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Astronomers Without Borders Focuses on Bringing Eclipse Science to All – Space.com

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

Children use special glasses to observe a partial solar eclipse on March 20, 2015, in Madrid, Spain. Astronomers Without Borders is using the 2017 total solar eclipse as an opportunity to get kids interested in science.

Inspired by the upcoming total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) is launching a nationwide science and astronomy educational program that will target underserved communities.

The Building on the Eclipse Education Program features science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies. While the program is open to all across the United States, AWB hopes to reach communities and youth groups that may otherwise not have the opportunity to learn about the solar eclipse and other science topics.

"Once they look up, we don't want them to stop," Lindsay Bartolone, education director at AWB and for the Building on Eclipse Education Program, said in a statement. "The Astronomers Without Borders Building on the Eclipse Education Program offers educators from diverse settings resources and professional support to build on kids' excitement and continue learning about and being amazed by the sun." [How to View a Solar Eclipse Without Damaging Your Eyes]

The total solar eclipse will sweep across the continental U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina along a path about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide. Skywatchers in this "path of totality" will see the moon completely cover the sun's disk, while viewers outside that path will see a partial solar eclipse.

Astronomers Without Borders hopes to use this celestial event as inspiration for students to engage in a wide variety of STEM education lessons and activities. This effort will continue throughout the following academic year, according to the statement.

The Building on the Eclipse Education Program includes lesson plans and other resources, such as special eclipse-viewing glasses and spectroscope kits. (Spectroscopy uses sunlight to reveal the chemical composition of the star.) The program also offers access to a network of education and astronomy experts for ongoing support with scientific activities. Professional and amateur astronomers are invited to help support participating groups.

The program is sponsored by Google and will be offered to both formal and informal educational groups, including schools, libraries, museums, nature centers, youth groups and more. AWB said it encourages applications for the program from groups located in inner cities or isolated rural communities, on Native American reservations or military installations, and those at children's hospitals. The group has also committed to sending out over 100,000 free pairs of eclipse glasses.

"The eclipse is an amazing natural phenomenon that serves as the inspiration for study of the sciences," Mike Simmons, president and founder of AWB, said in the statement. "We hope isolated and traditionally underserved communities in particular will take advantage of the program, bringing STEM into classrooms that might have limited resources."

Eligible groups can learn more about the program and register at astronomerswithoutborders.org. AWB is also giving away free solar-eclipse-viewing glasses to underserved communities, so that everyone can watch the celestial event safely.

Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom,Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Astronomers Without Borders Focuses on Bringing Eclipse Science to All - Space.com

RIT hosts largest number of NSF undergraduate research programs in New York – RIT University News Services

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

June 26, 2017 by Susan Gawlowicz Follow Susan Gawlowicz on Twitter Follow RITNEWS on Twitter

David Bond and Sophia Maggelakis

Rochester Institute of Technology leads universities in New York with seven federally funded summer research programs for undergraduate students, according to the National Science Foundation.

This reflects RITs emergence as a student-centered research university, made possible by faculty from diverse disciplines, said David Bond, director of RITs Sponsored Research Services. REU sites draw top students from across the country and expose them to different perspectives. For many, the experience is transformative and informs decisions to go to graduate school.

The NSF awards provide stipends for approximately eight to 10 students per program to work with RIT researchers for 10 weeks. The competitive three-year summer programs accept new participants each year from universities across the country and have the potential to influence more than 200 undergraduates.

Undergraduate research is a strategic goal for RIT, and the high number of REUs reflects well on our faculty, said Sophia Maggelakis, dean of RITs College of Science. Our faculty take seriously the responsibility to mentor and train undergraduates to make new discoveries and to pursue careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

This year, nearly 150 students applied for positions in the competitive mathematics/graph theory and imaging science programs. The Extremal Graph Theory and Dynamical Systems REU program, led by Darren Narayan, professor in the School of Mathematical Sciences, was RITs first award for Research Experience for Undergraduates in 2006 and has been renewed twice.

The REUs help put RIT on the map, Maggelakis said. We are doing research that is of interest to students from other universities who come to RIT to work with our faculty.

The undergraduates are not the only ones who gain from the experience, she noted.

When you work with very bright students, you are not just the teacher, you are also learning from them.

Cutting edge astrophysics for undergraduates

This summer, RITs College of Science launched the first Research Experience for Undergraduates in multimessenger astrophysics. The new field combines information gathered from gravitational waves and data from the electromagnetic spectrum to make insights previously unavailable to science. The program introduces students to research in gravitational wave detection and data analysis, observational astronomy and astrophysics and theoretical and numerical modeling.

This REU is offered through RITs signature research program, the Frontiers in Gravitational Wave Astrophysics, which is led by Manuela Campanelli, director of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation. RIT researchers made significant contributions to the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 and are dedicated to advancing the new discipline.

The multimessenger astrophysics program includes a four-week boot camp in American Sign Language. The center recruits deaf and hard-of-hearing students, women and members of other underrepresented groups and seeks to broaden research opportunities for students attending community colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions.

A key step in moving this new field forward will be training students who will form the next generation of scientific leaders, said Josh Faber, associate professor in RITs School of Mathematical Sciences and lead scientist on the REU grant.

REUs at RIT

The NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates sites at RIT are:

Participants in the Research Experience for Undergraduate programs will present their work at RITs Undergraduate Research Symposium on Aug. 4.

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RIT hosts largest number of NSF undergraduate research programs in New York - RIT University News Services

CMU to harness power of collaboration to advance artificial intelligence – Tribune-Review

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

Updated 3 hours ago

Carnegie Mellon University announced Tuesday an initiative to bring together its research and education related to artificial intelligence.

CMU AI will coordinate faculty, students and staff working on AI in robotics, engineering, language, human-computer interaction, machine learning and more.

Having grown large, we've also grown a little further apart, and in the context of AI, we are bringing it back to together, said Jaime Carbonell, director of CMU's Language Technologies Institute. And we expect to grow more

CMU AI will create one of the largest and most experienced artificial intelligence research groups in the world, the university said. Carbonell said researchers classified their work based on the sub-field of artificial intelligence in which they worked, such as robotics, machine translation or machine learning, not under the umbrella of AI. Now those disciplines will be under CMU AI, underscoring the university's commitment to the research and potentially upping the university's public profile and funding.

It certainly helps the messaging, Carbonell said. But more than messaging, it helps the substance.

Carbonell said projects like analyzing social networks for nefarious activity and designing robots to care for the elderly will benefit from harnessing the university's entire AI hive mind.

Artificial Intelligence was essentially created at CMU. In 1956, professors Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon helped write Logic Theorist, considered the first artificial intelligence computer program.

Since, the university's advancements in artificial intelligence have worked their way into everything from self-driving cars to poker bots that can defeat the best players in the world. CMU AI projects help computers recognize faces and images and power robot soccer players and IBM's Jeopardy-playing Watson. They've improved instant replay in sports and algorithms that match kidney donors with recipients. Two teams of CMU students are working with Amazon to improve Alexa , its home assistant. Another team is using machine learning to develop a reading and math tutor for kids in countries facing teacher shortages. The RoboTutor project is a semifinalist in the $15 million Global Learning XPRIZE.

AI technologies developed at CMU have been acquired by Facebook, Amazon, Google and more.

AI is not something that a lone genius invents in the garage, Andrew Moore, the dean of CMU's School of Computer Science, said in a statement. It requires a team of people, each of whom brings a special expertise or perspective. CMU researchers have always excelled at collaboration across disciplines, but CMU AI will require all of us to work together in unprecedented ways.

RELATED: K&L Gates gives $10M to CMU to study ethics of AI

The initiative will bring together more than 100 professors and researchers working on artificial intelligence in CMU's School of Computer Science's seven departments. Moore will direct the initiative. Carbonell will lead the initiative along with Martial Hebert, the head of the Robotics Institute; Tuomas Sandholm, the computer science professor behind Libratus, the poker bot, and Manuela Veloso, the head of the Machine Learning Department.

The initiative will focus on two things. It will work to educate a new breed of AI scientists. About 1,000 students, more than half of the School of Computer Science, are working on AI-related projects. Moore said these are the people who will improve life through technology and shape the rest of the century.

Exposing these hugely talented human beings to the best AI resources and researchers is imperative for creating the technologies that will make our lives healthier and safer in the future, Moore said.

The initiative will also focus on creating new capabilities for AI. It will bring together work in machine learning, the study of how software can make decisions and learn through experience; machine translation, using computers to understand and translate languages; human-computer interaction, how people and machines can work together, and robotics, which is renowned for its computer vision group studying how computers understand images.

Students who study AI at CMU have an opportunity to work on projects that unite multiple disciplines, Veloso said. CMU students at all levels have a big impact on what AI can do for society.

Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at aaupperlee@tribweb.com, 412-336-8448 or via Twitter @tinynotebook.

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Artificial Intelligence is becoming the new operating system in health – Healthcare IT News (blog)

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

Acquistions of AI startups are rapidly increasing while the health AI market is set to register an explosive CAGR of 40 percent through 2021.

Artificial Intelligence can help drive the Triple Aim in healthcare, reducing cost, improving qualityand expanding access, according toArtificial Intelligence: Healthcares New Nervous System from Accenture.

Acquisitions of AI developers in health will be fast-paced, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 40 percent explosive in the word of Accenture moving from $600 million in 2014 to $6.6 billion in 2021.

What these AI startups will do is to enable machines to sense, comprehend, act and learn, Accenture foresees, to augment administrative and clinical tasks which could free up healthcare labor (doctors, other clinicians, and accountants) to work at their highest-and-best-use.

The most impactful AI-driven application would be robot-assisted surgery, generating $40 billion of value, annually, by 2026. Next in AI-health value-creation include virtual nursing assistants (valued at $20 billion annually), administrative workflow support ($18 billion), fraud detection ($17 billion), and medication error reduction ($16 billion).

Artificial Intelligence, AI, can help drive the Triple Aim in healthcare, reducing cost, improving quality, and expanding access, according toArtificial Intelligence: Healthcares New Nervous System from Accenture.

What these AI startups will do is enable machines to sense, comprehend, act and learn, Accenture foresees, to augment administrative and clinical tasks, which could free up healthcare labor (, doctors, other clinicians, and accountants) to work at their highest-and-best-use.

Acquistions of AI startups are rapidly increasing while the health AI market is set to registr an explosive CAGR of 40 percent through 2021.

Artificial Intelligence can help drive the Triple Aim in healthcare, reducing cost, improving quality, and expanding access, according toArtificial Intelligence: Healthcares New Nervous System from Accenture.

This blog was first published on Health Populi.

Excerpt from:

Artificial Intelligence is becoming the new operating system in health - Healthcare IT News (blog)

AI: Artificial Intelligence Could Start a Global Arms RaceWill We Be Able to Control It? – Newsweek

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

There is a lot of money to be made from Artificial Intelligence. By one estimate, the market is projected to hit US$36.8 billion by 2025. Some of this money will undoubtedly go to social good, like curing illness, disease and infirmity. Some will also go to better understanding intractable social problems like wealth distribution, urban planning, smart cities, and more efficient ways to do just about everything.

But the key word here is some.Theres no shortage of people touting the untold benefits of AI. But once you look past the utopian/dystopian and techno-capitalist hyperbole, what we are left with is a situation where various stakeholders want to find new and exciting ways to part you from your money. In other words: its business, not personal.

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While the immediate benefits of AI might be clear from a strategic business perspective, the longer term repercussions are not. Its not just that the future is impossible to predict, complex technologies are hard to control, and human values are difficult to align with computer code, its also that in the present its hard to hear the voices calling for temperance and judiciousness over the din of companies clamoring for market advantage.

This is neither a new nor recent phenomenon. Whether it was the social media boom, the smart phone revolution, or the commercialization of the world wide web, if theres money to be made, entrepreneurs will try and make it. And they should. For better or worse, economic prosperity and stability depends on what brilliance can be conjured up by scientific minds.

But thats only one side of the coin. The flipside is that prosperity and stability can only be maintained if equally brilliant minds work together to ensure we have durable ways to govern these technologies, legally, ethically, and for the social good. In some cases, this might mean agreeing that there are simply certain things we should not do with AI; some things that profit should not be derived from. We might call this conscious capitalismbut it is, in fact, now a societal imperative.

There are structural problems in how the AI industry is shaping up, and serious asymmetries in the work that is being done. Its all well and good for large companies invested in presenting themselves as the softer, cuddlier, but no less profitable, face of this new technological revolution to tout hashtags like #responsibleAI or #AIEthics. No rational person objects to either, but they should not distract from the fact that hashtags arent coherent policy.

Effective policy costs money to research, devise, and implementand right now, there is not enough time, cash, brainpower and undivided attention being devoted to building the robust governance infrastructure that will be required to compliment this latest wave of technological terraforming.

There are people out there thinking the things that need to be thought and implemented on the law, policy and governance side, but they are being drowned out by the PR, social media influencers and marketing campaigns that want to turn a profit from AI, or tell you how they can help your company do so.

Ultimately, our reach exceeds our grasp. We are far better at building new, exciting and powerful technologies than we are at governing them. To an extent, this has always been the case with new technologies, but the gap between what we create and the extent we can control it is widening and deepening.

Over the course of my PhD, where I researched long term strategies for AI governance and regulation, I was offered some sage advice: If you want to ensure youre remembered as a fool, make predictions about the future. While I try and keep that in mind, I am going to go out on a limb: AI will fundamentally remake society beyond all imagination.

Our commitment to ensuring safe and beneficial AI should amount to more than hashtags, handshakes and changing the narrative. It should be internalized into the ethos of AI development. Technical research must go hand in hand with law and policy research on both the public and private side. With great power comes great shared responsibility and its about time we recognise that this is the best business model we have for AI going forward.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau high fives a robotic arm as he takes part in a robotics demonstration at Kinova Robotics in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

If we are going to try and socialize the benefits of AI across society as the familiar refrain goes we need to get serious about the distribution of money across the AI industry today. Public and private research and public engagement has a critical role to play in this, even if its easier (and cheaper) to co-opt it into in-house research. We need to build a robust government-led research infrastructure in the UK, Europe and beyond to meet head on the challenges AI and other tech will pose. This means we need to think about more than just about data protection, algorithmic transparency and bias.

We also need to get serious about how our legal and political institutions will need to adapt to meet the challenges of tomorrow. And they will need to adapt, just as they have proven able to do in the face of earlier technological changes, whether it was planes, trains, automobiles or computers. From legal personhood to antitrust laws, or criminal culpability to corporate liability, we are starting to confront the incommensurability of certain legal norms with the lived reality of the 21st century.

AI is a new type of beast. We cannot do governance as usual, which has meant waiting for the latest and greatest tech to appear and then frantically react to keep it in check. Despite protestations to the contrary, we must be proactive in engaging with AI development, not reactive. In the parlance of regulation, we need to think ex ante and not just ex post. The hands-off, we-are-just-a-platform-and-have-no-responsibility-here tone of Silicon Valley must be rejected once and for all.

If we are going to adapt our institutions to the 21st century we must understand how they have adapted before, and what can be done today to equip them for the challenges of tomorrow. These changes must be premised upon evidence; not fatalistic conceits about the machines taking over, not philosophical frivolity, not private interests. We need smart people on the law and policy side working with the smart people sitting at the keyboards and toiling in the labs at the companies where these engines of tomorrow are being assembled line by line. Some might see this as an unholy alliance, but it is, in fact, a noble goal.

Belgian Ian Frejean, 11, walks with "Zora" the robot, a humanoid robot designed to entertain patients and to support care providers, at AZ Damiaan hospital in Ostend, Belgium June 16, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

The governance and regulation of AI is not a national issue; it is a global issue. The untold fortunes being poured into the technical side of AI research needs to start making its way into the hands of those devoted to understanding how we might best actualize the technology, and how we can in good conscience use it to solve problems where there is no profit to be made.

The risk we run is that AI research kick starts a new global arms race; one where finishing second is framed as tantamount to economic hari-kari. There is tremendous good that the AI industry can do to help change this, but so far these good intentions have not manifested themselves in ways conducive to building the robust law, policy and social-scientific infrastructure that must compliment the technical side. As long as this imbalance continues, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Christopher Markou is aPhD Candidate at the Faculty of Law at theUniversity of Cambridge

AI: Artificial Intelligence Could Start a Global Arms RaceWill We Be Able to Control It? - Newsweek

Nvidia To Cooperate With Volkswagen On Artificial Intelligence – Seeking Alpha

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

Nvidia (NVDA) and Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAY) have just announced a promising collaboration in developing a viable AI and deep learning software offering for cars, traffic systems, and other applications. This intensifies the cooperation of the two companies, which revealed their first strategic partnership earlier this year.

The first collaboration framework included integrating Nvidias digital cockpits in the cars of the entire VW group, while also developing autopilot technology with Audi (OTCPK:AUDVF), owned by VW. The first autonomous prototype based on the Audi Q7 model was revealed during CES 2017. The technology was claimed to be built on the basis of Nvidias Drive PX2 processing unit.

This initial agreement was already considered to be very beneficial for both corporations. Thus, Nvidia gained a large customer (the largest automaker in 2016), which among other benefits would allow Nvidia generate consistent and recurring revenue over time from the automotive industry. In turn, VW got a possibility to enhance its vehicles in terms of technology, thus regaining customers attention after the dieselgate scandal hit VWs reputation.

The new cooperation goes beyond just the auto industry. It is stated (the link is in German) the two corporations are going to work together in their own data lab, while also attracting start-up companies to collaborate. Notably, it is stated by Techcrunch the first data lab of VW was established in 2014 to develop AI for such areas as robotic enterprise. The technologies by Nvidia will provide a sound basis for further development.

The words of Volkswagen Chief Information Officer Martin Hofmann are provided by Reuters:

Artificial intelligence is the key to the digital future of the Volkswagen GroupWe want to develop and deploy high-performance AI systems ourselves. This is why we are expanding our expert knowledge required. Cooperation with Nvidia will be a major step in this direction.

Will the collaboration improve Nvidias position in the auto sector?

Nvidias automotive revenue increased 24% YoY in Q1 2017 reaching $140 million. Taking into consideration VW groups revenue amounted to more than $215 billion in 2016, it is clear Nvidia has room to grow in automotive. This is also supported by the prediction of David Pahl from Texas Instruments (TXN), who projects at least 2% of a cars price will be represented by electronics. In the case of VW, 2% from $215 billion lead to $4.3 billion of potential revenue.

In addition, it is interesting to see how Nvidia expands its operations further to Europe, especially to Germany, where the auto sector is one of the key industries. This shows the company bets heavily on the automotive sector as a profit driver in the future, since some players, like AMD (AMD), try to beat Nvidia in the gaming industry.

(Source: Nvidia website)

Volkswagen also actively hires specialists for the research lab.

(Source: jobs.automobilwoche.de)

Conclusion

Overall, the new collaboration is set to intensify the cooperation of the two corporations, which is likely to be beneficial for both VW and Nvidia. Nvidias stock has already grown by more than 200% over last year, and now it trades at a hefty forward P/E multiple of 43.5. However, if the company is able to exploit all the potential it has in the auto industry, this growth can continue.

(Source: Graphiq.com)

As regards VW, the new cooperation will improve its position in the field of AI for cars and also open possibilities to further expand the operations to enterprises, which is also able to bring the stock higher.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

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Nvidia To Cooperate With Volkswagen On Artificial Intelligence - Seeking Alpha

IBM is telling Congress not to fear the rise of an AI ‘overlord’ – Recode

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

The brains behind IBMs Jeopardy-winning, disease-tracking, weather-mapping Watson supercomputer plan to embark on a lobbying blitz in Washington, D.C., this week, hoping to show federal lawmakers that artificial intelligence isnt going to kill jobs or humans.

To hear IBM tell it, much of the recent criticism around machine learning, robotics and other kinds of AI amounts to merely fear mongering. The companys senior vice president for Watson, David Kenny, aims to convey that message to members of Congress beginning with a letter on Tuesday, stressing the real disaster would be abandoning or inhibiting cognitive technology before its full potential can be realized.

Labor experts and reams of data released in recent months argue otherwise: They foretell vast economic consequences upon the mass-market arrival of AI, as entire industries are displaced not just blue-collar jobs like trucking, as self-driving vehicles replace humans at the wheel, but white-collar positions like stock trading too.

Others fear the privacy, security and safety implications as more tasks, from managing the countrys roads to reading patients X-ray results, are automated and the most dire warnings, from the likes of SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, include the potential arrival of robots capable of destroying mankind.

But as IBM seeks to advance and sell its AI-driven services, like Watson, the company plans to tell lawmakers those sort of concerns are fantasy. Along with a private meeting with some lawmakers near Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Kenny is urging Congress to avoid reacting out of fear and pursuing some proposals, like an idea from Bill Gates to tax robots, as regulators debate how to handle this fast-growing field.

The impact of AI is evident in the debate about its societal implications with some fearful prophets envisioning massive job loss, or even an eventual AI Overlord that controls humanity, Kenny wrote. I must disagree with these dystopian views.

For IBM, the stakes are high: Watson and the future of what it calls cognitive technology are critical to Big Blues business. Beyond Watsons existing work from aiding in cancer research to funnier tasks, like writing a cookbook IBM has sought to bring its famed supercomputer to tackle some of the sprawling, data-heavy tasks of the federal government.

In some ways, though, the most vexing challenges facing AI arent technological theyre political.

Self-driving cars, trucks and drones, for example, cant just take to the roads and skies without permission from local and federal regulators, which are only just beginning to loosen restrictions on those industries.

Others fear that automation might lead to discrimination: Under President Barack Obama, the White House spent months warning that highly powerful algorithms could share the biases of their authors, leading to unfair treatment of minorities or other disadvantaged communities in everything from obtaining a credit card to buying a house. Thats why his administration in October explicitly urged Congress to help it hire more AI specialists in key government oversight roles.

And more challenging still are the economic implications of AI. It will be up to federal officials including President Donald Trump or his successors to grapple with untold numbers of Americans who might someday find themselves out of a job and in need of training in order to find new careers. (Trumps own Treasury secretary, however, previously has said AI is more than 50 years away from causing such disruptions.)

Sensing potential political hurdles, companies like Apple, Facebook, Google and IBM chartered a new organization, the Partnership for Artificial Intelligence, last year. In doing so, they hoped to craft ethical standards around the safe and fair operation of machine learning and robotics before government regulators in the United States or elsewhere sought to more aggressively target AI with consumer protection regulations. AI now counts among some of those tech companies regular lobbying expenses.

And IBM, in particular, has spent years trying to tell a friendlier, less economically catastrophic story about AI in the nations capital a campaign that it will continue this week.

Technological advancements have always stoked fears and concern over mass job loss, Kenny wrote in his Tuesday letter to Congress. But history suggests that AI, similar to past revolutionary technologies, will not replace humans in the workforce.

In many cases, like cyber security and medicine, Kenny told lawmakers its still humans at the end of the day who can choose the best course of action when an AI system has identified a problem. He stressed that government should instead focus its attention on fixing a shortage of workers with the skills needed to work in partnership with AI systems.

For all the scrutiny facing the industry, however, some in Congress are still getting up to speed. Thats why lawmakers like Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., co-founded the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus, an informal organization of Democrats and Republicans studying the issue. His group is joining IBMs Kenny and other tech leaders at a private, off-record event at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday.

Delaney told Recode he comes to AI from the perspective that the sky is not falling that even if industries change, old jobs might still be replaced by new ones in emerging fields. With the caucus, he said, the goal is to make sure Congress is as informed on this issue as possible, so when it inevitably has some sort of knee-jerk reactions on AI, the final response from Capitol Hill is more measured in scope.

Asked if the tech industry similarly appreciates the economic implications of its inventions, the congressman replied: I think the [tech] industry focuses, as it should, on being at the cutting edge of innovation and creating products and services that enhance productivity and improve peoples lives.

So when theyre thinking about driverless cars, do they spend more time thinking about how this will enhance productivity, and how it will [protect] safety, than the jobs that will be affected? I think the answer is probably yes, but I dont think they do it in some of kind of nefarious way, Delaney said.

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IBM is telling Congress not to fear the rise of an AI 'overlord' - Recode

Kellstrom Aerospace buys Vortex Aviation – South Florida Business … – South Florida Business Journal

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

South Florida Business Journal

Kellstrom Aerospace buys Vortex Aviation - South Florida Business ...
South Florida Business Journal
Miami Lakes-based Kellstrom Aerospace Group Inc. on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Vortex Aviation Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
AE Industrial's Kellstrom Aerospace acquires Vortex AviationMergers & Acquisitions - The Middle Market

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Kellstrom Aerospace buys Vortex Aviation - South Florida Business ... - South Florida Business Journal

Aerospace supplier breaks ground for new Riverside building – The Daily Herald

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

EVERETT Zodiac Northwest Aerospace Technologies current home just east of downtown Everett feels more like a rabbit warren than the site of a growing aerospace business.

The 20-year-old company started out in a garage in Stanwood. It soon moved to Everetts North Star building, which went up in 1901, east of the intersection of Hewitt Avenue and Broadway. Since then, it has expanded and taken over the three adjacent buildings. Built in 1935, those structures are comparatively young.

It took Northwest Aerospace Technologies (NAT) President Jim Moore about a week to learn his way around. There are too few bathrooms, too little parking and no room to grow, he said.

Weve simply outgrown the buildings were in, Moore said. Theres really nowhere else for us to go anymore.

Moores comments came at a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for NATs new home a modern facility near at Riverside Business Park, just east of Everetts Delta neighborhood. The company is working with Auburn-based Latitude Development. NAT is one of several aerospace suppliers in Snohomish County spending big sums to add production capacity.

NAT expects to move nearly 200 employees into the new building in March. The new building will have 37,000 square feet of office space and 65,500 square feet of manufacturing space. The company is an engineering-services firm focused on modifying jetliners for airlines, aircraft manufacturers and airplane leasing companies. In 2012, Frances Zodiac Aerospace bought NAT. In January, another French aerospace giant, Safran, agreed to buy Zodiac. That deal, however, is not finalized and could unravel. If the merger does happen, NAT will become part of the worlds third largest aerospace supplier.

There are a lot of opportunities out there to fuel NATs growth, Moore said after the ceremony.

In addition to its Everett location, it also has about 20 workers in Montana. The company has about 90 engineers between the two sites.

Latitude Development also plans to put a 102,500 square foot manufacturing and office structure next to NATs new home at Riverside, most of which is owned by the Port of Everett. Latitude also is trying to find tenants for another 10.5 acres at the industrial park. The developer is working with Bellevue-based Broderick Group, which brokered the NAT deal.

All nine parcels of Riversides 85 acres are in various stages of development. FedEx is building a distribution center on one parcel. In all, the developments at the park could support 800 jobs paying more than $35 million in wages each year, according to estimates by Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

During its past life as a sawmill, the current Riverside site supported about 2,000 jobs. A mill operated there from 1915 into the 1980s, when Weyerhaeuser closed its Mill B. The Port of Everett bought the land from the timber company in 1998.

By 2005, the port was close to selling the land to Sierra Pacific Industries, which wanted to put a new sawmill there. However, that deal fell through when Sierra Pacific chose another location. The port renewed marketing Riverside in 2012. Bringing the land back to the tax rolls has been a priority for the port, said Terrie Battuello, the Port of Everetts head of business development.

The FedEx building is going up on part of a roughly 16-acre parcel sold for $5 million in 2016 by the port to KW Projects, a partnership between Kiernan Companies, a developer based in Coronado, Colorado, and West Partners, a San Diego-based investment group.

Waste Management has signed a lease for about 15 acres, and has until the end of June to complete its due diligence work at the site. The company is competing to provide Snohomish County with recycling and trash services.

The Port of Everett plans to spend about $4 million through 2018 on roads, utilities, trails and other work at Riverside.

Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.

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Aerospace supplier breaks ground for new Riverside building - The Daily Herald

STELIA Aerospace develops induction welding technology – CompositesWorld

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

STELIA Aerospace reports that it has recently invested several million euros in anR&T project called ARCHES BOX TP(2015- 2017), as part ofthe CORAC platform, the French Strategic Advisory Board for Civil Aviation Research.

Theproject, focused on use ofthermoplastic composites, is described by STELIA as a technology challenge, because thermoplastic composites are less mature thanthermoset matrix composites,and an economic issue because the use of thermoplastic compositeson fuselages for the next single-aisle aircraft generationmust be more competitive than the last generation of metallic technologies.

STELIA Aerospace has decided to develop a full thermoplastic generic andtypical airframe demonstrator (thin skin, stringers andframes) to allow a first internal evaluation in a real industrial environment. Both owner and design authorityfor the project, STELIA Aerospace has manufactured the skin via automatedfiber placement (AFP) and out-of-autoclave consolidation. STELIA Aerospace has used its own in-house R&T means located in STELIALAB (Meaulte, France), where final integration of all elementary parts has been finalized.

STELIA Aerospace has selected French suppliers in thermoplastic composites to bring complementary technology: dynamic robotic induction welding of TP stringers, fast stamping of stringers and frames and hybrid TP structure by overmolding short fiber and long fiber.

The Institut de Soudure Group was responsible for the dynamic induction welding of the stiffeners on the skin. To do this, the group developed on behalf of STELIA Aerospace, specific inducers that take into account the technical characteristics of the materials used. For several years, the Institut de Soudure has developed competence in the welding of composite materials reinforced with carbon fiber based on thermoplastic matrix (PEEK, PEKK, PPS), also applicable to more conventional matrix materials such as PA or PP.

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STELIA Aerospace develops induction welding technology - CompositesWorld

Global Aerospace Floor Panel Market by Aircraft Type, by Core Material Type, by End-User Type, and by Region, Trend … – PR Newswire (press release)

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

LONDON, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This report, from Stratview Research, studies the floor panel market in the global aerospace industry over the period 2017 to 2022. The report provides detailed insights into the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities in the market.

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4956455/

The Global Aerospace Floor Panel Market: Highlights

The global aerospace floor panel market was valued at US$ 340.4 million in 2016 and is forecasted to grow at a healthy CAGR of 5.8% over the next five years to reach US$ 468.8 million in 2022. Healthy expected future growth rate offers a plethora of opportunities to the entire ecosystem of the market. Increasing production rates of key commercial and regional aircraft, such as B737, B787, A320, A350XWB, and C Series; upcoming commercial and regional aircraft, such as Comac C919 and Mitsubishi MRJ; requirement of lightweight aircraft flooring, advancement in flooring technology; and increasing global aircraft fleet size are the major growth drivers of the market.

The global aerospace floor panel market is firstly segmented based on aircraft type as Narrow-Body Aircraft, Wide-Body Aircraft, Very Large Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, and General Aviation. Narrow body aircraft is expected to remain the largest segment for global aerospace floor panel market during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. Wide-body aircraft is likely to witness the highest growth in the same period, driven by an increasing demand for wide-body aircraft, such as B787 and A350XWB in developing economies, such as China and India. There is also a healthy demand for wide-body aircraft in the Middle-East region.

The global aerospace floor panel market is secondly segmented based on core material type as Nomex Honeycomb, Aluminum Honeycomb, and Others. Nomex honeycomb has been the growing choice for a wide range of applications throughout the aerospace industry including floor panels. All major aircraft type including narrow-body and wide-body aircraft are heavily relying on this unique material. Nomex honeycomb offers enormous advantages over competing materials, such as lightweight, exceptional stiffness and strength, good corrosion resistance, good fire resistance, good thermal stability, and excellent dielectric properties.

The global aerospace floor panel market is thirdly segmented based on end-user type as OEM and aftermarket. OEM is likely to remain the largest end-user type during the forecast period, driven by an increasing demand for commercial and regional aircraft across regions. Both OEMs and aftermarket segments are likely to witness healthy growth rates over the next five years.

The global aerospace floor panel market is finally segmented based on region as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World. North America is projected to remain the largest aerospace floor panel market during the forecast period. This region has been the pioneer in the aerospace & defense industry and is the manufacturing capital with the presence of small to large OEMs in each aircraft category. Most of the players have manufacturing and assembly plants in North America. Additionally, all major floor panel manufacturers for aerospace industry are located in the region to support OEMs for the development of advanced products meeting airline requirements.

Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth in the same period. Largest commercial aircraft fleet size; gradual shift of manufacturing/assembly plants of OEMs; and upcoming indigenous commercial and regional aircraft, such as Comac C919, ARJ21, and MRJ, fuelled by increasing passenger traffic will continue to drive the Asia-Pacific market in coming years.

Some of the major companies in the aerospace floor panel market are The Gill Corporation, Triumph Group, B E Aerospace (now Rockwell Collins), EnCore Group, and Zodiac Aerospace. New product development, adoption of advanced lightweight materials, and collaboration with OEMs are some of the key strategies adopted by companies to gain a competitive edge over other competitors.

Research Methodology

This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research's internal database and statistical tools. More than 700 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact book, press release, journals, investor presentation, white papers, patents, and articles have been leveraged to gather the data. We usually conduct more than 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and with industry experts to obtain both the qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis Market trend and forecast analysis Market segment trend and forecast Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc. Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities Emerging trends Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players Key success factors The aerospace floor panel market is segmented into the following categories.

Global Aerospace Floor Panel Market by Aircraft Type

Narrow-Body Aircraft (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Wide-Body Aircraft (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Very Large Aircraft (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Regional Aircraft (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) General Aviation (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Global Aerospace Floor Panel Market by Core Material Type

Nomex Honeycomb (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Aluminium Honeycomb (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Others (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Global Aerospace Floor Panel Market by End-User Type

OEM (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Aftermarket (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe, APAC, and RoW) Global Aerospace Floor Panel Market by Region:

North America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico) Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, France, Russia, The UK, Spain, and Rest of the Europe) Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: Japan, China, India, and Rest of the Asia-Pacific) Rest of the world (Country Analysis: Latin America, Middle East, and Others)

Report Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to 3)

SWOT analysis of key players (up to 3)

Market Segmentation

Current market segmentation of any one of the aircraft type by core material type

Competitive Benchmarking

Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4956455/

About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com

For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: query@reportbuyer.com Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: http://www.reportbuyer.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-aerospace-floor-panel-market-by-aircraft-type-by-core-material-type-by-end-user-type-and-by-region-trend-forecast-competitive-analysis-and-growth-opportunity-2017-a-2022-300480537.html

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BRIEF-LMI Aerospace terminates certain credit agreement in connection with consummation of Sonaca merger – Reuters

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

June 27 LMI Aerospace Inc:

* LMI Aerospace Inc says in connection with consummation of merger with Sonaca S.A, co terminated certain credit agreement, dated as of June 19, 2014

* LMI Aerospace Inc says outstanding borrowings under credit agreement were paid in full, collateral securing repayment of amounts due under credit agreement was released

* LMI Aerospace Inc says co caused to be irrevocably deposited with U.S. Bank national association, requisite funds to redeem 7.375% notes due 2019

* LMI Aerospace Inc says redemption payment included $224.2 million of outstanding principal, accrued unpaid interest, applicable redemption premium to redemption date

* LMI Aerospace Inc says notes, which bore interest at 7.375% per year, were scheduled to mature in june 2019 - SEC filing Source text: (bit.ly/2siJNbm) Further company coverage:

* Says there were four municipal credit defaults in calendar year 2016, all related to Puerto Rico with a total default volume of $22.6 billion

LONDON, June 27 U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she does not believe that there will be another financial crisis for at least as long as she lives, thanks largely to reforms of the banking system since the 2007-09 crash.

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BRIEF-LMI Aerospace terminates certain credit agreement in connection with consummation of Sonaca merger - Reuters

Mahindra Aerospace 10-Seat Turboprop Receives FAA, CASA Certification – Aviation Today

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Danzig

Photo: Mahindra Aerospace

Mahindra Aerospace has received a FAR 23 type certificate from Australias Civil Aviation Safety Authority for its Airvan 10, the company said. Australias first 10-seat, single-engine turbine aircraft has also received a type certificate from the FAA.

This [certification] comes as a cornerstone for civil aviation, said S P Shukla, chairman of Mahindra Aerospace and group president of aerospace and defense for Mahindra Group. This certification under stringent safety standards in place today aligns with Mahindra Groups focus on introducing world-class products in fast changing general aviation world, which will be dominated significantly by turboprops in this class of aircraft. Todays certifications enhance our global reach further, with specific focus on large markets for regional connectivity, such as India and Africa.

Mahindra is based in India, while its subsidiary, manufacturer GippsAero, is based in Australia.

For our Australia and India teams, this is a much deserved recognition. This now gives us an opportunity to progress into the next stage of the program, which will address customer and region-specific enhancements to the aircraft, said Keith Douglas, CEO of GippsAero. We expect delivery of the first aircraft to identified customers by the early 2018. There has been a significant demand for such an aircraft in expanding general aviation turboprop market and we are confident we will fill the gap by providing this cost effective solution.

Mahindra Aerospace said its Airvan 10 is the turbocharged version of the Airvan 8. The Airvan 10 is powered by a Rolls-Royce 250 B-17, which produces 450-shaft horsepower. Its because of the engine, Mahindra Aerospace said, that the Airvan 10 is the most economical 10-seat turboprop in its class. It can perform missions including skydiving, passenger transport, freight, recreation and others. The Airvan 10s typical cruise speed is 145 KTASand has a certified ceiling of 20,000 feet. It has a wingspan of over 40 feet, with a 50-inch cabin door.

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Mahindra Aerospace 10-Seat Turboprop Receives FAA, CASA Certification - Aviation Today

Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation Awards the Khalid Mahmud MD Outstanding Student Scholarship at the High … – PR Web (press release)

Posted on June 27, 2017 by ev1

Pictured left to right: Charles E. Crutchfield, III M.D., Laschelle Jameson and David T.C Ellis.

Eagan, MN (PRWEB) June 26, 2017

Crutchfield Dermatology was pleased to award Laschelle Jameson, with the Khalid Mahmud, M.D memorial scholarship from the Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation.

About Khalid Mahmud M.D. : He was born in the village of Gujrat, Pakistan on May 25, 1938 and was a graduate of the King Edward Medical College in Lahore. He immigrated to the United States in 1964 to advance his medical career. With Board Certifications in Oncology, Hematology, Internal Medicine and Anti-Aging Medicine, Khalid spent his career in the pursuit of healing and good health. Some of Dr. Mahmud's most esteemed accomplishments include former Chief of Medicine and Medical Director of Oncology at North Memorial Medical Center in Minneapolis; first Medical Director of the North Memorial Cancer Center (Hubert H. Humphrey Cancer Center); former member Board of Directors, American Academy of Homecare Physicians, and one of its founding members; and former member Board of Directors, American Tele-medicine Association. He was also a member of the Board of Directors and one of the founders of the N.C. Little Memorial Hospice in Edina, MN, where he also spent his final days. Additionally, he was a published author and true entrepreneur, starting businesses in Home Healthcare (CareVan, Medysis), Home Telemedicine (American TeleCare) and Anti-Aging (Innovative Directions in Health). Dr. Mahmud was widely recognized as a visionary and innovator throughout his career.

"He started the businesses as a way to help people," said his wife of 38 years, Marilyn, of Hopkins. "He was always thinking of ways to help people. He wanted to be remembered as a man who did his job and did it right, and that is what he did."

Laschelle received this award for her overall commitment to, recovery and improvement in the High School for Recording Arts program. She is a role model for her service to the community, participating in events on a regular basis. Her perseverance and hard work have paid off with improvement and success academically and in the High School for Recording Arts program. said David TC Ellis, Executive Director of HSRA.

Over 200 community members, civic leaders, community members, sponsors, and supporters gathered for the Second Annual Gala, held Saturday, June 3rd. Guests enjoyed a buffet-style sit-down dinner and live musical performances by HSRA students. David "T.C." Ellis, the HSRA founder, explained, "We are particularly grateful to our sponsor, Crutchfield Dermatology."

Crutchfield Dermatology scholarships go to qualified students to lessen the burden of higher education. The scholarships can be used for supplies, books or tuition at licensed, accredited institutions of higher education (including trade schools) and are paid directly to the educational institution. For more information about the Crutchfield Dermatology scholarship program, please visit https://www.crutchfielddermatology.com/foundation

About Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation:

Crutchfield Dermatology's Foundation involvement in the community stems from Charles E. Crutchfield III MD and his passion as a mentor, teacher, and leader. The charitable branch of Crutchfield Dermatology was set up to encourage volunteer work and community enrichment, and the teaching and mentorship of physicians at all levels of training. The charitable branch provides scholarships and creates articles, educational presentations, online materials, and books. Major successes include support of a one-of-a-kind lectureship on ethnic skin at the University of Minnesota, and publishing and distributing a childrens book protecting skin from solar damage.

Crutchfield Dermatology is a key supporter of Camp Discovery, a summer camp for children with severe skin diseases. Dr. Crutchfield also has created and sustained a named lectureship at the University of Minnesota dedicated to ethnic skin. Through the foundations combined works he has been at the forefront of improving the health of Minnesotans, and particularly Minnesotans of color.

One of their premier events has been its annual 5K in Eagan, MN. This year they will be shifting gears and bringing attention to distracted driving, the impact of it and what can be done to help prevent it. Going into its sixth year, the Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation has been very successful, raising funds to benefit the American Academy of Dermatologys Camp Discovery program. The date for this years Distracted Driving event will be Saturday, October 14th, 2017, at the Bloomington Center of Arts, in Bloomington, MN. For more details visit http://www.CrutchfieldDermatology.com

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Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation Awards the Khalid Mahmud MD Outstanding Student Scholarship at the High ... - PR Web (press release)

4 Natural Skin-Care Ingredients That'll Transform Your Skin – Allure Magazine

Posted on June 27, 2017 by ev1

They come from small red berries and evergreen forests, but these skin-care ingredients can go head-to-head with their lab-grown peers. Meet the natural wonders that are generating buzz and transforming complexions.

Youve probably seen headlines like: I Washed My Face With Honey and It Was the Most Amazing Thing Ever. Though we dont actually drizzle the stuff on our face as if its a parfait, honey as a skin-care ingredient specifically manuka honey from New Zealand or Australia is, in fact, amazing. Unlike the antioxidants in other honey varieties, the ones in manuka honey are very strong, so they dont get destroyed as easily, says Jeannette Graf, a dermatologist in Great Neck, New York. Add to that the fact that manuka honey is super moisturizing and suddenly smearing it on directly from the jar doesnt seem so crazy after all. Its also antibacterial, which means its good for acne, says Graf. Kiehls Pure Vitality Skin Renewing Cream relies on the ingredients high polyphenol content to protect the skin barrier while moisturizing, and Kate Somerville Goat Milk De-Puffing Eye Balm ($38) pairs manuka honey with peptides to soften lines and leave skin dewy.

Free Chess Engine recommendation? – Chess Forums – Chess.com

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Danzig

Hey, everyone. I've recently become aware of how using a Chess Engine can help you improve at chess. I've been watching a lot of videos on youtube and the commentators always mention how they are using a Chess Engine to analyze the games or positions on the chess board.

I was wondering if there are any completely free Chess Engines I can download that can help me analyze positions? I currently have Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition, but the Chess Engine that comes with it isn't very intuitive or designed well. It takes awhile to set up and I can tell it definitely isn't the best tool for what I'm looking for. Perhaps there's a Chess Engine designed for this purpose? Maybe something that explains the reasons why the move the engine recommends is optimal?

Does anyone know of any free Chess Engines that are very good at helping you analyze chess positions and finding the next best move?

As a side note, I will not use the Chess Engine to cheat. I strictly want to use this as a tool to improve my own skill. It's something I've come to realize that will help me progress in skill. Often in my games I come to a moment where I can't figure out the best move. I then make a move never knowing whether it was right or wrong, and because of this I don't learn from possible mistakes.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

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Free Chess Engine recommendation? - Chess Forums - Chess.com

Lady Eli, Cloud Computing Among Workers for Brown – BloodHorse.com (press release) (registration) (blog)

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Danzig

Trainer Chad Brown sent out a number of graded stakes winners to work on Belmont Park's main track June 25.

Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's grade 1 winner Practical Joke breezed four furlongsin :48.09 as he gears up for the $400,000 Dwyer Stakes (G3) July 8.

The Into Mischief colt, who will make his first start in the Dwyer since a fifth-place run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), seeks his first win of his 3-year-old campaignafter runner-up efforts in the Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes and Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (both G2).

"He breezed and continues to train very well ahead of the Dwyer," Brown said.

Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Cloud Computing also put in a maintenance work Sunday, breezingfour furlongs in :49.49. It was his second work since winning the second leg of the Triple Crown May 20. Also owned by Klaravich and Lawrence, Cloud Computing is training toward the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2)July 29 at Saratoga Race Course.

Grade 1 winners Lady Eli and Antonoe breezed in company and covered four furlongs in :49.42. Lady Eli, who most recently won the Gamely Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, is slated to make her next start on Saratoga's opening weekend in the $500,000 Diana Stakes (G1T).

Brown said Antonoe, fresh off her win in the Longines Just a Game Stakes (G1T)June 10, is also a possibility for the Diana.

"They went together. They're a good team and we're happy with both of them," Brown said.

Don Alberto Stable'sRubilinda, the first U.S. winner for 10-time group 1 winner Frankel, was scratched from the June 24 Wild Applause Stakes after the race was moved off the turf.

"It puts me in a bad spot. I likely now will have to go on to an allowance race and if she does well, then on to a stakes race," Brown said. "I'd like to run her (at Belmont)if I could."

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winnerNew Money Honey and grade 3 winnerFifty Fivetwo of the four expected Brown entrants for the $1 million Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1T) July 8are expected to breeze on the turf June 26 at Belmont.

Lady Eli, Cloud Computing Among Workers for Brown - BloodHorse.com (press release) (registration) (blog)

Cloud computing key to 4th industrial revolution – News VietNamNet – VietNamNet Bridge

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Danzig

Cloud computing is a crucial technological trend and has become an important technology during the fourth industrial revolution, according to Nguyen Thanh Phuc, Director General of the Authority of Information Technology Application.

Cloud computing is a crucial technological trend and has become an important technology during the fourth industrial revolution

Phuc made the remarks at the recent Vietnam Cloud Computing Conference 2017, sponsored by the Vietnam Software Association (VINASA), in coordination with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore).

Of note, Vietnamese ministries and authorities have boosted information and technology applications, the building of e-government and improved the investment environment to create clear and favourable conditions for enterprises, said he.

Also at the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Minh Khuong from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy delivered a presentation about a survey on cloud computing at 800 enterprises and organisations in Vietnam.

The survey results indicated that the country had the fastest growth in investment for cloud computing in the 2010-16 period among ASEAN countries, increasing 64.4 percent per year, higher than the average in ASEAN (49.5 percent) and the world (42.5 percent).

However, real spending on cloud computing in Vietnam was still rather low last year, which was 107 times lower than in Singapore; 6.5 times lower than Malaysia; 2.4 times lower compared with Thailand and 1.3 times lower compared with the Philippines, he added.

The above numbers revealed that there were many barriers to promoting cloud computing in Vietnam. The largest barrier is the popular use of unlicensed software, the lack of knowledge about the benefits of cloud computing, information security concerns and the quality of cloud services in Vietnam, he said.

According to experts at the conference, in the early stages of digital transformation, priority should be given to developing ICT infrastructure, especially broadband connections and cloud computing applications.

At the same time, there should be priority policies created for cloud computing, in order to trigger digital conversions using big data and Internet of Things applications.

Nguyen Dinh Thang, VINASA Vice Chairman, added that cloud computing offered tremendous benefits, such as product and service standardisation, investment cost reductions, the shortening of the time to develop products and improvements in the quality of services.

Therefore, the agency proposed that the government need to have an orientation policy, while businesses and organisations need to develop strategies on research, investment and early cloud applications to improve production and business efficiency, contributing to the countrys economic development and boosting the countrys progress during the fourth industrial revolution.

VNA

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Cloud computing key to 4th industrial revolution - News VietNamNet - VietNamNet Bridge

How the cloud has changed education and training – TNW

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Danzig

A few years ago, the cloud was a promise to reduce costs of IT and improve flexibility and scaling by providing on-demand computing, storage and services to every organization.

Today, the cloud is a ubiquity we take for granted. We expect every file, every service and digital asset we have to be available across all our devices everywhere we go, at any time of the day.

The omnipresence of the cloud has streamlined and transformed quite a number of domains, including education. Today, thanks to cloud computing, education and training has become more affordable, flexible and accessible to millions of people and thousands of businesses.

Heres a look at how cloud-based education has changed things for the better.

One of the problems schools and training departments in organizations have constantly struggled with is to keep up with hardware, software and IT staff costs and complexities. In contrast, the cloud has been offering low-cost, subscription-based model that can support more companies and organizations.The elegance of the cloud is that the user only requires little more than a browser and an internet connection. This is a welcome shift from the need to manually install and update applications on every single computer in a department.

In the past years, solutions such as Googles suite of educational tools have provided schools with a free access to general classroom tools such as word processors, spreadsheets and presentation software. Cloud applications such as Google Docs allow students to easily collaborate on assignments in an easy-to-use environment.

Microsoft has also made its move to the cloud, providing subscription-based access to the cloud version of its popular Office suite, which it offers for free to students and teachers.

One of the interesting developments in the space has been the advent of virtual classrooms in the cloud. Virtual cloud classrooms provide teachers with a paperless way to set up classes and courses, distribute material and assignments, and track and grade student progress from their desktop browser or smartphone.On-premise virtual classroom software have existed for a while, but their installation and deployment came with heavy technical and financial requirements. In recent years, established companies such as Blackboard have started offering cloud-based services, making it possible for more schools and institutions to enroll.

Bigger tech corporations are also entering the space. Google launched its Classroom app as part of G Suite for Education in 2014 and Microsoft released its own Classroom last year. Both solutions revolve around providing a unified environment to better use office cloud apps in managing classes.

Cloud platforms can be a boon to professional education. For instance, IT training is traditionally associated with large investments in hardware and complex setup costs. However specialized cloud platforms have provided a flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy alternative.

One example is CloudShare, a provider of cloud-based virtual machines, which enables companies to setup virtual training labs for their training sessions. With CloudShare, trainers can create any number of VMs of various operating systems in a virtual class environment, assign them to students, monitor their use and actively assist students when needed.The use of cloud computing and virtual classes in IT training brings huge benefits by cutting back hardware costs and complexity while providing an interactive experience that is not possible in legacy classroom settings. It also benefits companies that need to train staff and employees across the world by sparing them additional traveling and trainer fees.

By 2025, the global demand for higher education will double to approximately 200 million students per year, mostly from emerging economies. Elsewhere, the disruption of the economy and employment landscape by artificial intelligence is increasing demand for professional training in various fields.

But thanks to cloud-based education, more and more people can now attend academic and professional courses. In recent years, weve seen the emergence of massive open online courses (MOOCs) platforms, which provide easy and affordable (sometimes free) access to knowledge and training.

In 2012, Stanford University professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller founded Coursera, a cloud platform that offers online courses, specializations, and degrees in a variety of subjects, including data science, computer science, engineering and medicine. Aside from Stanford, other top universities such as Princeton, University of Michigan and Penn State University are now using the platform to offer their programs to students worldwide.

Applicants can enroll for courses, specialization certificates or full higher education degrees. As of 2017, the platform offers more than 2,000 courses and has more than 24 million registered users worldwide.

edX, a platform similar to Coursera created by Harvard University in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, added high school education to its platform in 2014 to help people across the world get access to secondary education.Tech corporations have launched their own education platforms to give access to knowledge and education in specific fields. One example is IBMs Big Data University, a free platform that aims to put more people into data science and machine learning jobs and now has more than 400,000 signed up users.

Cloud-based learning platforms offer anyone with an internet connection classrooms, lectures, course material and a seamless environment where they can learn at their own pace and work on assignments and projects on any device and anywhere they go.

With such huge amounts of data being collected and processed in the cloud, the next step of cloud education is the integration of artificial intelligence in the process. AI algorithms can assist both teachers and students in the learning process, finding pain-points in the teaching process and lending a hand where learners are struggling. Most major vendors have either taken their first steps or are now considering integrating AI-powered tools in their training solutions.

Weve already seen acceleration and enhancements in education and training thanks to the cloud. What will come next can be even more exciting.

Read next: Facebook has a magical Harry Potter easter egg to celebrate the books 20th anniversary

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How the cloud has changed education and training - TNW

Google to Achieve "Supremacy" in Quantum Computing by the End of 2017 – Big Think

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Danzig

Google to Achieve "Supremacy" in Quantum Computing by the End of 2017

Racism is a Disease That Everyone Suffers From, Says 'Racists Anonymous'

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9-qubit quantum processor. Credit: Julian Kelly/Google.

In theory, quantum computers could be vastly superior to regular or classical computers in performing certain kinds of tasks, but its been hard to build one. Already a leader in this field, Google is now testing its most powerful quantum chip yet,a 20-qubit processor,which the company looks to more than double in power to 49 qubits by the end of 2017.

Google's qubit devices are built on integrated circuits and can perform calculations using the physics of quantum mechanics.Qubits(or quantum bits) are units of quantum information that can be a mix of 0 and 1at the same time,making them better suited than classical bits for encoding large amounts of data.

Last year, Google actually released a plan on how it will achieve what it called quantum supremacy - getting quantum computers to do something the classical computers cannot, like factoring very large numbers. The paper says that if the processors manage to get to 50 qubits, quantum supremacy would be possible.

One big issue for Google to resolve - figuring out how to simulate what randomly arranged quantum circuits would do. Even a small difference in input into such a system would produce extremely different outputs, requiring a great amount of computing power that doesnt currently exist.

Theyre doing a quantum version of chaos, is how Simon Devitt from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan described Googles challenge. The output is essentially random, so you have to compute everything.

Computational difficulties aside, Google and other companies like IBM are moving along quicker than expected in their development. While they figured out the science necessary to create the qubits, the next challenges lie in scaling down their systems and reducing error rates.

The engineer Alan Ho from Googles quantum AI lab revealed that his teams current 20-qubit system has the error measure also known as two-qubit fidelity of 99.5%. The goal for the 49-qubit system would be to reach 99.7% fidelity.

It might take until 2027 until we get error-free quantum computers, according to Ho, meaning that usable devices are still some time away.

For more on how quantum computing works, check out this video: