Different Views Of Artificial Intelligence, As Seen On TV

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Youre probably a science fiction fan these days. Dont think so? Last year, the fastest-growing television show on air was Person of Interest, about an all-seeing supercomputer. This year, Almost Human, which features a faulty robot designed to think and feel like a human, and Intelligence about a human with a literal computer in his brain, have made their debut. And next month, Her, a film about a sentient operating system, might win an Oscar for Best Picture. Sci-fi isnt a niche interest anymore, and one of the bridges thats carried it from obscurity into the mainstream is also increasingly relevant in the tech world: Artificial Intelligence.

I spoke to widely cited pop culture expert and Syracuse University professor Robert Thompson about this apparent trend, who believes theres a very good reason for the sudden resurgence of AI in popular culture.

I think the reason we're getting this stuff made is because it [reflects] a theme so central to the American soul right now. A mere generation ago, a computer was merely doing your spreadsheets. It was a glorified typewriter. Now, we're using digital data processors to do what our brains do, so it's essentially intelligence.

Thompson is fond of pointing out that any given cultural fixation is rarely all that new--AI has been a part of the pop culture fabric for a very long time, at least as far back as HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Like vampires a few years ago, Artificial Intelligence has been a constant in fiction, only now brought to the forefront of our minds because it strikes a nerve and reflects very real choices we have to make in the very near future.

As such, no two current incarnations of AI are alike.

The first of the current crop to hit the air was the CBS drama Person of Interest. Initially a procedural akin to popular shows like NCIS but with a thick layer of tech paranoia, the show deals with a machine that taps into massive amounts of surveillance data in order to identify people who may perpetrate or fall victim to imminent crime. However, at the end of its first season, the series took a turn--and the Machine at the center of the shows conceit was revealed to be a sentient, self-sustaining entity.

Person of Interest portrays a relatively grounded take on AI when compared to classic examples like Terminators Skynet or 2001's HAL. Whats more, its depicting a form of Artificial Intelligence thats already pretty much here--we just call it machine learning. When considered in concert with current concerns about privacy and big data, and with everything from our walls to our clothes potentially being connected, the idea that were just a few algorithms shy of creating a sentient intelligence doesnt seem too farfetched.

Less grounded is this seasons new sci-fi series Almost Human, which jumps 34 years in the future to show us a world where tech has run amok, forcing human law enforcement officials to be assigned to logic-based androids for assistance. But these androids, thought of as hardware, arent the focus of the shows portrayal of Artificial Intelligence. That would be Dorian, a member of a discontinued line of androids designed to emote and feel, who hates being called a synthetic and is considered "crazy" in comparison to the other AI robots.

We dont have humanoid robots yet, but we do have our fair share of concerns about tech companies getting out of hand, and robotics--and by extension, AI--is very much a part of that.

But perhaps the most thought-provoking take is the Oscar-nominated film Her, because it presents AI as an idealized form of what we already have. And to a pop culture academic like Thompson, where technology is right now changes everything about how it's portrayed in media:

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Different Views Of Artificial Intelligence, As Seen On TV

Mukilteo’s Electroimpact named aerospace company of the year

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Published: Saturday, February 1, 2014, 12:01 a.m.

The company was hailed for its "unique style of operation, cutting edge tooling and for bringing bold ideas to fruition," according to the aerospace alliance.

"The company has worked to improve our industry through legislation, education, training and community service. Electroimpact's philanthropic generosity has benefitted STEM, FIRST Robotics and the aerospace industry as a whole," according to a release from the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance.

Electroimpact makes automated assembly equipment for the aerospace industry. Its customers include Boeing, Airbus and other aerospace companies around the world. The company has more than 600 employees in the U.S. and abroad.

Peter Zieve established Electroimpact in 1986 after he earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington.

Electroimpact will be honored Wednesday by aerospace alliance chairman JC Hall at next week's annual aerospace conference in Lynnwood.

The aerospace company of the year is one of five aerospace industry excellence awards given out by the aerospace alliance, which promotes the growth and success of the industry in the Northwest.

Other awards include:

Aerospace Executive of the Year: Jon Buccola, CEO of Greenpoint Technologies, Buccola was chosen by PNAA members for his leadership of the Kirkland-based aerospace interiors company.

"His entrepreneurial vision has grown the culture into a thriving multi-company organization by adding extensive engineering, certification, manufacturing and heavy maintenance capabilities," according to the release.

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Mukilteo's Electroimpact named aerospace company of the year

Gameday: Comets vs Syracuse

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January 31, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets UTICA COMETS (15-20-2-4) vs. SYRACUSE CRUNCH (17-19-2-4)

MIX 102.5""s "Pink the Rink' Night brought to you by GPO Federal Credit Union

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Comets host the Syracuse Crunch for the second time this season as the second of their three game homestand. Utica has amassed a point in five straight games entering tonight's action, dating back to Jan. 18 against Hamilton.

When They Last Met: The Comets earned their first point of the season in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Crunch at The AUD. Colin Stuart scored Utica's only goal, while Comet netminder Joacim Eriksson stole the show with 32 saves on 33 shots. Syracuse winger Nikita Kucherov scored the lone goal in regulation for the Crunch. Benn Ferriero beat Syracuse goaltender Cedric Desjardins in the shootout, but the Crunch were victorious in six rounds as Cedric Paquette potted the game winner. Desjardins finished with 19 saves through 65 minutes of play and saved five of six in the shootout.

Comets Outlook: The Utica Comets forced their third straight game to overtime, but failed to extend their winning streak to five games as they dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Lake Erie Monsters. Forward Benn Ferriero improved his scoring streak to nine games with a goal and an assist, while Patrick Mullen also lit the lamp for the Comets. AHL Player of the Week Joacim Eriksson turned aside 34 of 36 shots as he earned his team a point for the eighth time in his past nine starts.

Crunch Outlook: The Crunch dropped a 4-0 decision against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday evening at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Eric Hartzell turned aside all 20 Crunch shots he faced on the evening. Penguin captain Tom Kostopolous led the way offensively for the Penguins with a goal and an assist, while defenseman Simon Despres added two assists of his own. Paul Thompson, Harry Zolnierczyk and Denver Manderson also scored for WBS. Goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis made 21 saves in a losing effort for Syracuse.

The Tooth Ferri: Winger Benn Ferriero has recorded points in each of his last nine games, dating back to Jan. 9 against Oklahoma City. Ferriero, remains in possession of the longest active scoring streak in the AHL, four games shy of Vladislav Namestnikov's season long streak of 13 games. The Essex, MA native has collected 12 points (6-6-12) over his current run.

Sanford and Eriksson: CCM/AHL Player of the Week Joacim Eriksson has earned points for Utica in eight of his past nine starts, including seven victories. The Galve, Sweden native is now over .500 for the season at 11-10-1-2. Eriksson has amassed a .940 save percentage and a 1.74 goals against average over his past nine appearances.

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Gameday: Comets vs Syracuse

Comets and Woolly Mammoths

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New evidence suggests that a comet collision might have been the trigger for the Younger Dryas, contributing to North America's megafauna extinction. UC Santa Barbara's James Kennett, professor emeritus in the Department of Earth Science, posits that such an extraterrestrial event did occur killing off woolly mammoths, giant ground sloths and saber-tooth tigers 12,900 years ago.

Originally published in 2007, Kennett's controversial Younger Dryas Boundary (YDB) hypothesis suggests that a comet collision precipitated the Younger Dryas period of global cooling, which, in turn, contributed to the extinction of many animals and altered human adaptations. The nanodiamond is one type of material that could result from an extraterrestrial collision, and the presence of nanodiamonds along Bull Creek in the Oklahoma Panhandle lends credence to the YDB hypothesis.

More recently, another group of earth scientists, including UCSB's Alexander Simms and alumna Hanna Alexander, re-examined the distribution of nanodiamonds in Bull Creek's sedimentological record to see if they could reproduce the original study's evidence supporting the YDB hypothesis. Their findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

"We were able to replicate some of their results and we did find nanodiamonds right at the Younger Dryas Boundary," said Simms, an associate professor in UCSB. "However, we also found a second spike of nanodiamonds more recently in the sedimentary record, sometime within the past 3,000 years."

The researchers analyzed 49 sediment samples representing different time periods and environmental and climactic settings, and identified high levels of nanodiamonds immediately below and just above YDB deposits and in late-Holocene near-surface deposits. The late Holocene began at the end of the Pleistocene 11,700 years ago and continues to the present. The researchers found the presence of nanodiamonds is not caused by environmental setting, soil formation, cultural activities, other climate changesor the amount of time in which the landscape is stable. The discovery of high concentrations of nanodiamonds from two distinct time periods suggests that whatever process produced the elevated concentrations of nanodiamonds at the onset of the Younger Dryas sediments may have also been active in recent millennia in Bull Creek.

"Nanodiamonds are found in high abundances at the YDB, giving some support to that theory," Simms said. "However, we did find it at one other site, which may or may not be caused by a smaller but similar event nearby."

Read more at University of California of Santa Barbara.

Woolly Mammoth and comet images via Shutterstock, merged and morphed by Robin Blackstone.

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Comets and Woolly Mammoths

5 Super Bowl tech tips

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An aerial view shows MetLife Stadium this week as crews ready the East Rutherford, New Jersey, venue for Super Bowl XLVIII.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- The Super Bowl has gotten so big it's outgrown the trusty old television. Today's fans can enjoy the bloated spectacle on computers, mobile devices, Twitter and more.

For most, crowding around a TV with salty snacks, cold beer and good friends is still the classic way to experience America's biggest sports event. Fox has secured exclusive U.S. broadcast rights to the game, with the telecast beginning officially at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, although pre-game coverage will start four hours earlier.

Fox is adding a splash of high-tech wizardry to this year's event -- being played outdoors in chilly northern New Jersey -- with infrared cameras that will show the players' body temperatures.

You can employ your own tech tools to enhance the Super Bowl viewing experience -- especially if you can't get near a TV set. Here's a tech primer to enjoying Sunday's festivities:

Buildup to Super Bowl XLVIII

Buildup to Super Bowl XLVIII

Buildup to Super Bowl XLVIII

Buildup to Super Bowl XLVIII

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5 Super Bowl tech tips

Can Super Micro Computer (SMCI) Continue to Surge? – Tale of the Tape

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One company that should be on your radar is Super Micro Computer, Inc. ( SMCI ). The stock of this computer storage device company providing high performance server solutions as well as networking devices and server management software has seen its Zacks Rank surge over the past four weeks, moving from Neutral territory to its current position as a Strong Buy.

A key reason for this move has been the positive trend in the earnings estimate revisions picture. For SMCI's full year estimate, we have seen 2 estimates go higher in the past 30 days with no downward revision over the same time frame. Nonetheless, the trend has helped the consensus estimate to trend higher, increasing from 88 cents per share a month ago to its current level of $1.02.

This positive shift in estimates has made some investors take notice and buy the stock. In fact, SMCI has seen some pretty solid trading lately, as the company has moved higher by 23.2% in the past month.

If Super Micro Computer can keep up this great momentum on the earnings estimate front and continue to impress analysts, we could see more gains ahead for this company, suggesting that you might want to put SMCI on your watch list for the future.

Other top-ranked stocks worth considering in this space include Dot Hill Systems Corp. ( HILL ), Datalink Corporation ( DTLK ) and Western Digital Corporation ( WDC ). Dot Hill Systems carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while both Datalink Corporation and Western Digital Corporation hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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Can Super Micro Computer (SMCI) Continue to Surge? - Tale of the Tape

More Super Bowl airtime than ever is devoted to ads

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If it feels like youre watching more commercials during this Sunday's Super Bowl than ever before, your hunch is right.

The most valuable advertising time on television has surged almost 20 percent, to about 50 minutes of ad time last year, up from fewer than 42 minutes per Super Bowl a decade ago, according to Kantar Media.

Its not only beautifully crafted ads from top marketers such as Anheuser-Busch that are taking up more ad time. The NFL and the network airing the Super Bowl have also given more time to their in-house ads, Kantar found. Driving the longer ad time is demand from advertisers each shelling out a record $4 million for a 30-second spot as well as a desire from the NFL and TV networks to strut their in-house promotions, given the game reliably draws more than 100 million viewers.

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Running security for this year's Super Bowl is a multi-front challenge that has New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and FBI Assistant Direc...

For marketers, the Super Bowl can be a make or break event. Apple (AAPL) captured the imagination of a generation with its lauded 1984 ad, which ran the same year and introduced the Macintosh computer.But others werent so successful, such as athletic shoe company Just for Feet, which ran a reviled ad in the 1999 Super Bowl. It later went out of business.

Part of the time bloat is due to advertisers opting for longer commercials.

Take Chrysler. In each of the last two Super Bowls, the automaker has opted to air two-minute ads, a length thats rarely seen on television. Last year, the automaker won kudos for its moving spot featuring a voice-over from the late radio legend Paul Harvey.

Chrysler wasnt alone in going long -- it was one of 15 advertisers last year airing spots that ran for 60 seconds or longer. By comparison, only 10 commercials were longer than one minute in 2010, Kantar found.

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More Super Bowl airtime than ever is devoted to ads

KSP – KSS Dres SLSS (Single Launch Space Station) Constructed In Orbit Over Dres (SLSS Ep 3) – Video

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KSP - KSS Dres SLSS (Single Launch Space Station) Constructed In Orbit Over Dres (SLSS Ep 3)
I do not own the rights to any of the music used in this video. Watch the construction of KSS Jool http://youtu.be/ZuJxoYLKKUw Watch the construction of KSS ...

By: Jeb Kerman

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KSP - KSS Dres SLSS (Single Launch Space Station) Constructed In Orbit Over Dres (SLSS Ep 3) - Video