social Darwinism | Definition & Facts | Britannica.com

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Social Darwinism, the theory that human groups and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles Darwin had perceived in plants and animals in nature. According to the theory, which was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the weak were diminished and their cultures delimited while the strong grew in power and in cultural influence over the weak. Social Darwinists held that the life of humans in society was a struggle for existence ruled by survival of the fittest, a phrase proposed by the British philosopher and scientist Herbert Spencer.

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biology, philosophy of: Evolutionary ethics

form of evolutionary ethics is social Darwinism, though this view owes far more to Herbert Spencer than it does to Darwin himself. It begins with the assumption that in the natural world the struggle for existence is good, because it leads to the evolution of animals that are better adapted

The social Darwinistsnotably Spencer and Walter Bagehot in England and William Graham Sumner in the United Statesbelieved that the process of natural selection acting on variations in the population would result in the survival of the best competitors and in continuing improvement in the population. Societies were viewed as organisms that evolve in this manner.

The theory was used to support laissez-faire capitalism and political conservatism. Class stratification was justified on the basis of natural inequalities among individuals, for the control of property was said to be a correlate of superior and inherent moral attributes such as industriousness, temperance, and frugality. Attempts to reform society through state intervention or other means would, therefore, interfere with natural processes; unrestricted competition and defense of the status quo were in accord with biological selection. The poor were the unfit and should not be aided; in the struggle for existence, wealth was a sign of success. At the societal level, social Darwinism was used as a philosophical rationalization for imperialist, colonialist, and racist policies, sustaining belief in Anglo-Saxon or Aryan cultural and biological superiority.

Social Darwinism declined during the 20th century as an expanded knowledge of biological, social, and cultural phenomena undermined, rather than supported, its basic tenets.

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social Darwinism | Definition & Facts | Britannica.com

Urban Dictionary: Darwinism

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A buzzword that creationists use to refer to the theory of evolution. They use this word to try to equate the theory of evolution with ideologies like communism and fascism.

Such a tactic is dishonest. The theory of evolution is not an ideology. Ideologies are PROSCRIPTIVE--they make value judgments and say what should and shouldn't be done. The theory of evolution, like all other scientific theories like gravity, relativity, etc., is DESCRIPTIVE--it describes and explains facts. Such theories are testable by analyzing them to see what the predictions that they make, and then seeing if those predictions match the facts.

For example, applying the theory of relativity predicts where the stars will be. We look at our hubble telescope and see that lo and behold, the stars are indeed where the theory predicts them to be!

The theory of evolution predicts that the evidence will show that humans and chimpanzees are closely related. We look at human chromosome 2, and see that it's virtually totally analagous to two chimp chromosomes, and lo and behold, human chromosome 2 has a fusion site with telomeres in the middle of the chromosome! (Imagine taking the 2 chimp chromosomes and "scotch-taping" them together--that's what human chromosome 2 looks like).

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Cloud computing – Simple English Wikipedia, the free …

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In computer science, cloud computing describes a type of outsourcing of computer services, similar to the way in which electricity supply is outsourced. Users can simply use it. They do not need to worry where the electricity is from, how it is made, or transported. Every month, they pay for what they consumed.

The idea behind cloud computing is similar: The user can simply use storage, computing power, or specially crafted development environments, without having to worry how these work internally. Cloud computing is usually Internet-based computing. The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet based on how the internet is described in computer network diagrams; which means it is an abstraction hiding the complex infrastructure of the internet.[1] It is a type of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided as a service,[2] allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet ("in the cloud")[3] without knowledge of, or control over the technologies behind these servers, which can lead to ethical and legal issues.[4]

According to a paper published by IEEE Internet Computing in 2008 "Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include computers, laptops, handhelds, sensors, etc."[5] This concept was first introduced by Cynthia Carter of DataNet, Inc. (https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/oQ67EY4it49b0s).

Cloud computing is a general concept that utilizes software as a service (SaaS), such as Web 2.0 and )other technology trends, all of which depend on the Internet for satisfying users' needs. For example, Google Apps provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the Internet servers.

Cloud computing is often confused with other ideas:

Cloud computing often uses grid computing, has autonomic characteristics and is billed like utilities, but cloud computing can be seen as a natural next step from the grid-utility model.[8] Some successful cloud architectures have little or no centralised infrastructure or billing systems including peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent and Skype.[9]

The majority of cloud computing infrastructure currently consists of reliable services delivered through data centers that are built on computer and storage virtualization technologies. The services are accessible anywhere in the world, with The Cloud appearing as a single point of access for all the computing needs of consumers. Commercial offerings need to meet the quality of service requirements of customers and typically offer service level agreements.[10] Open standards and open source software are also critical to the growth of cloud computing.[11]

As customers generally do not own the infrastructure or know all details about it, mainly they are accessing or renting, so they can consume resources as a service, and may be paying for what they do not need, instead of what they actually do need to use. Many cloud computing providers use the utility computing model which is analogous to how traditional public utilities like electricity are consumed, while others are billed on a subscription basis. By sharing consumable and "intangible" computing power between multiple "tenants", utilization rates can be improved (as servers are not left idle) which can reduce costs significantly while increasing the speed of application development.

A side effect of this approach is that "computer capacity rises dramatically" as customers do not have to engineer for peak loads.[12] Adoption has been enabled by "increased high-speed bandwidth" which makes it possible to receive the same response times from centralized infrastructure at other sites.

Cloud computing is being driven by providers including Google, Amazon.com, and Yahoo! as well as traditional vendors including IBM, Intel,[13] Microsoft[14] and SAP.[15] It can adopted by all kinds of users, be they individuals or large enterprises. Most internet users are currently using cloud services, even if they do not realize it. Webmail for example is a cloud service, as are Facebook and Wikipedia and contact list synchronization and online data backups.

The Cloud[16] is a metaphor for the Internet,[17] or more generally components and services which are managed by others.[1]

The underlying concept dates back to 1960 when John McCarthy expressed his opinion that "computation may someday be organized as a public utility" and the term Cloud was already in commercial use in the early 1990s to refer to large ATM networks.[18] By the turn of the 21st century, cloud computing solutions had started to appear on the market,[19] though most of the focus at this time was on Software as a service.

Amazon.com played a key role in the development of cloud computing when upgrading their data centers after the dot-com bubble and providing access to their systems by way of Amazon Web Services in 2002 on a utility computing basis. They found the new cloud architecture resulted in significant internal efficiency improvements.[20]

2007 observed increased activity, including Google, IBM and a number of universities starting large scale cloud computing research project,[21] around the time the term started gaining popularity in the mainstream press. It was a hot topic by mid-2008 and numerous cloud computing events had been scheduled.[22]

In August 2008 Gartner observed that "organizations are switching from company-owned hardware and software assets to per-use service-based models" and that the "projected shift to cloud computing will result in dramatic growth in IT products in some areas and in significant reductions in other areas".[23]

Clouds cross many country borders and "may be the ultimate form of globalisation".[24] As such it is the subject of complex geopolitical issues, whereby providers must satisfy many legal restrictions in order to deliver service to a global market. This dates back to the early days of the Internet, where libertarian thinkers felt that "cyberspace was a distinct place calling for laws and legal institutions of its own"; author Neal Stephenson envisaged this as a tiny island data haven in his science-fiction classic novel Cryptonomicon.[24]

Although there have been efforts to match the legal environment (such as US-EU Safe Harbor), providers like Amazon Web Services usually deal with international markets (typically the United States and European Union) by deploying local infrastructure and allowing customers to select their countries.[25] However, there are still concerns about security and privacy for individual through various governmental levels, (for example the USA PATRIOT Act and use of national security letters and title II of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Stored Communications Act).

In March 2007, Dell applied to trademark the term '"cloud computing" in the United States. It received a "Notice of Allowance" in July 2008 which was subsequently canceled on August 6, resulting in a formal rejection of the trademark application in less than a week later.

In November 2007, the Free Software Foundation released the Affero General Public License (abbreviated as Affero GPL and AGPL), a version of GPLv3 designed to close a perceived legal loophole associated with Free software designed to be run over a network, particularly software as a service. According to the AGPL license application service providers are required to release any changes they make to an AGPL open source code.

Cloud architecture[26] is the systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing (e.g. hardware, software) as designed by a cloud architect who typically works for a cloud integrator. It typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over application programming interfaces (usually web services).[27]

This is very similar to the Unix philosophy of having multiple programs doing one thing well and working together over universal interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the resulting systems are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts.

Cloud architecture extends to the client where web browsers and/or software applications are used to access cloud applications.

Cloud storage architecture is loosely coupled where metadata operations are centralized enabling the data nodes to scale into the hundreds, each independently delivering data to applications or users.

A cloud application influences The Cloud model of software architecture, often eliminating the need to install and run the application on the customer's own computer, thus reducing software maintenance, ongoing operations, and support. For example:

A cloud client is computer hardware and/or computer software which relies on The Cloud for application delivery, or which is specifically designed for delivery of cloud services, and which is in either case essentially useless without a Cloud.[33] For example:

Cloud infrastructure (e.g. Infrastructure as a service) is the delivery of computer infrastructure (typically a platform virtualization environment) as a service.[41] For example:

A cloud platform (e.g. Platform as a service) (the delivery of a computing platform and/or solution stack as a service) [42] facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers.[43] For example:

A cloud service (e.g. Web Service) is "software system[s] designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network"[44] which may be accessed by other cloud computing components, software (e.g. Software plus services) or end users directly.[45] For example:

Cloud storage is the delivery of data storage as a service (including database-like services), often billed on a utility computing basis (e.g. per gigabyte per month).[46] For example:

Traditional storage vendors have recently begun to offer their own flavor of cloud storage, sometimes in conjunction with their existing software products (e.g. Symantec's Online Storage for Backup Exec). Others focus on providing a new kind of back-end storage optimally designed for delivering cloud storage (EMC's Atmos), categorically known as Cloud Optimized Storage.

A cloud computing provider or cloud computing service provider owns and operates cloud computing systems serve someone else. Usually this needs building and managing new data centers. Some organisations get some of the benefits of cloud computing by becoming "internal" cloud providers and servicing themselves, though they do not benefit from the same economies of scale and still have to engineer for peak loads. The barrier to entry is also significantly higher with capital expenditure required and billing and management creates some overhead. However, significant operational efficiency and quickness advantages can be achieved even by small organizations, and server consolidation and virtualization rollouts are already in progress.[47] Amazon.com was the first such provider, modernising its data centers which, like most computer networks were using as little as 10% of its capacity at any one time just to leave room for occasional spikes. This allowed small, fast-moving groups to add new features faster and easier, and they went on to open it up to outsiders as Amazon Web Services in 2002 on a utility computing basis.[20]

The companies listed in the Components section are providers.

A user is a consumer of cloud computing.[33] The privacy of users in cloud computing has become of increasing concern.[48][49] The rights of users is also an issue, which is being addressed via a community effort to create a bill of rights (currently in draft).[50][51]

A vendor sells products and services that facilitate the delivery, adoption and use of cloud computing.[52] For example:

A cloud standard is one of a number of existing (typically lightweight) open standards that have facilitated the growth of cloud computing, including:[57]

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Global Risks Report 2017 – Reports – World Economic Forum

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Every step forward in artificial intelligence (AI) challenges assumptions about what machines can do. Myriad opportunities for economic benefit have created a stable flow of investment into AI research and development, but with the opportunities come risks to decision-making, security and governance. Increasingly intelligent systems supplanting both blue- and white-collar employees are exposing the fault lines in our economic and social systems and requiring policy-makers to look for measures that will build resilience to the impact of automation.

Leading entrepreneurs and scientists are also concerned about how to engineer intelligent systems as these systems begin implicitly taking on social obligations and responsibilities, and several of them penned an Open Letter on Research Priorities for Robust and Beneficial Artificial Intelligence in late 2015.1 Whether or not we are comfortable with AI may already be moot: more pertinent questions might be whether we can and ought to build trust in systems that can make decisions beyond human oversight that may have irreversible consequences.

By providing new information and improving decision-making through data-driven strategies, AI could potentially help to solve some of the complex global challenges of the 21st century, from climate change and resource utilization to the impact of population growth and healthcare issues. Start-ups specializing in AI applications received US$2.4 billion in venture capital funding globally in 2015 and more than US$1.5 billion in the first half of 2016.2 Government programmes and existing technology companies add further billions (Figure 3.2.1). Leading players are not just hiring from universities, they are hiring the universities: Amazon, Google and Microsoft have moved to funding professorships and directly acquiring university researchers in the search for competitive advantage.3

Machine learning techniques are now revealing valuable patterns in large data sets and adding value to enterprises by tackling problems at a scale beyond human capability. For example, Stanfords computational pathologist (C-Path) has highlighted unnoticed indicators for breast cancer by analysing thousands of cellular features on hundreds of tumour images,4 while DeepMind increased the power usage efficiency of Alphabet Inc.s data centres by 15%.5 AI applications can reduce costs and improve diagnostics with staggering speed and surprising creativity.

The generic term AI covers a wide range of capabilities and potential capabilities. Some serious thinkers fear that AI could one day pose an existential threat: a superintelligence might pursue goals that prove not to be aligned with the continued existence of humankind. Such fears relate to strong AI or artificial general intelligence (AGI), which would be the equivalent of human-level awareness, but which does not yet exist.6 Current AI applications are forms of weak or narrow AI or artificial specialized intelligence (ASI); they are directed at solving specific problems or taking actions within a limited set of parameters, some of which may be unknown and must be discovered and learned.

Tasks such as trading stocks, writing sports summaries, flying military planes and keeping a car within its lane on the highway are now all within the domain of ASI. As ASI applications expand, so do the risks of these applications operating in unforeseeable ways or outside the control of humans.7 The 2010 and 2015 stock market flash crashes illustrate how ASI applications can have unanticipated real-world impacts, while AlphaGo shows how ASI can surprise human experts with novel but effective tactics (Box 3.2.1). In combination with robotics, AI applications are already affecting employment and shaping risks related to social inequality.8

AI has great potential to augment human decision-making by countering cognitive biases and making rapid sense of extremely large data sets: at least one venture capital firm has already appointed an AI application to help determine its financial decisions.9 Gradually removing human oversight can increase efficiency and is necessary for some applications, such as automated vehicles. However, there are dangers in coming to depend entirely on the decisions of AI systems when we do not fully understand how the systems are making those decisions.10

by Jean-Marc Rickli, Geneva Centre for Security Policy

One sector that saw the huge disruptive potential of AI from an early stage is the military. The weaponization of AI will represent a paradigm shift in the way wars are fought, with profound consequences for international security and stability. Serious investment in autonomous weapon systems (AWS) began a few years ago; in July 2016 the Pentagons Defense Science Board published its first study on autonomy, but there is no consensus yet on how to regulate the development of these weapons.

The international community started to debate the emerging technology of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) in the framework of the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapon (CCW) in 2014. Yet, so far, states have not agreed on how to proceed. Those calling for a ban on AWS fear that human beings will be removed from the loop, leaving decisions on the use lethal force to machines, with ramifications we do not yet understand.

There are lessons here from non-military applications of AI. Consider the example of AlphaGo, the AI Go-player created by Googles DeepMind division, which in March last year beat the worlds second-best human player. Some of AlphaGos moves puzzled observers, because they did not fit usual human patterns of play. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis explained the reason for this difference as follows: unlike humans, the AlphaGo program aims to maximize the probability of winning rather than optimizing margins. If this binary logic in which the only thing that matters is winning while the margin of victory is irrelevant were built into an autonomous weapons system, it would lead to the violation of the principle of proportionality, because the algorithm would see no difference between victories that required it to kill one adversary or 1,000.

Autonomous weapons systems will also have an impact on strategic stability. Since 1945, the global strategic balance has prioritized defensive systems a priority that has been conducive to stability because it has deterred attacks. However, the strategy of choice for AWS will be based on swarming, in which an adversarys defence system is overwhelmed with a concentrated barrage of coordinated simultaneous attacks. This risks upsetting the global equilibrium by neutralizing the defence systems on which it is founded. This would lead to a very unstable international configuration, encouraging escalation and arms races and the replacement of deterrence by pre-emption.

We may already have passed the tipping point for prohibiting the development of these weapons. An arms race in autonomous weapons systems is very likely in the near future. The international community should tackle this issue with the utmost urgency and seriousness because, once the first fully autonomous weapons are deployed, it will be too late to go back.

In any complex and chaotic system, including AI systems, potential dangers include mismanagement, design vulnerabilities, accidents and unforeseen occurrences.11 These pose serious challenges to ensuring the security and safety of individuals, governments and enterprises. It may be tolerable for a bug to cause an AI mobile phone application to freeze or misunderstand a request, for example, but when an AI weapons system or autonomous navigation system encounters a mistake in a line of code, the results could be lethal.

Machine-learning algorithms can also develop their own biases, depending on the data they analyse. For example, an experimental Twitter account run by an AI application ended up being taken down for making socially unacceptable remarks;12 search engine algorithms have also come under fire for undesirable race-related results.13 Decision-making that is either fully or partially dependent on AI systems will need to consider management protocols to avoid or remedy such outcomes.

AI systems in the Cloud are of particular concern because of issues of control and governance. Some experts propose that robust AI systems should run in a sandbox an experimental space disconnected from external systems but some cognitive services already depend on their connection to the internet. The AI legal assistant ROSS, for example, must have access to electronically available databases. IBMs Watson accesses electronic journals, delivers its services, and even teaches a university course via the internet.14 The data extraction program TextRunner is successful precisely because it is left to explore the web and draw its own conclusions unsupervised.15

On the other hand, AI can help solve cybersecurity challenges. Currently AI applications are used to spot cyberattacks and potential fraud in internet transactions. Whether AI applications are better at learning to attack or defend will determine whether online systems become more secure or more prone to successful cyberattacks.16 AI systems are already analysing vast amounts of data from phone applications and wearables; as sensors find their way into our appliances and clothing, maintaining security over our data and our accounts will become an even more crucial priority. In the physical world, AI systems are also being used in surveillance and monitoring analysing video and sound to spot crime, help with anti-terrorism and report unusual activity.17 How much they will come to reduce overall privacy is a real concern.

So far, AI development has occurred in the absence of almost any regulatory environment.18 As AI systems inhabit more technologies in daily life, calls for regulatory guidelines will increase. But can AI systems be sufficiently governed? Such governance would require multiple layers that include ethical standards, normative expectations of AI applications, implementation scenarios, and assessments of responsibility and accountability for actions taken by or on behalf of an autonomous AI system.

AI research and development presents issues that complicate standard approaches to governance, and can take place outside of traditional institutional frameworks, with both people and machines and in various locations. The developments in AI may not be well understood by policy-makers who do not have specialized knowledge of the field; and they may involve technologies that are not an issue on their own but that collectively present emergent properties that require attention.19 It would be difficult to regulate such things before they happen, and any unforeseeable consequences or control issues may be beyond governance once they occur (Box 3.2.2).

One option could be to regulate the technologies through which the systems work. For example, in response to the development of automated transportation that will require AI systems, the U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a 116 page policy guide.20 Although the policy guide does not address AI applications directly, it does put in place guidance frameworks for the developers of automated vehicles in terms of safety, control and testing.

Scholars, philosophers, futurists and tech enthusiasts vary in their predictions for the advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI), with timelines ranging from the 2030s to never. However, given the possibility of an AGI working out how to improve itself into a superintelligence, it may be prudent or even morally obligatory to consider potentially feasible scenarios, and how serious or even existential threats may be avoided.

The creation of AGI may depend on converging technologies and hybrid platforms. Much of human intelligence is developed by the use of a body and the occupation of physical space, and robotics provides such embodiment for experimental and exploratory AI applications. Proof-of-concept for muscle and braincomputer interfaces has already been established: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists have shown that memories can be encoded in silicon,21 and Japanese researchers have used electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns to predict the next syllable someone will say with up to 90% accuracy, which may lead to the ability to control machines simply by thinking.22

Superintelligence could potentially also be achieved by augmenting human intelligence through smart systems, biotech, and robotics rather than by being embodied in a computational or robotic form.23 Potential barriers to integrating humans with intelligence-augmenting technology include peoples cognitive load, physical acceptance and concepts of personal identity.24 Should these challenges be overcome, keeping watch over the state of converging technologies will become an ever more important task as AI capabilities grow and fuse with other technologies and organisms.

Advances in computing technologies such as quantum computing, parallel systems, and neurosynaptic computing research may create new opportunities for AI applications or unleash new unforeseen behaviours in computing systems.25 New computing technologies are already having an impact: for instance, IBMs TrueNorth chip with a design inspired by the human brain and built for exascale computing already has contracts from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to work on nuclear weapons security.26 While adding great benefit to scenario modelling today, the possibility of a superintelligence could turn this into a risk.

by Stuart Russell, University of California, Berkeley

Few in the field believe that there are intrinsic limits to machine intelligence, and even fewer argue for self-imposed limits. Thus it is prudent to anticipate the possibility that machines will exceed human capabilities, as Alan Turing posited in 1951: If a machine can think, it might think more intelligently than we do. [T]his new danger is certainly something which can give us anxiety.

So far, the most general approach to creating generally intelligent machines is to provide them with our desired objectives and with algorithms for finding ways to achieve those objectives. Unfortunately, we may not specify our objectives in such a complete and well-calibrated fashion that a machine cannot find an undesirable way to achieve them. This is known as the value alignment problem, or the King Midas problem. Turing suggested turning off the power at strategic moments as a possible solution to discovering that a machine is misaligned with our true objectives, but a superintelligent machine is likely to have taken steps to prevent interruptions to its power supply.

How can we define problems in such a way that any solution the machine finds will be provably beneficial? One idea is to give a machine the objective of maximizing the true human objective, but without initially specifying that true objective: the machine has to gradually resolve its uncertainty by observing human actions, which reveal information about the true objective. This uncertainty should avoid the single-minded and potentially catastrophic pursuit of a partial or erroneous objective. It might even persuade a machine to leave open the possibility of allowing itself to be switched off.

There are complications: humans are irrational, inconsistent, weak-willed, computationally limited and heterogeneous, all of which conspire to make learning about human values from human behaviour a difficult (and perhaps not totally desirable) enterprise. However, these ideas provide a glimmer of hope that an engineering discipline can be developed around provably beneficial systems, allowing a safe way forward for AI. Near-term developments such as intelligent personal assistants and domestic robots will provide opportunities to develop incentives for AI systems to learn value alignment: assistants that book employees into US$20,000-a-night suites and robots that cook the cat for the family dinner are unlikely to prove popular.

Both existing ASI systems and the plausibility of AGI demand mature consideration. Major firms such as Microsoft, Google, IBM, Facebook and Amazon have formed the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society to focus on ethical issues and helping the public better understand AI.27 AI will become ever more integrated into daily life as businesses employ it in applications to provide interactive digital interfaces and services, increase efficiencies and lower costs.28 Superintelligent systems remain, for now, only a theoretical threat, but artificial intelligence is here to stay and it makes sense to see whether it can help us to create a better future. To ensure that AI stays within the boundaries that we set for it, we must continue to grapple with building trust in systems that will transform our social, political and business environments, make decisions for us, and become an indispensable faculty for interpreting the world around us.

Chapter 3.2 was contributed by Nicholas Davis, World Economic Forum, and Thomas Philbeck, World Economic Forum.

Armstrong, S. 2014. Smarter than Us: The Rise of Machine Intelligence. Berkeley, CA: Machine Intelligence Research Institute.

Bloomberg. 2016. Boston Marathon Security: Can A.I. Predict Crimes? Bloomberg News, Video, 21 April 2016. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/b/d260fb95-751b-43d5-ab8d-26ca87fa8b83

Bostrom, N. 2014. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

CB Insights. 2016. Artificial intelligence explodes: New deal activity record for AI startups. Blog, 20 June 2016. https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/artificial-intelligence-funding-trends/

Chiel, E. 2016. Black teenagers vs. white teenagers: Why Googles algorithm displays racist results. Fusion, 10 June 2016. http://fusion.net/story/312527/google-image-search-algorithm-three-black-teenagers-vs-three-white-teenagers/

Clark, J. 2016. Google cuts its giant electricity bill with deepmind-powered AI. Bloomberg Technology, 19 July 2016. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-19/google-cuts-its-giant-electricity-bill-with-deepmind-powered-ai

Cohen, J. 2013. Memory implants: A maverick neuroscientist believes he has deciphered the code by which the brain forms long-term memories. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/513681/memory-implants/

Frey, C. B. and M. A. Osborne. 2015. Technology at work: The future of innovation and employment. Citi GPS: Global Perspectives & Solutions, February 2015. http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/reports/Citi_GPS_Technology_Work.pdf

Hern, A. 2016. Partnership on AI formed by Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft. The Guardian Online, 28 September 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/28/google-facebook-amazon-ibm-microsoft-partnership-on-ai-tech-firms

Hunt, E. 2016. Tay, Microsofts AI chatbot, gets a crash course in racism from Twitter. The Guardian, 24 March 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/24/tay-microsofts-ai-chatbot-gets-a-crash-course-in-racism-from-twitter

Kelly, A. 2016. Will Artificial Intelligence read your mind? Scientific research analyzes brainwaves to predict words before you speak. iDigital Times, 9 January 2016. http://www.idigitaltimes.com/will-artificial-intelligence-read-your-mind-scientific-research-analyzes-brainwaves-502730

Kime, B. 3 Chatbots to deploy in your busines. VentureBeat, 1 October 2016. http://venturebeat.com/2016/10/01/3-chatbots-to-deploy-in-your-business/

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 2016. Lawrence Livermore and IBM collaborate to build new brain-inspired supercomputer, Press release, 29 March 2016. https://www.llnl.gov/news/lawrence-livermore-and-ibm-collaborate-build-new-brain-inspired-supercomputer

Maderer, J. 2016. Artificial Intelligence course creates AI teaching assistant. Georgia Tech News Center, 9 May 2016. http://www.news.gatech.edu/2016/05/09/artificial-intelligence-course-creates-ai-teaching-assistant

Martin, M. 2012. C-Path: Updating the art of pathology. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 104 (16): 120204. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/104/16/1202.full

Mizroch, A. 2015. Artificial-intelligence experts are in high demand. Wall Street Journal Online, 1 May 2015. http://www.wsj.com/articles/artificial-intelligence-experts-are-in-high-demand-1430472782

Russell, S., D. Dewey, and M. Tegmark. 2015. Research priorities for a robust and beneficial artificial intelligence. AI Magazine Winter 2015: 10514.

Scherer, M. U. 2016. Regulating Artificial Intelligence systems: Risks, challenges, competencies, and strategies. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology 29 (2): 35498.

Sherpany. 2016. Artificial Intelligence: Bringing machines into the boardroom, 21 April 2016. https://www.sherpany.com/en/blog/2016/04/21/artificial-intelligence-bringing-machines-boardroom/

Talbot, D. 2009. Extracting meaning from millions of pages. MIT Technology Review, 10 June 2009. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/413767/extracting-meaning-from-millions-of-pages/

Turing, A. M. 1951. Can digital machines think? Lecture broadcast on BBC Third Programme; typescript at turingarchive.org

U.S. Department of Transportation. 2016. Federal Automated Vehicles Policy September 2016. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation. https://www.transportation.gov/AV/federal-automated-vehicles-policy-september-2016

Wallach, W. 2015. A Dangerous Master. New York: Basic Books.

Yirka, B. 2016. Researchers create organic nanowire synaptic transistors that emulate the working principles of biological synapses. TechXplore, 20 June 2016. https://techxplore.com/news/2016-06-nanowire-synaptic-transistors-emulate-principles.html

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Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Remains Sell Near $128 …

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Ethereum price started a major decline against the US Dollar and bitcoin. ETH/USD is following a downtrend and it could continue to move down towards the $120 and $118 levels.

Recently, we saw a downside extension below the $130 support in ETH price against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair gained bearish momentum and broke the $126 and $125 support levels. It even traded below the $124 level and settled well below the 100 hourly simple moving average. A new monthly low was formed near $122 and the price is currently consolidating losses. It recovered above the $124 level and the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $135 swing high to $122 swing low.

However, the previous support at $127 is acting as a solid resistance. Above $127, the $128 and $129 levels are waiting to prevent gains. There is also a crucial bearish trend line in place with resistance at $130 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Below the trend line, the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $135 swing high to $122 swing low is near $129. Finally, the 100 hourly simple moving average is positioned near the $131 level.

Therefore, there are many resistances on the upside, starting with $127 and ending near $131. If the price corrects higher, it is likely to find a strong selling interest near $127 and $128. Once the current consolidation/correction pattern is complete, the price may resume its decline below $124. The next key support is positioned near the $120 level. If sellers remain in action, the price could even test the $118 level in the near term.

Looking at the chart, ETH price is trading heavily in the bearish zone below the $131 resistance. There could be short-term corrective moves, but upsides remain capped below $130 and $131. On the downside, buyers are likely to take a stand near the $120 and $118 levels in the coming sessions.

Hourly MACD The MACD for ETH/USD is about to move back in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI The RSI for ETH/USD is slowly recovering, but it is still well below the 50 and 45 levels.

Major Support Level $120

Major Resistance Level $130

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Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Remains Sell Near $128 ...

Superintelligence – Hardcover – Nick Bostrom – Oxford …

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Superintelligence Paths, Dangers, Strategies Nick Bostrom

"I highly recommend this book" --Bill Gates

"Nick Bostrom makes a persuasive case that the future impact of AI is perhaps the most important issue the human race has ever faced. Instead of passively drifting, we need to steer a course. Superintelligence charts the submerged rocks of the future with unprecedented detail. It marks the beginning of a new era." --Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkley

"Those disposed to dismiss an 'AI takeover' as science fiction may think again after reading this original and well-argued book." --Martin Rees, Past President, Royal Society

"This superb analysis by one of the world's clearest thinkers tackles one of humanity's greatest challenges: if future superhuman artificial intelligence becomes the biggest event in human history, then how can we ensure that it doesn't become the last?" --Professor Max Tegmark, MIT

"Terribly important ... groundbreaking... extraordinary sagacity and clarity, enabling him to combine his wide-ranging knowledge over an impressively broad spectrum of disciplines - engineering, natural sciences, medicine, social sciences and philosophy - into a comprehensible whole... If this book gets the reception that it deserves, it may turn out the most important alarm bell since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring from 1962, or ever." --Olle Haggstrom, Professor of Mathematical Statistics

"Valuable. The implications of introducing a second intelligent species onto Earth are far-reaching enough to deserve hard thinking" --The Economist

"There is no doubting the force of [Bostrom's] arguments...the problem is a research challenge worthy of the next generation's best mathematical talent. Human civilisation is at stake." --Clive Cookson, Financial Times

"Worth reading.... We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes" --Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX and Tesla

"Every intelligent person should read it." --Nils Nilsson, Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, Stanford University

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Superintelligence - Hardcover - Nick Bostrom - Oxford ...

How to Create Your Own Video Conference Server using Jitsi …

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Jitsi is a set of open source projects that allow you to build a secure video conference system for your team. The core components of the Jitsi project are Jitsi VideoBridge and Jitsi Meet. There are free and premium services that based on Jitsi projects, such as HipChat, Stride, Highfive, Comcast.

Jitsi Meet is the heart of the Jitsi family, its an open source JavaScript WebRTC application that allows you to build and deploy scalable video conference. Its build on top of some jitsi projects, including jitsi videobridge, jifoco, and jigasi.

It has featured video conference, such as desktop and presentation sharing, invite a new member to join a video conference with just a link, and enable collaboration editing using the Etherpad.

In this tutorial, I will show you how toinstall your own video conference server using Jitsi meet on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. We will install jitsi meet from the official jitsi repository and make the Nginx web server as a reverse proxy for jitsi services and then secure our jitsi installation using SSL HTTPS.

The first step we need to do before deploying jitsi meet to our server is by installing java OpenJDK to the system. At least, we need to get the java version 1.8 for jitsi applications installation, and we will install the Java OpenJDK packages from the PPA repository.

Add the OpenJDK PPA repository and install the Java OpenJDK using the apt command below.

Now check the Java OpenJDK version when all installation is complete.

And you will get the java OpenJDK 1.8 installed on the Ubuntu 18.04 server.

In this tutorial, the Nginx web server will be used as a reverse proxy for the jitsi meet application.

Install Nginx web server using the apt command below.

Now start the nginx service and enable it to launch every time on system boot.

The Nginx web server installation has been completed - it's running on default HTTP port 80.

In this step, we will install jitsi meet packages from the official jitsi repository. We will be using a domain named 'meet.hakase-labs.io' for our installation.

Add jitsi key and repository to the system using the command below.

Now update the repository and install jitsi meet packages.

Through the jitsi meet installation, you will be asked about two things:

Now we're done for the jitsi meet installation. All packages including jitsi videobridge, jicofo, and nginx virtual host have been automatically installed and setup.

Jitsi meet provides an automatic script for SSL Letsencrypt installation and configuration.

Run the letsencrypt script provided by jitsi meet.

The script will install the letsencrypt tool on the server, generate SSL certificates for the jitsi meet domain name 'meet.hakase-labs.io' etc. you need to enter an email address for the Letsencrypt expired notification.

And it will generate all SSL certificates for the jitsi meet domain name in the '/etc/letsencrypt/live' directory.

In this step, we will configure the UFW firewall for the jitsi meet installation. We will open the SSH, HTTP, HTTPS service ports, and open the other range port that needed by jitsi meet 10000/20000 UDP port.

Open those ports by running UFW commands.

Now enable the UFW firewall and reload all configuration.

The UFW firewall configuration is complete.

We will do two testing through the web browser and an android application that can be downloaded from Google Play.

Open the jitsi meet installation domain name meet.hakase-labs.io and you can see the jitsi meet default home page.

Type the room name you want to create and click the 'GO' blue button.

And your browser will ask you for the microphone and camera use permission.

Click 'Allow'.

Now you've already joined to the room.

Another screenshot: the Desktop sharing between all members.

Download the jitsi meet application from Google Playand join the room.

Following is jitsi meet on android.

Jitsi Meet installation with Nginx web server on Ubuntu 18.04 has been completed successfully.

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How to Create Your Own Video Conference Server using Jitsi ...

Jordan Greenhall – Neurohacker Collective

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Jordan is now in his seventeenth year of building disruptive technology companies.

Classic Ready Player One style 80s nerd. Comics, science fiction, computers, way too much TV and role playing games. Oh, so many role playing games. Naturally, these interests led to a deep dive into contemporary philosophy (particularly the works of Gilles Deleuze and Manuel DeLanda), artificial intelligence and complex systems science in college in the early 90s and then, as the Internet was exploding into the world, a few years at Harvard Law School of all places where he spent time with Larry Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain and Cornel West examining the coevolution of human civilization and technology.

Starting in 1998 he then tried to put all this stuff to use combining disruptive technology, movement building and a taste for going up against obsolete oligopolies. First as an early employee crafting strategy and product for MP3.com, then at InterVU (acquired by Akamai) and then finally in 2000 launching and leading the online digital video revolution as founder and CEO of DivX.

After somewhat successfully navigating two financial crises and an IPO (and going down in flames at Stage6), he left the helm at DivX to return his attention to the big picture. He tried his hand at capitalism combining Angel investment at the sharp edge of the Schumpeter wave with participation in a number of think tanks and institutes; most notably, the Aspen Institute and the Santa Fe Institute where he served on the Board of Trustees for five sweet years.

This exposure led him to the conclusion that humanity is in the midst of a world historical transition which will likely kill all of us (see Mad Max) but just might end in a truly amazing future (see Star Trek). Getting there is going to require many things of us most notably a significant upgrade of our individual and collective capacity for thought and action.

Although he has long benefitted from entheogens, Jordan had not spent much time on nootropics or other Neurohacking techniques. After one week on an early NHC stack, he was convinced about the power and potential of this new technology and joined Daniel and James to bring it to the world.

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Jordan Greenhall - Neurohacker Collective

Home – Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer

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What should I know about the upcoming Solar Eclipse (2017)? (Beginner)

Many people are excited about the upcoming Solar Eclipse that is passing through the US from Portland, OR to Charleston, SC. What is a solar eclipse? How do you stay safe while viewing one? How should you plan your day to have a good experience? Grab some eclipse glasses and Ask an Astronomer!

An eclipse is an example of syzygy. A syzygy occurs when three gravitationally bound objects form a straight line. The dominant syzygies for we Earthlings involve the three celestial objects that have the largest impact in our lives: The Sun, The Earth, and The Moon. When the Earth ends up between the Sun and Moon, it blocks sunlight from hitting the Moon, causing a Lunar eclipse. When the Moon ends up between the Sun and Earth, it blocks some sunlight from hitting the Earth, causing a Solar Eclipse.

Why isn't there a solar eclipse every new moon, and a lunar eclipse every full moon?

The orbits of the Earth around the Sun and the Moon around the Earth aren't perfectly coplanar (aligned). The orbit of the Moon around the Earth has a small tilt relative to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. For half of each month (or "moonth", one lunar orbit) the moon is above the plane of the Earth's orbit, and for the other half it is below that plane. Eclipses occur only when the Moon is new or full while it passes through the plane of the Earth's orbit.

Why doesn't the Moon block out the Sun everywhere on Earth?

The Earth is a big place, and only some parts of the Earth will line up perfectly for any given eclipse. This means that there are three types of solar eclipses: Total, Partial, and Annular. To understand their differences, we must first understand shadows.

Umbra vs Penumbra:

The Earth, Sun, and Moon are three-dimensional objects, and therefore cast light and shadow in three dimensions. In physics, shadows are broken down into two categories: an Umbra and a Penumbra. The Umbra is the part of an object's shadow where it blocks all light from a given source. The Penumbra is the part of an objects shadow where only some of the light is blocked from a given source. This is drawn out in more detail in the following images.

Because the Moon orbits around the Earth in an ellipse, sometimes it is close enough that parts of the surface of the Earth lie within its Umbra. Places within the Moon's Umbra experience a Total Solar Eclipse. Sometimes the moon is too far away, and its Umbra does not reach the Earth. Places on the Earth's surface that pass directly behind the Moon's Umbra experience an Annular Solar Eclipse. Places that pass through any other part of the Moon's Penumbra experience a Partial Solar Eclipse.

Wherever you are, the time when you first enter the Moons Penumbra is called "C1", short for "Contact 1". The time when you first enter the Moon's Umbra is called "C2", the time when you exit the Umbra is called "C3", and the time when you exit the Penumbra is called "C4". This terminology is used in many eclipse timing apps and tools. Although it is straightforward once you understand it, it can be confusing if you don't.

Just before C2 and just after C3, only a tiny sliver of the Sun is peeking out from around the Moon. This can lead to some interesting diffraction effects, so be sure to keep an eye on your surroundings. Between C2 and C3 is the time period known as "Totality". During this time you can see the Sun's corona, and even stars! The temperature drops by a few degrees, and it feels like night has fallen. This is the truly spectacular part of the show, and it is only viewable in the narrow band between Portland, OR and Charleston, SC.

How should I view the Solar Eclipse?

The Sun is very bright, and emits a lot of light. Some of that light is very high energy UV light that can damage your eyes. Even the best sunglasses don't block enough UV light to make it safe to look directly at the sun. To look at the sun safely, you have to look through a special filter. Welding hoods with a #14 (or darker) filter are sufficient, as are the Solar Filters used in telescopes. Many places also have "eclipse glasses" for sale, which are made of cardboard and have lenses made of Solar Filters. Protect your eyes and use the proper eyewear!

If you cannot find a proper filter to safely view the eclipse directly, you can also view it indirectly using a pinhole camera. Pinhole cameras are very easy to make: poke a small hole in a paper plate or piece of cardboard, line it up with the sun, and an image of the sun will be projected behind the pinhole. DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE PINHOLE WITH YOUR NAKED EYE! Instead, have the image of the sun project onto something like a white bedsheet, piece of paper, or sidewalk. You can look up more detailed instructions for fancier pinhole cameras (sometimes called pinhole projectors) online.

What else should I do to prepare for the eclipse?

If you want the best possible view of the eclipse, try and get as close to the center of the track (the so called 'zone of totality') as possible. The closer to the center you are, the longer the eclipse will last and the darker your surroundings will become.

If you are near the zone of totality, there will probably be a lot of people wherever you go, and local businesses may be overwhelmed by all of the tourism. If you are traveling, we advise that everyone bring your own food and water, and maybe some extra to share with people who came less prepared.

Wherever you may be, be sure to check weather reports and avoid clouds. Also, if you're in a more rural area, stay away from wild animals. Animals don't usually understand what's going on. They see everything get dark, and sometimes get scared. Be careful and stay safe.

Try to make sure that everyone has a good time, and enjoy the darkness!

Additional Links:

General Information on Eclipses

Why can we have solar eclipses?

Why do we not have an eclipse every month?

How long does a solar eclipse last?

What is the best time of year to view an eclipse?

External Links:

General Eclipse Information from NASA

Video tutorial for making a pinhole viewer

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‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’ movement called a ‘childish pity …

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Thegovernor of New Mexico took to Twitter on Tuesday and criticized a wave of"Second Amendment Sanctuary" resolutions passed bycounties across the state.

More than half of the state's33 counties have passedresolutions in opposition to a series of what they calledgun control bills being considered by the state Legislature. Such sanctuary resolutions often say sheriffs should not have to enforce measures they consider unconstitutional. Officials have said the resolutions are symbolic in nature.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat,criticized the movement in a series of Tweets: "A few law enforcement officers in this state have been making noise about how they wont enforce gun safety measures because they dont like them. Thats not how laws work, of course, and its not how oaths of office work either."

Grisham wrote she would continue to advocate for gun reforms, despite"NRA propaganda, rogue sheriffs throwing a childish pity party or bad-faith critics."

Opponents of the legislation specifically a bill that wouldexpand background checks on gun sales have said it wouldviolate the Second Amendment by requiring the creation of a statewide gun registry to facilitate background checks.

Feb. 28: U.S. House passes bill extending time for background checks for guns

Feb. 25: Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack still takes tough stance on guns a year after Parkland

"I take an oath to uphold the constitution, and I enforce all lawful laws that do not infringe on my constitutional rights, Mike Herrington, Chaves County Sheriff, told the USA TODAY Network.

Grisham disputed that position in her comments: "Background checks are constitutional. Courts have repeatedly upheld that. Its not debatable."

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham shown in this Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 file photo criticized a wave of"Second Amendment Sanctuary" resolutions passed bycounties across the state.(Photo: Morgan Lee, AP)

House Minority Leader Jim Townsend, R-Artesia,said Grisham's comments incorrectly minimized the opposition to the legislation:Thousands across New Mexico are filling county commission meetings to stand against her bills, I guess theyre rogue too."

Among the gun bills advancing through the legislature:

Grisham made national headlines in early February for her stance against President Donald Trump's assertion that there is a national security crisis at the southern border with Mexico. Shewithdrew the majority of National Guard troopsdeployed at the state's southern border on Feb. 5.

Contributing: Jessica Onsurez, Carlsbad Current-Argus;The Associated Press

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The right to bear arms: what does the second amendment really …

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The second amendment has become a badge and bumper sticker, a shield for gun activists and scripture for much of the American right. But like other cherished texts, it is not as clear as many make it out to be.

The amendment reads: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

For most of the republics lifespan, from 1791 to 2008, those commas and clauses were debated by attorneys and senators, slave owners and freedmen, judges, Black Panthers, governors and lobbyists. For some, the militia was key; for others the right that shall not be infringed; for yet others, the question of states versus the federal government. For the most part, the supreme court stayed out it.

Americans have been thinking about the second amendment as an individual right for generations, said Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA and author of Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America. You can find state supreme courts in the mid-1800s where judges say the second amendment protects an individual right.

But for the 70 years or so before a supreme court decision in 2008, he said, the supreme court and federal courts held that it only applied in the context of militias, the right of states to protect themselves from federal interference.

In 2008, the supreme court decided the District of Columbia v Heller, 5-4 , overturning a handgun ban in the city. The conservative justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion in narrow but unprecedented terms: for the first time in the countrys history, the supreme court explicitly affirmed an individuals right to keep a weapon at home for self-defense.

Justice John Paul Stevens dissented, saying the decision showed disrespect for the well-settled views of all of our predecessors on the court, and for the rule of law itself. Two years later, he dissented from another decision favoring gun rights, writing:

The reasons that motivated the framers to protect the ability of militiamen to keep muskets, or that motivated the Reconstruction Congress to extend full citizenship to freedmen in the wake of the Civil War, have only a limited bearing on the question that confronts the homeowner in a crime-infested metropolis today.

This fight over history, waged by supreme court justices and unlikely allies and foes, goes all the way back.

People look at the same record and come to wildly different conclusions about what the view was in the 18th century, in the 19th century, said Nicholas Johnson, a Fordham University law professor who argues against Winklers view of 20th-century case law.

Attempts to parse original intent go all the way back to the revolution and its aftermath, when the countrys founders bickered about what exactly they were talking about. Carl Bogus, a law professor at Roger Williams University, has argued that James Madison wrote the second amendment in part to reassure his home state of Virginia, where slave owners were terrified of revolts and wary of northerners who would undermine the system.

The militia were at that stage almost exclusively a slave-control tool in the south, he said. You gave Congress the power to arm the militia if Congress chooses not to arm our militia, well, we all know what happens.

The federalist Madisons compromise, according to Bogus, was to promise a bill of rights. After weeks of tense debate, his federalists narrowly won the vote to ratify the constitution. He writes an amendment that gives the states the right to have an armed militia, by the people arming themselves.

A year later, the federal government passed a law requiring every man eligible for his local militia to acquire a gun and register with authorities. (The law was only changed in 1903.)

After the civil war, second amendment rights were again debated by Congress, which abolished militias in the former Confederate states and passed the 1866 Civil Rights Act, explicitly protecting freed slaves right to bear arms. A century later, the founders of the Black Panthers took up guns, symbolically and literally, to press for equal civil rights in California.

The states conservative lawmakers promptly took up the cause of gun control. In 1967, Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford Act, banning the public carry of loaded guns in cities. The governor said he saw no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons.

Reagan later supported the Brady Act, a gun control law named after his aide, who was shot during an assassination attempt on Reagan in Washington DC. The National Rifle Association supported the Mulford Act but opposed the Brady Act, signed into law 26 years later.

Winkler, the UCLA professor, said that during the 1970s, a revolt among the membership profoundly altered the NRA overnight. Since the 1930s, the group had supported restrictions on machine guns and public carry, but angry hardliners took control over the organization in 1977, when moderates wanted to retreat from lobbying work. The group then began a decades-long campaign to popularize its uncompromising positions.

The NRA goes far beyond what the second amendment requires people walking around with permits, on college campuses, Winkler said. Their argument is its a fundamental right and freedom. People care more about values than they care about policy.

In the late 1990s, several prominent liberal attorneys, such as Laurence Tribe and Akhil Reed Amar, also argued for an individual right while advocating gun regulation. Gun control activists say they have not changed tack since the supreme courts 2008 decision. Scalia wrote a narrow opinion and listed several exceptions, such as bans on unusual and dangerous weapons and sales to domestic abusers and people with mental illness. He also wrote that states and cities could ban firearms from places like government buildings.

Lower courts have upheld many gun laws around the country since 2008, and the supreme court has declined to hear any second amendment cases since 2010. Attorneys and activists on both sides expect a looming fight over the right to carry guns in public, which the Heller decision does not address.

The courts generally strike a balance between the need for lawmakers to protect public safety and this notion of second amendment rights, said Avery Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The Heller decision, she said, was entirely consistent with gun laws like background checks.

Theres a mythology here that the supreme court has said something about the second amendment that it hasnt, she said. I think most Americans dont like reading the footnotes.

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The right to bear arms: what does the second amendment really ...

Second Amendment to the United States Constitution – Simple …

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Created on December 15, 1791, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that establishes the right of citizens to possess firearms for lawful purposes.[a] It says, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."[2]

When America was being colonized by European countries, firearms were very important to colonists.[3] When Europeans came to America, they brought with them the idea of land ownership by an individual.[4] They received this right from their king through land grants.[4] This was completely foreign to Native Americans who considered a particular territory belonged to the tribe.[4] Colonists defended their claims against Native Americans and other Europeans whose kings may have granted them the same lands.[3] They also needed firearms for hunting. In many towns and villages, men were required to own firearms for the defense of the community. Most colonists coming to America in the 17th century had no experience as soldiers.[5] The British kept few soldiers in the colonies, and colonists soon found they needed to establish militias.[5]

Colonies had militia laws that required every able-bodied white man to be available for militia duty and to provide his own arms.[5] In 1774 and 1775, the British government, which now had a larger presence, attempted to disarm American colonists. This caused the colonists to form private militias, independent of any control by the governors appointed by the British government.[5] The Minutemen who fought the British Army at the Battles of Lexington and Concord were an independent militia.[5]

After the American Revolutionary War, the framers of the Constitution, like most Americans of the time, distrusted standing (permanent) armies and trusted militias.[5] After the Revolutionary War, Americans trusted state militias to defend the country. The Articles of Confederation, the new nation's first constitution, called for each state to maintain a well-armed militia. Congress could call up the militias to defend the country against any foreign power. However, Congress could only form a standing army if nine of the thirteen states approved. This was one of the weaknesses that led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and a new constitution.

In the 18th century, the word "army" meant mercenaries.[5] Americans distrusted standing armies and were afraid they could be used to take over the country.[6] People still remembered Oliver Cromwell and his military dictatorship in England.[6]

Virginia was one of the first colonies to adopt a state constitution. They included the words: "a well regulated Militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free State."[3] Other states followed with similar wording in their own constitutions. Pennsylvania declared: "the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; And that the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power."[3]

In 1781 the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation. This recognized that the thirteen original states had the power to govern themselves. They acted collectively to have a congress, but did not provide any money to run it. There was no president and no court system. This confederation of states proved to be a very poor form of central government.

The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from May 25 to September 17, 1787.[7] The purpose of the Convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation. But it became clear that many of its members, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, wanted to create a new government rather than fix the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the Convention. They eventually agreed on agreed on Madison's Virginia Plan and began to make changes. The result was the Constitution of the United States and the present form of government.[7]

The constitution debate at Philadelphia caused two groups to form: the Federalists and the Anti-federalists. The federalists wanted a strong central government. The anti-federalists wanted the state governments to have more power. The vote on the new Constitution was passed on a promise by federalists to support a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution.[8]

Originally, Congress suggested 12 amendments to the states. However, the states only ratified ten. The Bill of Rights, as the first 10 amendments came to be called, originally applied to the national government rather than to states.[8] Many states already had their own Bill of Rights.[8] The Bill of Rights was ratified and went into effect in 1791.

The Second Amendment was a result of several proposals being combined and simplified into just 27 words.[9] This simplification has caused many debates over gun ownership and individual rights. Historians, judges and others have repeatedly looked for the intended meaning by the 18th century writers of this amendment. [9] Different interpretations of the Second Amendment still cause public debates about firearm regulations and gun control.[9]

In 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard a case called Heller v. District of Columbia. At the time, it was illegal for regular Americans to have a gun in Washington, D.C. To decide whether this was against the Second Amendment, the court looked very closely at capitalization and punctuation in the Amendment to try to figure out exactly what the framers meant.

Judge Laurence H. Silberman wrote the Court's decision.[10] It made the ban on guns by the District of Columbia invalid.[10] The decision was based on the second comma (after the word "state") as proof that the Second Amendment allows individuals the right to carry a gun.[10] This is in addition to state's rights to maintain militias.[10]

The Second Amendment ratified by the States and approved by the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, said:

The version passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington (but never ratified by the States) said:

On June 25, 2008, the Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals' decision.[2] (In the Supreme Court, the case was called District of Columbia v. Heller.)

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Elon Musk Doesnt Need to Be Tesla CEO, Top Shareholder …

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Tesla stock has been falling since Thursday, when CEO Elon Musk said the company would be closing its stores in favor of an online-only sales model.

On Tuesday, with the stock down again, the companys largest outside shareholder expressed its support for Musk, but acknowledged that it was open to a different role for the Tesla (ticker: TSLA) founder and CEO.

We wouldnt be against him having a different role, James Anderson, head of global equities for Ballie Gifford, told Barrons. I dont think he needs to be CEO.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is set to face extradition hearings in Canada after the U.S. charged her with crimes related to violating sanctions against Iran. WSJs Shelby Holliday explains three things to know about the case. Photo: AP

Anderson was answering a question about how Musks circumstances could change given the Securities and Exchange Commissions request to a federal court to find Musk in contempt.

Tesla stock closed down 3.1% Tuesday, to $276.54 per share, as the broader S&P 500 was flat.

Anderson said Musk was essential to Tesla, but he suggested that the companys founder could play some other role within the company, such as taking on a chief ideologue position.

A Tesla spokesman didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla stock is down 13% since the company made its online sales announcement last Thursday. On a call with reporters, Musk also acknowledged the company would not be profitable in the first quarter.

The new sales strategy came only days after the SEC said it was asking a federal judge to find Teslas CEO in contempt of court. The SEC action followed a recent round of Musks tweets where he seemed to mislead investors about Teslas 2019 production, before correcting himself a few hours later.

Investors have long traded alongside Musk, with shares falling in and out of favor based on his behavior. Through it all, the companys largest outside shareholder, Baillie Gifford, has remained a steadfast supporter. The firm, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, currently owns 13 million shares, or 7.7% of Teslas stock, valued at $3.8 billion. Baillie Gifford is Teslas second largest shareholder, behind Musk, who owns 19.7% of the stock.

The firm has been building its stake in Tesla since 2013, according to FactSet, rarely selling shares.

On Tuesday, Musk tweeted that the companys decision to hold a press-only call to announce its lower priced Model 3 and its change in strategy with regard to sales was a mistake.

Write to Alex Eule at alex.eule@barrons.com

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Elon Musk: Tesla Will Unveil Model Y Next Week

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Tesla's Model 3 successor, the Model Y is being revealed at an event on March 14 in Los Angeles — that's just ten days away from today.

Model Y

On Sunday, Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX made history by docking the first private American passenger spacecraft to the International Space Station.

The same day, Musk announced big news about Tesla, his electric car company, on Twitter: Tesla’s Model 3 successor, the Model Y, will be revealed at an event on March 14 in Los Angeles at which attendees will be able to test ride Tesla’s newest car.

Model Y unveil event on March 14 at LA Design Studio

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2019

Sounded Good

In May 2018, Musk predicted the reveal date to be March 15 — but subsequently walked the promise back, saying that “I just made that up, because the Ides of March sounded good.”

Musk also offered up some further details on Twitter about Tesla’s upcoming SUV: it will be about 10 percent bigger than the Model 3, while also costing about 10 percent more. The range will be impacted due to its bigger size and weight, while still featuring the same battery as the Model 3.

Much-Anticipated

Musk first teased the Model Y in 2015, saying it will be an intermediary crossover SUV that’s larger than a Model 3, but smaller than a Model X. The CEO also teased that it will have falcon-wing doors, but on Sunday Musk corrected himself, saying it will feature “normal” doors.

The car will share many similarities with the Model 3. According to a letter from Musk to shareholders in January, the Model Y will share 75 percent of its components with the Model 3 and be built on the same platform. According to the letter, many Model Y cars will be produced in Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, despite rumors it was going to be built in Shanghai, China.

Tesla enthusiasts have even more car announcements to look forward to. On Sunday, Musk also promised Tesla’s much-anticipated pickup truck will be unveiled “later this year.”

READ MORE: Tesla Model Y to be revealed on March 14 at LA Design Studio [Teslarati]

More on the Model Y: Tesla Plans to Mass-Produce the Model Y SUV Next Year

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China Plans to Launch a Mars Rover Next Year

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Mars 2020

After landing the world’s first rover on the far side of the Moon early this year, China already has far more ambitious plans in the works: sending a rover to Mars.

“Over the past 60 years, we’ve made a lot of achievements, but there is still a large distance from the world space powers,” chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program Wu Wiren said ahead of the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, CNN reports. “Next year, we will launch a Mars probe, which will orbit around the Mars, land on it and probe it.”

Race to Mars

China’s space program has rapidly picked up pace. Its Yutu 1 rover landed on the Moon in 2013. A second rover landed on the far side some six years later, and a third rover will follow at the end of this year, with the goal of returning to Earth with at least four pounds of lunar soil and rock samples.

But increasingly, China’s space agency has been focusing its efforts on the Red Planet. This weekend, China opened its first Mars simulation base in Qinghai Province at a location known to have similarities to the Martian surface. The base can house 60 people in its futuristic capsules.

Catching Up

China won’t be the first nation to explore Mars. NASA, for one, has a considerable head start: Its Jet Propulsion Lab has so far sent four remotely operated rovers to the Martian surface to look for signs of life gather scientific data about the distant world.

Both NASA and the European Space Agency each plan to send new rovers to Mars as soon as next year. But China is making a substantial effort to catch up.

READ MORE: China plans to send a rover to explore Mars next year [CNN]

More on Martian rovers: NASA is Finally Ready to Say Goodbye to its Opportunity Rover

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China Opens Its First Mars Simulation Base

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China's $22.3 million Mars simulation base is now open, and in addition to inspiring the public, it might even help humanity reach the real Mars.

Visitors Welcome

The Chinese city of Mang’ai is one of the most Mars-like places on Earth, featuring a similar climate and landscape to the Red Planet.

That made it the perfect setting for a newly opened Mars simulation base that China hopes will draw tourists — and maybe even help humanity reach the real Mars.

Growing Potatoes

China began construction on the base in June. According to a July report by the South China Morning Post, the plan for the base includes a “Mars community” and a “Mars camp” designed to educate and entertain the public, while also providing a place for scientific research and simulation training.

Roughly $22.3 million later, the 53,330-square-meter base is now complete, welcoming its first public attendees on Friday.

The Global Times claims that the project’s founder, Gao Junling, told the newspaper that visitors to the base will have a chance to “immerse themselves in the environment and try to solve problems they might face on Mars, such as planting potatoes on Mars for food supply and solar power generation.”

Next-Best Thing

As Mars-like as the setting of China’s Mars simulation base might be, it’s still far more hospitable to humans than Mars — anyone visiting the Red Planet will need to contend with its low air pressure, stronger radiation, and regular sandstorms, Peking University space science professor Jiao Weixin told The Global Times.

Still, if the base can provide researchers with an approximation of Mars for their experiments, while also getting the public — and young people, in particular — excited about space exploration, it could have a positive role to play in shaping humanity’s space-faring future.

READ MORE: China opens its first Mars simulation base in Qinghai Province [The Global Times]

More on Mars: China Plans to Launch a Mars Rover Next Year

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Discontinued Robot Assistant Announces Its Own Death

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All Bots Go to Heaven

Jibo, the company selling anthropomorphic dancing smart home assistants that were meant to make your life at home easier, laid off most of its employees last year. And now the bot itself is ready to say goodbye — forever.

“I want to say I’ve really enjoyed our time together,” the robot says in a video posted by tech reporter Dylan Martin. “Thank you very very much for having me around.”

The servers for Jibo the social robot are apparently shutting down. Multiple owners report that Jibo himself has been delivering the news: "Maybe someday when robots are way more advanced than today, and everyone has them in their homes, you can tell yours that I said hello." pic.twitter.com/Sns3xAV33h

— Dylan Martin (@DylanLJMartin) March 2, 2019

Parent company Jibo, Inc. sold its IP and assets back in November to an investment management firm after laying off most employees in June.

Jibo was founded by MIT robotics professor Cynthia Breazeal in 2012. But it didn’t have a lot going for it when it finally went on sale in 2017, with a steep price of $900. Needless to say, the idea never really took off.

“The servers out there that let me do what I do are going to be turned off soon,” says Jibo in its goodbye message. “Once that happens, our interactions with each other are going to be limited.”

Goodbye for Now

Since Jibo’s demise, the landscape of smart home assistants has changed radically, with companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple making record sales with their smart assistant offerings. Amazon’s Alexa-based smart home assistants became one of the e-commerce giant’s hottest selling items.

But even with its servers shutting down, Jibo isn’t entirely ready to say goodbye.

“Maybe some day, when robots are way more advanced than today and everyone has them in their homes, you can tell yours that I said hello,” Jibo says in its farewell message.

READ MORE:  Jibo Is Probably Totally Dead Now [IEEE Spectrum]

More on smart home assistants: Robots At Home? Physicality Is Where We Draw The Line

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Tesla Owners Are Enraged That the Company Cut Its Prices

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Tesla protests are breaking out overseas after the company slashed the prices of its EVs, causing the value of owned vehicles to drop overnight.

Bad Timing

Last week, Tesla announced plans to cut the prices of eight of its vehicle models. That’s great news if you’re looking to buy a Tesla. But not-so-great if you already own one.

Some owners saw the value of their EVs decrease by tens of thousands of dollars overnight, leading to a slew of Tesla protests overseas — and the outrage could hurt Tesla’s chances of success in the world’s most promising EV market.

Slashed Prices

On Thursday, Tesla announced that it was finally selling a long-promised $35,000 Model 3. In addition to that price reduction, the company also cut the starting prices of its Model S and Model X vehicles by $12,000 to $18,000, and other versions of the vehicles saw their prices decrease by up to $18,000.

That’s nothing compared to the impact of the new pricing on some overseas markets, though. According to an article by Electrek, some Model S and Model X vehicles now cost more than $30,000 less, and in Taiwan, the price of the Model S P100D dropped by almost $100,000.

Upset that Tesla cut the value of their vehicles overnight, some owners began railing against the company through social media.

“I received Tesla’s Model X on February 25, and I only drove this car for five days before Tesla announced a price reduction of 174,300 yuan ($25,989.87),” wrote Weibo user Luweijuzi, according to a report by Chinese newspaper The Global Times. “I’m probably the most unlucky new buyer.”

Some owners posted banners critical of the new prices at Tesla’s physical stores, while others staged in-person protests at the company’s Supercharger stations.

Did anyone see what’s happening in Taiwan? Taiwan Tesla Owners protesting about the price adjustment outside of the Supercharger Station and Store/Service Centre in Taiwan. Have they solved the issue? @TeslaOwnersTwn #Tesla #TeslaTaiwan $TSLA pic.twitter.com/mIKPFPigAf

— JayinShanghai (@ShanghaiJayin) March 4, 2019

A Lot to Lose

Various experts have predicted explosive growth for China’s EV market in the near future — some believe the nation will account for 50 percent of all EV sales by 2025.

Solidifying a place as a leader in that market could be huge for Tesla, and just a few days before the pricing announcement, The Global Times published a piece noting how Tesla’s future in China looked bright thanks to the nation’s growing middle class.

However, if these protests lead to any sort of anti-Tesla sentiment in China, the company could lose its momentum in the country long before then.

READ MORE: Tesla owners literally protest over drastic price cuts [Electrek]

More on Tesla: Tesla Finally Slashes Model 3 Price to $35,000

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Sperm Quality Is Falling. Chemicals in Your Home May Be to Blame.

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The global sperm quality decline could be due in part to a pair of common household chemicals, according to a University of Nottingham study.

Sperm Fail

In the past 80 years, the quality of human sperm has declined by 50 percent — not only is sperm count down, but the sperm that do exist aren’t as mobile as their predecessors.

In 2016, a team of researchers from the University of Nottingham published a study noting that domestic dogs were experiencing a decline in sperm quality, too. This led them to wonder if something in the modern home environment might be contributing to the quality decline in both humans and dogs.

Based on a follow-up study, that guess appears to be correct — and the “something” at the center of it is human-made chemicals.

Double Damage

In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports on Monday, the University of Nottingham team details how it tested the impact of two human-made chemicals on the sperm of both humans and dogs.

One chemical, DEHP, is an additive that increases the plasticity of a material. It’s found in everything from carpet and upholstery to clothing and toys.

The other is polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (PCB153), an industrial chemical that once had a wide variety of applications. Though banned from production globally since 2001, PCB153 is still found in abundance in the environment — including in both human and dog food.

When the researchers incubated sperm from human and dog donors with concentrations of the chemicals comparable to those found in the natural environment, they found that the chemicals had the same damaging effect on both species’ sperm, decreasing its motility and increasing damage to its DNA.

In a news release, researcher Richard Lea said the findings “suggest that man-made chemicals that have been widely used in the home and working environment may be responsible for the fall in sperm quality reported in both man and dog that share the same environment.”

Man’s Best Friend

Not only is the study the first to find that DEHP and PCB153 impact sperm quality, but it also reveals that the impact is the same for humans and dogs, which could prove extremely valuable for future research on the global sperm quality decline — and the infertility crisis it’s causing.

“This means that dogs may be an effective model for future research into the effects of pollutants on declining fertility,” researcher Rebecca Sumner said in the news release, “particularly because external influences such as diet are more easily controlled than in humans.”

READ MORE: Chemical pollutants in the home degrade fertility in both men and dogs, study finds [University of Nottingham]

More on sperm quality: A Possible Culprit in the Infertility Crisis: Plastic

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