotic Hand Solves A Rubik’s Cube, Does It Prove Something?” The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2019. Evernote.
Chen, Brian X. “The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives In 2020.” The New York Times, 1 Jan. 2020. Evernote.
Service, Rober F. “Fast new 3D printing method creates objects as big as an adult human.” ScienceMag, 17 Oct. 2019. Evernote.
Porter, Jon. “Google confirms ‘Quantum Supremacy’ breakthrough.” The Verg, 23 Oct. 2019. Evernote.
3 comments:
I find the article you've chosen to talk about on robotics to be quite interesting! I see the article mentioned that a robot designed based on human features solves rubiks cube much slower than that of a more idealized shape and I never knew that! I guess just the basic design of human anatomy has inherent limitations. Your post also made me wonder, how exactly do you teach a robot to learn something? Does the code tell its operating systems to adjust its actions based on certain consequences? I honestly find the idea that robots and certain forms of AI can start to learn and advance on their own a little bit scary. Hopefully this type of tech will be applied in helpful ways!
Hey Mike,
I briefly discussed the possibilities of quantum computers in my first blog post as well. It's pretty crazy how that we as a society are on the cusp of something that can so radically change our way of living. As you said, astronomically hard calculations could be done in seconds. I cannot begin to fathom what this could do to so many fields, whether its in medical research in which we find cures to almost any disease, or we accelerate our space program hundreds of years. This may be my geeky side, but this could make science fiction a reality which both exciting and a little terrifying.
Mike,
At first when I read the beginning part of your summary of the robotics article I thought "Anyone can solve a rubik's cube when they know the algorithm, a robot doing it isn't that impressive". But then you mentioned the physical movement required and fine motor skills the robot needed to perform the task and I thought back to our discussion in class about muscle movements. I forgot how complicated our simple movements are and how difficult it would be for a computer to learn to perform them (even with the leaps and bounds of advancement AI technology has made). Not only that, but the deep learning exercises done like changing the colors and textures of the cube shows that the research team is determined to have the robot learn and not just be able to perform a single trick. Great read, thanks!
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