Bill Nye on Taking Astronomy with Carl Sagan

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by Jason Major on March 21, 2014

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This is how we know nature. It is the best idea humans have ever come up with. Bill Nye, Science Guy and CEO of The Planetary Society

In this latest video from NOVAs Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers, science guy Bill Nye talks about the incredible influence that Carl Sagan had on his life, from attending his lectures on astronomy at Cornell University to eventually becoming CEO of The Planetary Society, which was co-founded by Sagan in 1980.

I took astronomy from Carl Sagan. Now theres a statement thatll get peoples attention. (It got mine, anyway.)

See more videos in NOVAs Secret Life series here.

A graphic designer in Rhode Island, Jason writes about space exploration on his blog Lights In The Dark, Discovery News, and, of course, here on Universe Today. Ad astra!

Tagged as: Astronomy, Bill Nye, Carl Sagan, cosmos, nova, pbs, Secret Life of Scientists, video

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Bill Nye on Taking Astronomy with Carl Sagan

Astrophysics – AMNH

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Research in Astrophysics covers theory, observation, and instrumentation,with investigations focused on exoplanets, brown dwarfs, the formation of planets, stars, and galaxies, the evolution of stars and gas in the universe, and large-scale surveys.

The Department has at its disposal a state-of-the-art optics lab used to produce cutting-edge astronomical instruments, access to high-end computing systems, and, in addition to being a partner on the South Africa Large Telescope, regularly uses optical, radio, infrared, ultraviolet, and X-ray observatories both worldwide and in space.

Staff consists of tenured faculty (curators), postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other members who support ongoing research in the department.

We track our Departments events in a publicly viewable Google Calendar. Department colloquia typically take place in the Perkin Reading Room, located on the 5th floor of the Rose Center for Earth and Space.

Researchers in the department participate and oversee education and professional development programs that lead toward advanced degrees.

Members of the Department of Astrophysics help create exhibits and provide scientific expertise to many educational programs and outreach services in the Museum.

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Astrophysics - AMNH

M_Ribbeck commented The spirit of Bristol caught on video by filmmaker and designer

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A Bristol filmmaker has created his own personal tribute to the city.

Jamie Brightmore is a digital designer who makes films using time-lapse photography in his spare-time.

His latest offering Welcome to Bristol is filmed in key sites around the city and aims to capture the spirit of Bristol.

The video is a follow-up to Jamies video tribute to Bristol's Gromit Unleashed arts trail which took place last summer.

The 38-year-old from Montpelier said: I am an experienced digital designer specialising in front-end web design and development.

I run a small creative studio in Bristol which specialises in bespoke design, web development, and digital device apps.

But I am nurturing a hunger to learn as much as possible about the creative industry I work within, alongside my fascination with physics, astronomy, geology, astro-physics, time, and cosmology.

He said: I made the film for a couple of reasons; firstly I thought it would be worthwhile to embark on capturing the spirit of the city.

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M_Ribbeck commented The spirit of Bristol caught on video by filmmaker and designer

Musk, Zuckerberg, Kutcher invest in artificial-intelligence firm Vicarious

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The three are joining in on a $40 million round that will help Vicarious toward its ambitious goal: translating the brain's neocortex into code.

Three prominent figures in the technology world have invested serious cash into a company that's trying to make a major move in artificial intelligence.

Tesla chief Elon Musk, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, and actor and venture capitalist Ashton Kutcher have invested $40 million into Vicarious, a company that's studying the human brain's neocortex and attempting to translate its function to computer code, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The neocortex is an essential element of being human, providing the functions that allow us to think, see, move, and much more. Speaking to the Journal in an interview, Vicarious co-founder Scott Phoenix said that his company's goal is to build "a computer that thinks like a person."

Vicarious is part of a broader robotics and artificial-intelligence movement sweeping the tech world. A slew of major companies, including Google and Amazon, are looking to leverage robotics, and Google is especially interested in enhancing artificial intelligence.

Vicarious can't say how long it will take for it to achieve its goal of creating a robot that can think like a human, but the company believes it's only a matter of time before it happens.

Can you say, "Battlestar Galactica"?

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Musk, Zuckerberg, Kutcher invest in artificial-intelligence firm Vicarious

Zuckerberg, Musk Invest in Artificial-Intelligence Company

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Elon Musk made the electric car cool. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. Ashton Kutcher portrayed Apple founder Steve Jobs in a movie. Now, the three are joining in a $40 million investment in Vicarious FPC, a secretive artificial-intelligence company.

The funding round, the second major infusion of capital for the company in two years, is the latest sign of life in artificial intelligence. Last month, Google acquired another AI company called Deep Mind for $400 million.

Vicarious has an ambitious goal: Replicating the neocortex, the part of the brain that sees, controls the body, understands language and does math. Translate the neocortex into computer code and you have a computer that thinks like a person, says Vicarious co-founder Scott Phoenix. Except it doesnt have to eat or sleep.

It may be decades before companies like Vicarious can create computers with human-like intelligence. But web outfits like Google, Yahoo, Facebook and others have more immediate uses for artificial intelligence.

Facebook, for instance, wants to turn the massive amounts of information shared by its users into a database of wisdom. Ask Facebook a question, and, if all goes to plan, it will spit out an answer based on facts users have shared. Facebook is also using artificial intelligence for facial recognition to identify users in photos. Facebook recently hired a leader in artificial intelligence, Yann LeCun, to run a new lab.

A Facebook spokesman said Zuckerbergs investment in Vicarious, which hasnt been previously reported, is a personal one and does not reflect Facebooks interest in using Vicarious software.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment. Kutcher declined to comment.

Phoenix, the co-founder, says Vicarious aims beyond image recognition. He said the next milestone will be creating a computer that can understand not just shapes and objects, but the textures associated with them. For example, a computer might understand chair. It might also comprehend ice. Vicarious wants to create a computer that will understand a request like show me a chair made of ice.

Phoenix hopes that, eventually, Vicariouss computers will learn to how to cure diseases, create cheap, renewable energy, and perform the jobs that employ most human beings. We tell investors that right now, human beings are doing a lot of things that computers should be able to do, he says.

Vicarious, whose other co-founder was neuroscientist Dileep George, is a long way from accomplishing its goals. Phoenix says the company wont make a profit anytime soon and it has said very little about how its technology works. It hasnt even disclosed its exact address, for fear it might be the target of corporate espionage or hacking.

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Zuckerberg, Musk Invest in Artificial-Intelligence Company

Musk, Zuckerberg, Kutcher invest in AI firm Vicarious

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The three are joining in on a $40 million round that will help Vicarious toward its ambitious goal: translating the brain's neocortex into code.

Three prominent figures in the technology world have invested serious cash into a company that's trying to make a major move in artificial intelligence.

Tesla chief Elon Musk, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, and actor and venture capitalist Ashton Kutcher have invested $40 million into Vicarious, a company that's studying the human brain's neocortex and attempting to translate its function to computer code, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The neocortex is an essential element of being human, providing the functions that allow us to think, see, move, and much more. Speaking to the Journal in an interview, Vicarious co-founder Scott Phoenix said that his company's goal is to build "a computer that thinks like a person."

Vicarious is part of a broader robotics and artificial-intelligence movement sweeping the tech world. A slew of major companies, including Google and Amazon, are looking to leverage robotics, and Google is especially interested in enhancing artificial intelligence.

Vicarious can't say how long it will take for it to achieve its goal of creating a robot that can think like a human, but the company believes it's only a matter of time before it happens.

Can you say, "Battlestar Galactica"?

See the article here:

Musk, Zuckerberg, Kutcher invest in AI firm Vicarious

Artificial intelligence startup Vicarious collects $40 million from tech elites

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11 hours ago Mar. 21, 2014 - 6:09 PM PDT

It has been a big year for artificial intelligence. Google bought DeepMind in January for $400 million and, now, a group of tech elites and venture capital firms have awarded $40 million to Vicarious.

Venture capital firm Formation 8 led the round, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. It was joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and actor Ashton Kutcher. Re/code reportsthatBox CEO Aaron Levie, incoming Y Combinator president Sam Altman,Braintree founder Bryan Johnson,Khosla Ventures, Good Ventures Foundation,Felicis Ventures, Initialized Capital,Open Field Capital,Zarco Investment Group, Metaplanet Holdings and Founders Fund were also involved. Vicarious received $15 million in a first round in 2012.

Last year, Vicarious announced that it had developed software that could crack CAPTCHAs with at least 90 percent accuracy. But that is only the beginning of what the startup plans to do with its AI, which is based on how the human brain functions. Its first product is a system that can understand the contents of photographs and videos similarly to how a human would, according to the Vicarious website.

It could be decades before Vicarious achieves its ambitious virtual brain. But companies like Facebook and Google are no doubt interested in seeing it achieved as soon as possible.

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Artificial intelligence startup Vicarious collects $40 million from tech elites

WorldReligionNews.com Featured Contributor Series Continues with ‘Religious Freedom As A Human Rights Issue’ by Donald …

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San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 21, 2014

Donald A. Westbrook is the latest writer to join the WRN Featured Contributor series on WorldReligionNews.com with his article Freedom of Religion as a Human Right: The Council of Europes Upcoming Vote on Establishing Sect Observatories.

Westbrook is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Religion at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, CA. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley and M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.

His article explores the lack of a separation of church and state in some European countries, specifically France.

At Claremont, Westbrook is preparing a dissertation on the Church of Scientology based on extensive fieldwork in the United States that includes interviews with Scientologists from Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, and Italy. Westbrook has also lectured on new religious movements in the United States, Belgium, and England.

WorldReligionNews.com has established its "Featured Contributor" program to offer both writers officially affiliated with all faiths and belief systems, as well as independent writers and authors of note, a public platform from which to publish religion focused articles that will reach not only WRN visitors but also appear via syndication partners on sites like CNN, FOX, New York Daily News and others.

If you are an officially affiliated spokesperson/writer who would like to be considered for a "Featured Contributor" article placement on WRN, contact us here: http://www.worldreligionnews.com/contact-us/.

About WorldReligionNews.com WRN exists to cover the news generated by ALL major world religions, A to Z, from Agnosticism to Wicca and all in between, in ways that will inspire, challenge, enlighten, entertain & engage within a framework wired for a connected and distracted world. http://www.WorldReligionNews.com/

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WorldReligionNews.com Featured Contributor Series Continues with 'Religious Freedom As A Human Rights Issue' by Donald ...