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Obama moves to split cyberwarfare command from the NSA

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Danzig

With weeks to go in his tenure, President Obama on Friday moved to end the controversial dual-hat arrangement under which the National Security Agency and the nations cyberwarfare command are headed by the same military officer.

It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will support such a move. A transition official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the next administrations plans, said only that cybersecurity has been and will be a central focus of the transition effort.

Pressure had grown on Obama to make such a move on the grounds that the two jobs are too large for one person to handle, that the two organizations have fundamentally different missions and that U.S. Cyber Command, or Cybercom, needed its own leader to become a full-fledged fighting force.

[Obama to be urged to split cyberwar command from NSA

While the dual-hat arrangement was once appropriate in order to enable a fledgling Cybercom to leverage NSAs advanced capabilities and expertise, Cybercom has since matured to the point where it needs its own leader, Obama said in a statement accompanying his signing of the 2017 defense authorization bill.

Cybercoms mission is, when ordered, to disrupt and destroy adversaries networks. It is also to defend the nation against incoming threats to critical systems and to protect the militarys computers from cyberattack.

The NSA also has a defensive mission to protect the governments classified networks but is better known for its role in conducting electronic spying on overseas targets to gather intelligence on adversaries and foreign governments.

Cybercom, established in 2009 inside the NSA headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., has long depended on the spy agencys capabilities. NSA and Cybercom personnel sit side by side and use the same networks that were built by the NSA.

The two organizations should have separate leaders who are able to devote themselves to each organizations respective mission and responsibilities, but should continue to leverage the shared capabilities and synergies developed under the dual-hat arrangement, Obama wrote.

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. earlier recommended to Obama that the two organizations have separate heads.

Obama had been on the verge of ending the dual-hat leadership in late 2013 but was persuaded to hold off when senior officials, including the NSAs director at the time, Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, argued that the two agencies needed one leader to ensure that the NSA did not withhold resources from Cybercom.

Others, including a presidential review commission, recommended that each of the two groups have its own leader and that the NSA director be a civilian. Since its inception in 1952, the NSA has been led by military officers.

The bill that Obama signed bars the splitting of the leadership role until the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff jointly certify that to do so would not diminish Cybercoms effectiveness.

Obama took a swipe at Congress for imposing that requirement on him.

The Congress ... should not place unnecessary and bureaucratic administrative burdens and conditions on ending the dual-hat arrangement at a time when the speed and nature of cyber threats requires agility in making decisions about how best to organize and manage the nations cyber capabilities, he wrote.

Obama said that the Pentagon and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have planned a phased transition during which the NSA can continue to provide vital operational support to Cybercom.

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Obama moves to split cyberwarfare command from the NSA

Abington, Massachusetts – Wikipedia

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Danzig

Before the Europeans made their claim to the area, the local Native Americans referred to the area as Manamooskeagin, meaning "great green place of shaking grass." Two streams in the area were named for the large beaver population: Schumacastacut or "upper beaver brook" and Schumacastuscacant or "lower beaver brook."[3]

Abington was first settled by European settlers in 1668. The lands included the current towns of Bridgewater, Rockland, Whitman, and parts of Hanover. The town was officially incorporated in 1712,[1] having been named six years earlier by Governor Joseph Dudley as a tribute to Anne Venables-Bertie, Countess of Abingdon, wife of the second Earl of Abingdon, who helped him secure the governorship of the colony from Queen Anne. The Earl of Abingdon is named from Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire (then Berkshire), UK. Indeed the original petition from Governer Dudley ordered that "the Town be named Abingdon". A marginal note on the document gave the spelling as "Abington" as it has been known ever since.[3]

In 1769, an iron foundry was established within the town. In 1815, Jesse Reed invented a machine that mass-produced tacks, which in turn led to the shoe industry becoming established in the town.[1] During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the manufacture of boots and shoes was its primary industry, with nearly half of the footwear provided for the Union Army during the Civil War being provided by Abington factories.[1] From 1846 to 1865, Abington was a center of the abolitionist movement.[1] In 1874 and 1875, the towns of Rockland and Whitman, respectively, separated and incorporated as towns.

In 1893, the town was the site of a riot between town constables and workers from the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, over the town's rights to build a streetcar line that crossed the railroad's tracks. The town eventually built the line, and as a "peace offering", the railroad built the North Abington Depot building, which was built in the style of H. H. Richardson.[4]

Abington has evolved into a predominantly residential community with some light manufacturing including printing and machine-tool.[1]

Abington is located at 42710N 705652W / 42.11944N 70.94778W / 42.11944; -70.94778 (42.119534, -70.947876).[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 9.9 square miles (25.6km2), of which 9.7 square miles (25.0km2) is land and 0.23 square miles (0.6km2), or 2.41%, is water.[6]

Abington ranks 308th of 351 communities in the Commonwealth, and is the fourth-smallest town (behind Hull, Whitman and Rockland) in Plymouth County. Abington is bordered by Holbrook to the northwest, Weymouth to the northeast, Rockland to the east, Whitman to the south, and Brockton to the west. Abington is considered to be an inland town of the South Shore, and is located approximately 20 miles (32km) south of Boston.

Abington has two major waterways; the Shumatuscacant River to the west provides the town's border with Brockton, and Beaver Brook runs through the eastern part of town; it was the source of much of the water power used by the shoe factories. In the northwestern corner of town lies Ames Nowell State Park, a large forested area around Cleveland Pond. Island Grove Pond was created in the 1700s, when a dam was built on the Shumatuscacant River. Much of the town's population is centered on the eastern side of town, closer to the former town geographic center. The northeast corner of town is also the site of portions of the runways of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station, which was closed in 1997 as a part of the fourth round of BRAC base closures.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Kppen climate classification system, Abington has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[7]

As of the census of 2010, there were 15,985 people, 6,080 households, and 4,111 families residing in the town with 6,377 total housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 92.5% White, 2.1% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.

There were 6,080 households out of which 33.6% had individuals under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 25.1% of all households consisted of someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the town the age distribution of the population shows 25.2% under the age of 19, 5.6% from 20 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. Males made up 48.9% of the population, while females made up 51.1%.[18]

The median income for a household in the town, based on a 20062010 projection, was $74,589.[19] In 2000, the median income for a family was $68,826. Males had a median income of $44,151 versus $30,923 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,380. About 2.1% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Statistically speaking, Abington is the 125th largest community by population in the Commonwealth, and ranks 71st by population density. Its population is lower than the population average but above the median; the population density is above the average.

On the national level, Abington is a part of Massachusetts's 8th congressional district, and is represented by Stephen Lynch. The state's senior (Class II) member of the United States Senate, elected in 2012, is Elizabeth Warren. The junior (Class I) senator, elected in 2013, is Edward Markey.

On the state level, Abington is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Seventh Plymouth district, which includes the towns of East Bridgewater and Whitman. The Seventh Plymouth district is represented by Geoff Diehl. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate by John Keenan, as a part of the Norfolk and Plymouth District, which includes Holbrook, Quincy, Rockland and part of Braintree.[20] The town is patrolled by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.[21]

Abington is governed by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a town manager and a board of selectmen. The town operates its own police and fire department, with firehouses located in the north and south of town along Route 18. There are two post offices in town, on Route 123 east of Route 18 and on Route 58 north of Route Route 139. The Abington Public Library, a member of the Old Colony Library Network, is located adjacent to the town hall, both of which opened in 1997 across from the high school. The town operates a park, Island Grove Park, located in the southeast of town. Current Board of Selectmen (April 2016): Maureen Jansen (Chairman); Kenneth Coyle (Vice-Chairman); R. Andrew Burbine; Bob Manning; Alex Bezanson; [22]

There are two main north-south routes through town, Route 18 and Route 58, the latter terminating at the former just a 0.5 miles (800m) north of the town line. Route 123 and Route 139 run east to west through the town, with Route 139 being the more northern route. There is no freeway access to town; the town is located between Route 24 and Route 3.

The former Old Colony Railroad line runs through the eastern part of town, and is currently used as a part of the Plymouth-Kingston route of the MBTA's commuter rail line. There is a stop in Abington, just southwest of the intersection of Routes 123 and 58. A spur off the line formerly went into the town of Rockland; that spur is now abandoned. There is no air service in the town; the nearest national and international air service can be found at Logan International Airport in Boston.

On June 10, 2012, Abington celebrated the 300th anniversary of its incorporation.[23]

Behavioral Science | The University of Chicago Booth School …

Posted on December 28, 2016 by ev1

Behavioral Science involves research on how people make judgments and decisions, and how they interact with one another. Research in this area draws on theory and methods from cognitive and social psychology, economics, and other related fields. Behavioral Science applies these disciplines to study human behavior in a wide range of managerial and organizational contexts. Examples include:

Students focus their studies on the subset of research topics that best fit their interests and career goals and augment their studies with work in one of several support areas, which include:

Further, studies in Behavioral Science can be paired with studies in Marketing for a focus on consumer behavior, with Finance for a focus on financial decision making, and with many other scholarly fields. In addition to courses offered at Chicago Booth, students take courses in Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Public Policy, and other university departments.

The Behavioral Science program also offers theJoint Program in Psychology and Business,which is run jointly by the behavioral science dissertation area at Chicago Booth and theDepartment of Psychology in the Division of theSocial Sciences at the University of Chicago.

For more details about the PhD Program in behavioral science at Chicago Booth, see General Examination Requirements - By Area in the PhD Program Guidebook (PDF).

To learn more about the research being done by current PhD students, please view alisting of proposals and defenses across dissertation areas.

Meet the Faculty Explore research interests, publications, and course offerings of Behavioral Science Dissertation Area faculty.

Christopher Bryan Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and FMC Faculty Scholar

Research Interests: Psychological influence, behavioral decision-making, and political psychology with a particular interest in psychology as it relates to social and public policy Faculty Profile

Eugene Caruso Associate Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Social judgment, group decision making and negotiation, egocentrism, perspective taking, and ethics Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Nicholas Epley John Templeton Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow

Research Interests: The experimental study of social cognition, perspective-taking, and intuitive human judgment Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Ayelet Fishbach Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing

Research Interests: Social psychology, with specific emphasis on motivation, emotion, and decision making Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Reid Hastie Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Judgment and decision making (managerial, legal, medical, engineering, and personal), memory and cognition, and social psychology Faculty Profile

Christopher Hsee Theodore O. Yntema Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing

Research Interests: The interplay among psychology and economics, happiness, marketing, and cross-cultural psychology Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Emma Levine Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests:Interpersonal trust and ethical decision-making; the tension between honesty and benevolence. Faculty Profile

Ann McGill Sears Roebuck Professor of General Management, Marketing, and Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Consumer and manager decision making, with special emphasis on causal explanations, differences in judgments in public and private, and the use of imagery in product choice Faculty Profile

Ed O'Brien Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Social cognition and hedonic processes Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Devin Pope Professor of Behavioral Science and Robert King Steel Faculty Fellow

Research Interests: Behavioral economics, with special interest in empirically testing the impact of psychological biases in economic markets Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Jane Risen Associate Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Judgment and decision making, belief formation, magical thinking, stereotyping and prejudice, and managing emotion Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Anuj Shah Associate Professor of Behavioral Science and Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow

Research Interests: How decision makers deal with limited resources Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Thomas Talhelm Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: How culture affects the way we behave Faculty Profile

Richard Thaler Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics Economics Faculty Director, Center for Decision Research

Research Interests: Behavioral economics and finance; the psychology of decision making Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Bernd Wittenbrink Robert S. Hamada Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Experimental social psychology, specifically the influence of stereotypes on social judgments Faculty Profile | Personal Website

George Wu John P. and Lillian A. Gould Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: The psychology of individual, managerial, and organizational decision making; decision analysis; and cognitive biases in bargaining and negotiation Faculty Profile | Personal Website

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Behavioral Science | The University of Chicago Booth School ...

Psychedelic – PsychonautWiki

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Psychedelics are a class of hallucinogens named so because the term is derived from the Greek words (psyche, "mind") and (delein, "to manifest"). The term means "mind-manifesting" with the implication being that psychedelics can access and develop unused potentials of the human mind.[1] In modern times, psychedelic drugs used in the context of religious, shamanic, or spiritual settings are often referred to as entheogens.[2]

Psychedelics act on serotonin receptors (also referred to as 5-HT receptors) via the way in which they act as full or partial agonists through their structural similarity to the serotonin molecule. DMT, for example, works by simply fitting into and activating serotonin receptors. It has a higher affinity than serotonin itself for the receptors, therefore preventing serotonin from binding to the receptors by competing with it.

While the method of action behind psychedelics is not fully understood, serotonergic psychedelics are known to show affinities for various 5-HT receptors in different ways and levels and may be classified by their activity at different 5-HT sub-sites, such as 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, etc. Many serotonergic psychedelics (such as the tryptamines) have very strong structural similarities to serotonin itself which partially explains the affinity for certain 5-HT sites. It is almost unanimously agreed that serotonergic psychedelics produce their effects by acting as strong partial agonists at the 5-HT2A receptors, with a few exceptions acting as full agonists (such as 25I-NBOMe).

The effects listed below are based upon the subjective effects index and personal experiences of PsychonautWiki contributors. The listed effects will rarely (if ever) occur all at once, but heavier doses will increase the chances and are more likely to induce a full range of effects. Likewise, adverse effects become much more likely on higher doses and may include injury or death.

In comparison to the other classes of hallucinogen, this effect is very common at moderate to heavy dosages. It can be comprehensively described through its variations as lucid in believability, interactive in style, new experiences in content, autonomous in controllability, geometry-based in style and almost exclusively of a personal, religious, spiritual, science-fiction, fantasy, surreal, nonsensical or transcendental nature in their overall theme.

The classical psychedelics are all classed as serotonergic in nature. This means that they structurally mimic the endogenous neurotransmitter known as serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of well-being and mood regulation.[6] The diagram to the right shows the structural similarities and differences between the differing classes of psychedelics and the serotonin neurotransmitter. The three classes (phenethylamines, lysergamides and tryptamines) all contain the same chemical rings (which have been labelled).

The information below describes and explains various concepts regarding the responsible use of psychedelic compounds. These should be read over and considered before one decides whether or not it will be safe to trip.

One of the most important factors to consider as an inexperienced user is one's current state of mind. Many substances exponentially enhance a person's current state of mind, emotions and general perspective on the world which is a process that can go in either a positive and euphoric direction or a negative, terrifying and anxiety ridden direction. It is because of this that many substances should not be used by the inexperienced during stressful or negative periods of life and users should be fully aware of the ways in which hallucinogens and other drugs, particularly psychedelics, consistently force a person to face and deal with their personal introspective problems that all human beings deal with.

It has often been recommended that those with severe pre-existing mental conditions (especially individuals with psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia) should not ingest these substances due to the way they strongly increase one's current state of mind and emotions as well as cause delusions and hallucinations.

Throughout the experience itself the person needs to let go and allow the effects to take charge. One should be taking the metaphorical passenger seat and never trying to control any part of the experience. It is extremely important that people simply relax and take things as they come. The user must understand that the act of tripping is often ineffable and incomprehensible at high enough dosages, meaning that an acceptance of not being able to understand the full scope of what is happening should be present at all times. One should be embracing the fact that their thought processes, although more insightful in places, will be inherently impaired along with motor control, conversational skills and general functioning. The user should be sure to view these effects as normal and not feel self-conscious or insecure about them within the presence of others.

If one is using hallucinogens, a sober, responsible trip sitter is strongly recommended to be present throughout a trip by an inexperienced individual or group with an unfamiliar substance. It is this persons responsibility to assist the individual or group by maintaining a rational and responsible frame of mind. This should be done by simply watching over the trippers and calmly reassuring them if they experience any anxiety or stress, whilst also preventing them from coming to any harm. There is an obvious correlation between the name trip sitter and babysitter; this is because at many times, trip sitting can be like babysitting and it is definitely a responsibility that must be taken just as seriously.

A good trip sitter needs to be sure of a number of things throughout the experience. They should remain (mostly) sober and should be able to empathize with the group members situation through personal experiences with the substance/similar substances or at least a considerable amount of research on their effects. Trip sitters should understand that when a person is tripping, they might not be able to communicate as they usually do. Also, their balance and spatial judgement may be off so assistance in performing physical tasks such as keeping hydrated can greatly reduce anxiety. The trip sitter can contribute to the conversation, but should also remember to leave them to explore the experience without too much external influence.

Once a person is familiar with the experience, it becomes down to them whether or not they feel comfortable enough to trip without a sitter.

An anchor, in the context of hallucinogen usage, can be defined as an activity or physical object which keeps one grounded during heavy suppression and distortion of a person's sense of time, space, language, ego and short/long-term memory. At higher dosages, this can result in extreme disorientation and confusion. Anchors are often used to counteract this and maintain one's concept of the current situation as it is within reality. Examples of anchors include:

Hallucinogens have the potential to become overwhelming and push trippers into paranoid/dreadful moods if the tripper is inexperienced or in an inappropriate setting.

If one decides that they want the trip to end, benzodiazepines and other sedatives such as some antipsychotics can be considered as an analogous "eject button" of a downhill-headed or extensively long trip. They are very useful tools in preventing panic attacks, paranoia, and possible traumatic experiences. If these are available, be sure to keep them at hand as they are extremely effective tools for mitigating a hallucinogenic crisis. Independent research should always be done to ensure that a combination of two or more substances is safe before consumption.

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Psychedelic - PsychonautWiki

Nootropic Supplements [Smart Drugs] Simple Nootropics Guide

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Nootropic is not a new thing in this world. This particular term has been around in the health industry since the early 1970s. If you split the word Nootropic into two parts. The first part of noos in Greek means mind. The second part of tropos in Greek means to turn towards. The whole word means Towards the Mind.

Nootropics have known as Smart Drugs to most people. But, you can refer these Smart Drugs as intelligence boosters or cognitive enhancers. These Nootropic supplements help you to improve your memory potential, concentration and cognitive function. Also, they can improve the long-term health of your brain.

What is Nootropics?

Usually, Nootropics is available on the online market in both pill and powder form. Some made with natural substances or man-made chemicals. Herbal or natural Nootropics are plant based. Or any kind of plant-derived compounds. They have shown to be able to help you to enhance your health and cognitive ability.

Some of the best Nootropics made from herbal on the market are Bacopa Monnieri, Huperzine A, Alpha GPC, Cats Claw, L-Theanine & L-Tyrosine. These Herbal Nootropics are as effective as the synthetic Nootropics if not better. Also, If you want to boost up your results, you can stack several of them together.

How do Nootropics work for you?

On todays market. The majority of Nootropics (eg. Glutamate. Dopamine. Acetylcholine and Serotonin) are affecting the neurotransmitters in your brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals. They act as the information messengers between nerve cells of your brain. These nerve cells called neurons. Neurotransmitters are the messengers. They relay signals to your brain. To tell your lungs to breathe or your heart to beat.

But, these messengers also play a crucial role in the cognitive function of your body. Nootropics alter the neurotransmitters to your advantage to improve how your brain functions. Some Nootropics on the market act as vasodilators. They work by boosting the flow of oxygen and blood to your brain. But, all have the same cognitive enhancing effect on your brain.

What are the benefits of Nootropic supplements?

Countless studies have proven Nootropics can provide enhanced effects on your cognitive function. This has led doctors using Nootropics for many years. They help patients to treat various conditions. Most conditions related to the brain, such as Alzheimers. ADHD and Huntingtons disease. When people realized what Nootropics can do. They will understand why Nootropics has used to treat these diseases.

But, for those people who are not suffering from the above conditions. They can still take this kind of drugs and gain benefits.

These benefits are mood enhancement. Reduced symptoms of stress and depression. Better coordination. Increased motivation and attention.

Also, they can increase memory and learning abilities.

As the chemistry of the brain for everyone is different. Different people will experience different on the effect of the same dosage. But, most important of all, people realized that Nootropic supplement does work for them. It is not some kind of pie in the sky idea. Nootropics can give you a great amount of health benefits.

Nootropic supplements are legal and safe

The side effects of Nootropic supplements are rare. They are not toxic. Despite they labeled as Smart Drugs. They are actually suitable for your daily consumption over a long period of time.

They are legal and safe for you to take as your health supplements. Nootropics have existed since the early 1970s. Many people discovered this Smart Drugs. They found the cognitive benefits are just irresistible for anyone not to notice.

To overcome issues of losing concentration. Bad mood and loss of memory, etc. You can take Nootropic supplement as your dietary supplement to help you. Whether you are someone who is having some kind of cognitive disorder. Young or old. Or just a healthy person. Nootropic supplements can offer cognitive benefits for any user. Regardless of what you are in this world.

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Nootropic Supplements [Smart Drugs] Simple Nootropics Guide

IT Automation – BMC

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

BMC digital IT powers 82% of Fortune 500 companies

IT automationwhen it works, its barely visible; when it fails, its catastrophic. Even if your automation initiative can pay for itself with hard-dollar savings in operational costs, taking an ad-hoc approach in the era of the digital enterprise puts you at a serious competitive disadvantage.

Implemented strategically, automation can deliver far greater business value by dramatically improving time to market and quality of service, increasing your ability to respond quickly to changing business requirements, and radically reducing security and compliance risks. BMC Software provides the best-practices guidance, products, and services you need to achieve a lasting competitive advantage through automation.

BMC SecOps solutions enable organizations to prioritize and remediate critical vulnerabilities and compliance violations through visibility into data center assets and their relationships.

BMC BladeLogic Server Automation helps IT rapidly remediate known vulnerabilities, and automate compliance checks for regulatory requirements such as PCI-DSS or security standards like DISA.

BMC BladeLogic Threat Director enables IT operations and security teams to prioritize and remediate threats based on potential impact to the business.

BMC BladeLogic Network Automation enables IT with a policy-based approach to regulatory standards for network management with real-time compliance audit reporting and vulnerability detection and remediation.

BMC BladeLogic Database Automation automates routine administrative tasks and compliance processes, accelerates deployment and patching, and reduces security vulnerabilities by streamlining the database management process.

BMC Discovery (formerly ADDM) automatically discovers data center inventory, configuration, and relationship data, and maps business applications to the IT infrastructure.

BMC Atrium Orchestrator allows IT staff to automate tasks via workflows that span multiple applications, systems, or infrastructure to document change and close the loop on compliance.

BMC BladeLogic Middleware Automation easily deploys, configures, and troubleshoots Java EE applications without manual steps.

Manage data center automation complexity and reduce your IT costs by leveraging the expertise of our project managers, consultants, and architects.

BMC Digital Transformation Consulting Services help develop the initiatives, structures, and capabilities you need to get the most out of your IT investments.

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IT Automation - BMC

Custom Automation & Machine Design | Automation GT

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Automation GT designs and manufactures custom machines for clients in need of reliable, efficient, and precise automated systems. Whether you have utilized automation machinery in your manufacturing processes for years or you are new to the concept of automation, we guarantee to help you at every stage of design and manufacture to ensure that you get the machine that will best meet your needs.

Since our founding in 2002, we have developed a reputation for design perfection and innovative practice, andin every facet of our business practice we live out our values of consistency, reliability, and exceptional customer service.

Our core competencies are in innovative automation and robotics design. In our company history, we have established ourselves as experienced manufacturers of machines used in a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical device production, aerospace and defense, automotive manufacturing and renewable energy. We are highly knowledgeable on production standards and requirements in each of these fields, but we do not limit ourselves to these industries, and we welcome your inquiries on machinery for other purposes.

We take pride in staying involved in our community and local Southern California automation industry, but we are global in scope and welcome new partnerships from clients all over the world.

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Custom Automation & Machine Design | Automation GT

Automation – DESHAZO

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Robotic Systems for Advanced Performance

If you want to improve the quality or productivity of an existing manual manufacturing/assembly process or lower the operating cost, DESHAZO can provide you with an engineered solution to meet your requirements. Our engineers will visit your site, observe your manufacturing processes and prepare a 3-D conceptual design of the equipment or system to meet your requirements. We employ the latest technology in design and manufacturing processes including SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Catia, and Robot Simulation software as well as CNC manufacturing equipment in our plant.

In addition, DESHAZO has the ability to analyze the financial benefits of a prospective automation project in your facility. Working with your personnel, we can assist in calculations on the projected improvement in productivity, quality and operating cost, as well as the return on investment of an automation project.

DESHAZO has the engineering and manufacturing expertise to design, build and install one work cell or a complete automation system in your facility to meet your requirements. We have the capability to handle all aspects of your automation project to provide a complete solution for your needs. We have experience in many industrial segments including steel manufacturing, foundry operations, appliance manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, construction machinery, consumer products and material handling. We have extensive experience in the following manufacturing processes:

DESHAZOs team has designed, built and installed all kinds of manual, semi-automated and fully automated assembly systems.

DESHAZO has developed solutions for virtually every type of testing and inspection situation, including mechanical, functional, electrical, and leak detection/flow measurement testing.

Whether youre working with simple gravity conveyors or complex, fully programmable sorting/inspection lines, DESHAZO can provide integrated material handling systems to suit your needs.

DESHAZO has developed robotic solutions for welding applications including precise laser welding, plastics joining, resistance welding and automated wire feed welding applications.

With DESHAZOs integrated control systems, you will be able to know, control, and react to everything that occurs in your operation. DESHAZO is proficient in the application of many controls systems including Allen Bradley, Omron, Mitsubishi, GE, and Toyopuc PLCs, as well as other custom computer programs and database design.

DESHAZO can provide you with robotic vision systems to perform quality control inspections, parts picking and other applications to lower hard tooling costs.

DESHAZO can provide you with a robotic packaging system that will determine what product goes into a particular package and then box the product.

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Automation - DESHAZO

Automation | Technologies | Systems | Integrator …

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Automation Technologies is an engineering and software development firm that offers the highest level of experience in industrial automation and process control. Our reputation for quality, reliability and affordability has been built on superior products and services provided for various industries including pharmaceutical, chemical, polymer, plastic, textile, and pulp and paper.

When you choose Automation Technologies, you benefit from the technical experience of senior engineers and specialists who average more than 15 years in their fields of automation and process control. With our broad network of corporate partners, Automation Technologies can meet virtually any automation and controls need, providing our customers with "one-stop-shopping" for technically superior solutions backed by outstanding service and support.

Wherever you are in the automation process, from planning to implementation, Automation Technologies has the experience, knowledge and flexibility to keep your company on the leading edge of automation and process control.

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Automation | Technologies | Systems | Integrator ...

Home – Enerwave Home Automation

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Z-Wave is a wireless technology that literally puts the power of controlling and monitoring your home in the palm of your hand. By installing Z-Wave technology, your regular household appliances such as lights, thermostats, sprinklers and more transform into smart appliances. Z-Wave products communicate wirelessly and securely and can be accessed and controlled remotely. Z-wave allows you to access and monitor most appliances inside your home regardless of where you are. Enerwave has a large selection of Z-Wave products that all work together to ensure that you find the best products for your home.

ZigBee is an open global wireless network which provides the basis for the Internet of Things (IoT), by allowing both smart, and simple products to work together. ZigBee is a low cost, low power, energy efficient wireless mesh network which gives you the power to connect and control almost all of the products in your home. By installing ZigBee technology, it will automatically improve your comfort, and safety. It not only allows you to remotely control your home, it also keeps you safe by alerting you of smoke levels, carbon monoxide and even water leaks. Enerwave offers a wide variety of ZigBee products to bring simplicity and relaxation into your life.

For more information, visit http://www.zigbee.org/ and http://www.z-wave.com/.

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First Amendment works and will if we still have it

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Gene Policinski, Inside the First Amendment 9:30 a.m. MST December 25, 2016

Gene Policinski writes the First Amendment column distributed by Gannett News Service. (Gannett News Service, Sam Kittner/First Amendment Center/File)(Photo: GNS)

Our First Amendment freedoms will work if we still have them around to use.

Those five freedoms religion, speech, press, assembly and petition have been challenged at various times in our nations history, as many would say they are today.

But the very freedoms themselves provide the means and mechanisms for our society to self-correct those challenges, perhaps a main reason why the First Amendment has endured, unchanged, since Dec. 15, 1791.

Case in point: The tragic mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, on June 12 was followed by a burst of anti-Islamic rhetoric across the country after the killer declared allegiance to ISIS. The speech, however hateful, generally was protected by the First Amendment.

But in turn, those attacks were followed by pushback in the other direction. Muslim leaders decried the use of their faith to justify hatred of the United States or homophobic terrorism. Opposition was ramped up to the idea of increased surveillance of Muslims in America and now-President-elect Donald Trumps suggestion for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.

In two rounds of national polling in the Newseum Institutes annual State of the First Amendment survey, support for First Amendment protection for fringe or extreme faiths actually increased after the Orlando attack, compared with sampling done in May.

The number of people who said First Amendment protection does not extend to such faiths dropped from 29 to 22 percent. In both surveys, just over 1,000 adults were sampled by telephone, and the margin of error in the surveys was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The First Amendment is predicated on the notion that citizens who are able to freely debate without government censorship or direction will exchange views, sometimes strongly and on controversial subjects, but eventually find common ground.

Of course, that kind of vigorous and robust exchange in the marketplace only can happen if there is a marketplace freedom for all to speak and a willingness to join with others in serious discussion, debate and discourse that has a goal of improving life for us all.

Heres where the survey results turn ominous: Nearly four in 10 of those questioned in the 2016 State of the First Amendment survey, which was released July 4, could not name unaided a single freedom in the First Amendment.

Perhaps not identifying by name even one of the five freedoms is not the same as not knowing you have those core freedoms. But neither does the result build confidence that, as a nation, we have a deep understanding of what distinguishes our nation among all others and is so fundamental to the unique American experience of self-governance.

We have thrived as a nation with a social order and a government structure in which the exchange of views is a key to solving problems. The nations architects had a confidence and optimism that such exchanges in the so-called marketplace of ideas would ultimately work for the public good.

What would those founders think of a society in which so many seem to favor the electronic versions of divided marketplaces that permit only that speech of which you already approve or that confirms your existing views?

Or worse yet, a society in which the five freedoms are used as weapons from cyberbullying to mass Twitter attacks to deliberate distribution of fake news to figuratively set ablaze or tear down an opponents stand?

As a nation, we cannot abandon the values of our First Amendment freedoms that protect religious liberty, that defend free expression at its widest definition and that provide a right to unpopular dissent, without fundamentally changing the character of our nation.

As a people, we must stand in defense of the values set out in the First Amendment and Bill of Rights some 225 years ago, even as we face one of the deepest public divides on a range of issues in our history.

And we must revisit and renew our faith in a concept expressed in 1664 by English poet and scholar John Milton and later woven deep into the institutional fabric of America: that in a battle between truth and falsehood, who ever knew truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institutes First Amendment Center. He can be reached at gpolicinski@newseum.org. Follow him on Twitter: @genefac.

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The Niche – Knoepfler lab stem cell blog

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

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Beloware the 2016 stem cell predictions I made last year and their status now color-coded near years end. Green is right, orange is mixed bag, and red is flat out wrong.

Overall, I did better than most past years with only having entirely blown it on four.

Stay tuned later this week for my2017 predictions, which looks to be a dramatic year in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine.

The Score Card on 2016 Predictions

Screenshot from Go, go stem cells

The University of Utah has a nifty stem cell learning resource called Go, Go Stem Cells!

One of the things I like the most about it is that it is interactive. It is also a bit quirky and funny. Both kids and adults will enjoy learning about stem cells this way.

Ive taken a screenshot above to show you the kind of interface.

What do you think of Go, go stem cells?

Do you know of other stem cell educational resources on-line?

Some amniotic stem cell clinics seem to be trying to have their cake and eat it too.

Generally the amniotic stem cell clinics market their products as stem cells and the implication is that living stem cells are used to effectively treat many medical conditions. I have not seen it mentioned that what some of the clinics, perhaps most of them, inject into patients is really a dead extract of amniotic membranes instead. Not living cells.

Are the clinics injecting amniotic stem cells or just a mishmash of dead stuff fromwhat were once cells?For any given clinic selling amniotic stem cells, who knows if what they are injecting is alive or dead.

What are the hottest stem cell trends in the field today?

Depends who you ask, right?

One impartial way to look at stem cell trendsis through the lens of publication citations and the focuses of top stem cell papers. In that perhaps somewhat skewed, but interesting approach, the words used in the titles of the 50 most cited research publications of 2016 with the phrases stem cell(s) in their titles should tell us something interesting.

Fortunately publication citation platforms these days like ISI may it a snap to collect such data with a few tricks. Then I plugged the data into a word cloud generator and ta-da I got the image above.

Cancer is the biggest word. Apparently cancer stem cells arehot in 2016, along with studies specifically on human stem cells with human as the second biggest word.

Dear FDA,

The stem cell clinic clock is ticking on you.

Before the Trump administration rolls in to possibly tie your hands on many important areas of oversight including stem cell clinics, you should take bold action now.

Your CBER branch has been preternaturally quiet on taking actual regulatory actions on stem cell clinics for several years now even though there about 600 such clinics in the U.S. operating without any FDA approvals putting thousands of patients and the stem cell field at risk. Everyone knows that you are now aware of these clinics. One warning letter in a period of years is a drop in the bucket.

For these same past few years you have issued draft guidances that if implemented would substantially changehow you regulate stem cells in ways that would quite helpfully put a stop to the mushrooming stem cell clinic industry.

Youalso held two public meetings on stem cells in 2016, which was historic, and you received both verbal and written comments from stakeholders. The REGROW Act is history and the Cures Act is now law, with important language reinforcing your role in stem cell oversight. The clinics do not by any stretch of the imagination meet the hurdles specified in Cures.

In short, much uncertainty is over. And you havedone your due diligence. The time is rightto tackle the dangerous stem cell clinic problem. You havesent clear signals that you feel strongly about proper stem cell oversight including via a late November opinion piece in the NEJMonly a few weeks ago. But words are not enough.

Issue a large coordinated series of warning letters in the next couple weeks to the scores ofclinics grossly violating your regulations by experimenting on thousands of patients for profit with unapproved drugs.Now is the time.

After Trumps inauguration all bets are off as to whether the new administrations FDA could still do anything about this serious problem. Strike now before his inauguration and make a profound positive difference.

Best regards,

Paul Knoepfler

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Florida’s Beaches – Florida Beaches and Vacations

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Bradenton

Along the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico and into Tampa Bay are over 20 miles of fine coastal shores - many which are shaded by tall Australian Pines.

The centerpiece of a number of equally beautiful beaches to its north and south. One can find a range of ambiances from very popular and energetic to quiet and relaxing.

Miles of hard-packed sand make this ideal for driving cars, four-wheelers, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles. In the summer and during spring break the area is absolutely bustling with activity. During the winter months the area takes on a more leisurely pace.

Continuing north from Miami, Fort Lauderdale is a pleasant strip accentuated with palms and numerous parks.

A world of tropical beauty and wildlife with dozens of islands to explore. The area is a playground of sand and water. Fort Myers, Bonita Beach, Sanibel Island, Captiva are just a few excellent places to enjoy the sea and sun.

Jacksonville has twenty miles of wide, beautiful shores along the the Atlantic Ocean. Swimming, surfing, windsurfing, surf fishing and sunning are popular at the coastal communities of Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville.

A strip of miles of fine golden sand with emerald waters. People flock to Miami for business, sun, water, fun and entertainment - this place really rocks!

Naples originally established itself with its spectacular beaches. It has now become equally known as an upscale community with great golfing and shopping.

Among the best in Florida with nearly 20 miles of fine sugar-sand, relatively warm and generally calm seas. In the summer the water is often crystal clear with a beautiful emerald-green hue.

Located at the west end of the panhandle, the area is best known for its many miles of pristine snow-white sand. Dunes decorated with delicate sea oats accent the coast. With so many miles of spectacular coast it is easy to find a secluded spot away from it all.

Has several miles of hard-packed sand which are bordered with beautiful natural dunes. Driving is permitted on the hard sand in some areas.

St. Pete Beach is a seven mile beach of fine white sand that so typifies the west-central coast.

Waters along the Florida coasts are generally warmer than other areas along the continental US. Surf tends to be higher on the Atlantic coast with relatively little surf on the Gulf coast (surfers take note). Sea temperatures are also warmer on the Gulf coast throughout the year compared to the Atlantic coast.

Florida sand consistency in the northwest along Pensacola, Panama City Beach and the West Coast from Clearwater through Naples is fine and very white. Beaches along the Atlantic tend to shade towards light beige with a somewhat coarser texture.

Additional resources:

Florida beach sand comparison

More Beaches of Florida

Florida Beaches by Region

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Artificial intelligence could cost millions of jobs. The …

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

The growing popularity of artificial intelligence technology will likely lead to millions of lost jobs, especially among less-educated workers, and could exacerbate the economic divide between socioeconomic classes in the United States, according to a newly released White House report.

But that same technology is also essential to improving the country's productivity growth, a key measure of how efficiently the economy produces goods. That could ultimately lead to higher average wages and fewer work hours. For that reason, the report concludes, our economy actually needs more artificial intelligence, not less.

To reconcile the benefits of the technology with its expected toll, the report states, the federal government should expand both access to education in technical fields and the scope of unemployment benefits. Those policy recommendations, which the Obama administration has made in the past, could head off some of those job losses and support those who find themselves out of work due to the coming economic shift, according to the report.

The White House report comes exactly one month before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, meaning Obama will need his successor to execute on the policy recommendations. That seems unlikely, especially as far as unemployment protections are concerned. Congressional Republicans already aim to curtail some existing entitlement programs to reduce government spending.

Rolling back Social Security protections for out-of-work families "would potentially be more risky at a time when you have these types of changes in the economy that we're documenting in this report," Jason Furman, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in a call with reporters.

Research conducted in recent years varies widely on how many jobs will be displaced due to artificial intelligence, according to the report. A 2016 study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that 9 percent of jobs would be completely displaced in the next two decades. Many more jobs will be transformed, if not eliminated. Two academics from Oxford University, however, put that number at 47 percent in a study conducted in 2013.

The staggering difference illustrates how much the impact of artificial intelligence remains speculative. While certain industries, such as transportation and agriculture, appear to be embracing the technology with relative haste, others are likely to face a slower period of adoption.

"If these estimates of threatened jobs translate into job displacement, millions of Americans will have their livelihoods significantly altered and potentially face considerable economic challenges in the short- and medium-term," the White House report states.

Those same studies were consistent, however, when it came to the population that would feel the economic brunt of artificial intelligence. The workers earning less than $20 per hour and without a high school diploma would be most likely to see their jobs automated away. The projections improved if workers earned higher wages or obtained higher levels of education.

Jobs that involve a high degree of creativity, analytical thinking or interpersonal communication are considered most secure.

The report also highlights potential advantages of the technology. It could lead to greater labor productivity, meaning workers have to work fewer hours to produce the same amount. That could lead to more leisure time and a higher quality of life, the report notes.

"As we look at AI, our biggest economic concern is that we won't have enough of it, that we won't have enough productivity growth," Furman said. "Anything we can do to have more AI will lead to more productivity growth."

To that end, the report calls for further investment in artificial intelligence research and development. Specifically, the White House sees the technology's applications in cyber defense and fraud detection as particularly promising.

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World’s largest hedge fund to replace managers with …

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

The Systematized Intelligence Lab is headed by David Ferrucci, who previously led IBMs development of Watson, the supercomputer that beat humans at Jeopardy! in 2011. Photograph: AP

The worlds largest hedge fund is building a piece of software to automate the day-to-day management of the firm, including hiring, firing and other strategic decision-making.

Bridgewater Associates has a team of software engineers working on the project at the request of billionaire founder Ray Dalio, who wants to ensure the company can run according to his vision even when hes not there, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The role of many remaining humans at the firm wouldnt be to make individual choices but to design the criteria by which the system makes decisions, intervening when something isnt working, wrote the Journal, which spoke to five former and current employees.

The firm, which manages $160bn, created the team of programmers specializing in analytics and artificial intelligence, dubbed the Systematized Intelligence Lab, in early 2015. The unit is headed up by David Ferrucci, who previously led IBMs development of Watson, the supercomputer that beat humans at Jeopardy! in 2011.

The company is already highly data-driven, with meetings recorded and staff asked to grade each other throughout the day using a ratings system called dots. The Systematized Intelligence Lab has built a tool that incorporates these ratings into Baseball Cards that show employees strengths and weaknesses. Another app, dubbed The Contract, gets staff to set goals they want to achieve and then tracks how effectively they follow through.

These tools are early applications of PriOS, the over-arching management software that Dalio wants to make three-quarters of all management decisions within five years. The kinds of decisions PriOS could make include finding the right staff for particular job openings and ranking opposing perspectives from multiple team members when theres a disagreement about how to proceed.

The machine will make the decisions, according to a set of principles laid out by Dalio about the company vision.

Its ambitious, but its not unreasonable, said Devin Fidler, research director at the Institute For The Future, who has built a prototype management system called iCEO. A lot of management is basically information work, the sort of thing that software can get very good at.

Automated decision-making is appealing to businesses as it can save time and eliminate human emotional volatility.

People have a bad day and it then colors their perception of the world and they make different decisions. In a hedge fund thats a big deal, he added.

Will people happily accept orders from a robotic manager? Fidler isnt so sure. People tend not to accept a message delivered by a machine, he said, pointing to the need for a human interface.

In companies that are really good at data analytics very often the decision is made by a statistical algorithm but the decision is conveyed by somebody who can put it in an emotional context, he explained.

Futurist Zoltan Istvan, founder of the Transhumanist party, disagrees. People will follow the will and statistical might of machines, he said, pointing out that people already outsource way-finding to GPS or the flying of planes to autopilot.

However, the period in which people will need to interact with a robot manager will be brief.

Soon there just wont be any reason to keep us around, Istvan said. Sure, humans can fix problems, but machines in a few years time will be able to fix those problems even better.

Bankers will become dinosaurs.

Its not just the banking sector that will be affected. According to a report by Accenture, artificial intelligence will free people from the drudgery of administrative tasks in many industries. The company surveyed 1,770 managers across 14 countries to find out how artificial intelligence would impact their jobs.

AI will ultimately prove to be cheaper, more efficient, and potentially more impartial in its actions than human beings, said the authors writing up the results of the survey in Harvard Business Review.

However, they didnt think there was too much cause for concern. It just means that their jobs will change to focus on things only humans can do.

The authors say that machines would be better at administrative tasks like writing earnings reports and tracking schedules and resources while humans would be better at developing messages to inspire the workforce and drafting strategy.

Fidler disagrees. Theres no reason to believe that a lot of what we think of as strategic work or even creative work cant be substantially overtaken by software.

However, he said, that software will need some direction. It needs human decision making to set objectives.

Bridgewater Associates did not respond to a request for comment.

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Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

The Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence (NCARAI) has been involved in both basic and applied research in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, autonomy, and human-centered computing since its inception in 1981. NCARAI, part of the Information Technology Division within the Naval Research Laboratory, is engaged in research and development efforts designed to address the application of artificial intelligence technology and techniques to critical Navy and national problems.

The research program of the Center is directed toward understanding the design and operation of systems capable of improving performance based on experience; efficient and effective interaction with other systems and with humans; sensor-based control of autonomous activity; and the integration of varieties of reasoning as necessary to support complex decision-making. The emphasis at NCARAI is the linkage of theory and application in demonstration projects that use a full spectrum of artificial intelligence techniques.

The NCARAI has active research groups in Adaptive Systems, Intelligent Systems, Interactive Systems, and Perceptual Systems.

Contact: Alan C. Schultz Director, Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence Code 5510, Washington DC 20375 Email: w5510@aic.nrl.navy.mil

Release Number: 13-1231-3165

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Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence

9 Development in Artificial Intelligence | Funding a …

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

ment" (Nilsson, 1984). Soon, SRI committed itself to the development of an AI-driven robot, Shakey, as a means to achieve its objective. Shakey's development necessitated extensive basic research in several domains, including planning, natural-language processing, and machine vision. SRI's achievements in these areas (e.g., the STRIPS planning system and work in machine vision) have endured, but changes in the funder's expectations for this research exposed SRI's AI program to substantial criticism in spite of these real achievements.

Under J.C.R. Licklider, Ivan Sutherland, and Robert Taylor, DARPA continued to invest in AI research at CMU, MIT, Stanford, and SRI and, to a lesser extent, other institutions.18 Licklider (1964) asserted that AI was central to DARPA's mission because it was a key to the development of advanced command-and-control systems. Artificial intelligence was a broad category for Licklider (and his immediate successors), who "supported work in problem solving, natural language processing, pattern recognition, heuristic programming, automatic theorem proving, graphics, and intelligent automata. Various problems relating to human-machine communicationtablets, graphic systems, hand-eye coordinationwere all pursued with IPTO support" (Norberg and O'Neill, 1996).

These categories were sufficiently broad that researchers like McCarthy, Minsky, and Newell could view their institutions' research, during the first 10 to 15 years of DARPA's AI funding, as essentially unfettered by immediate applications. Moreover, as work in one problem domain spilled over into others easily and naturally, researchers could attack problems from multiple perspectives. Thus, AI was ideally suited to graduate education, and enrollments at each of the AI centers grew rapidly during the first decade of DARPA funding.

DARPA's early support launched a golden age of AI research and rapidly advanced the emergence of a formal discipline. Much of DARPA's funding for AI was contained in larger program initiatives. Licklider considered AI a part of his general charter of Computers, Command, and Control. Project MAC (see Box 4.2), a project on time-shared computing at MIT, allocated roughly one-third of its $2.3 million annual budget to AI research, with few specific objectives.

The history of speech recognition systems illustrates several themes common to AI research more generally: the long time periods between the initial research and development of successful products, and the interactions between AI researchers and the broader community of researchers in machine intelligence. Many capabilities of today's speech-recognition systems derive from the early work of statisticians, electrical engineers,

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2016: The year artificial intelligence exploded – SD Times

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Artificial intelligence isnt a new concept. It is something that companies and businesses have been trying to implement (and something that society has feared) for decades. However, with all the recent advancements to democratize artificial intelligence and use it for good, almost every company started to turn to this technology and technique in 2016.

The year started with Facebooks CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing his plan to build an artificially intelligent assistant to do everything from adjusting the temperature in his house to checking up on his baby girl. He worked throughout the year to bring his plan to life, with an update in August that stated he was almost ready to show off his AI to the world.

In November, Facebook announced it was beginning to focus on giving computers the ability to think, learn, plan and reason like humans. In order to change the negative stigma people associate with AI, the company ended its year with the release of AI educational videos designed to make the technology easier to understand.

Microsoft followed Facebooks pursuit of artificial intelligence, but instead of building its own personal assistant, the company made strides to democratize AI. In January, the company released its deep learning solution, Computational Network Toolkit (CNTK), on GitHub. Recently, Microsoft announced an update to CNTK with new Python and C++ programming language functionalities, as well as reinforcement learning algorithm capabilities. In July, Microsoft also open-sourced its Minecraft AI testing platform to provide developers with a test bed for their AI research.

But the companys AI goals didnt stop there. At its Ignite conference in September, CEO Satya Nadella announced his companys objective to make AI easier to understand. We want to empower people with the tools of AI so they can build their own solutions, he said. Following Nadellas announcement, Microsoft formed an artificial intelligence division known as the Partnership on AI with top tech companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google DeepMind and IBM. Microsoft ended the year teaming up with OpenAI to advance AI research.

Google started the year with a major breakthrough in artificial intelligence. The companys AI system, AlphaGo, was the first AI system to beat a master at the ancient strategy game Go. In April, the company announced it was ready for an AI-first world. Over time, the computer itselfwhatever its form factorwill be an intelligent assistant helping you through your day, said CEO Sundar Pichai. We will move from mobile-first to an AI-first world.

Pichai reiterated that sentiment at the Google I/O developer conference in May where he announced that the companys advances in machine learning and AI would bring new and better experiences to its users. For instance, the company announced the voice-based helper Google Assistant, updates to its machine learning toolkit TensorFlow, and the release of the Natural Language API and Cloud Speech API throughout the year. To help bring wider adoption to AI, Google also created a site called AI Experiments in November designed to make it easier for anyone to explore AI. The year ended for Google with the open-source release of its DeepMind Lab, a 3D platform for agent-based AI research.

IBM, the company known for its cognitive system IBM Watson, also made waves in the AI world this year. The company started the year with the release of IBM Predictive Analytics, a service allowing developers to build machine learning models. In October, the company announced the Watson Data Platform with Machine Learning, and a new AI Nanodegree program with Udacity at its World of Watson conference in October. The company ended the year with the release of Project DataWorks, a solution designed to make AI-powered decisions. It also announced a partnership with Topcoder to bring AI capabilities to developers.

There was a smattering of AI news to be found as well. Baidu Researchs Silicon Valley AI Lab released code to advance speech recognition at the beginning of the year. NVIDIA began to develop AI software to accelerate cancer research. Carnegie Mellon University researchers announced a five-year research initiative to reverse-engineer the brain and explore machine learning as well as computer vision. Researchers from MITs Computer Science and Artificial Laboratory developed a technique to understand how and why AI machines make certain decisions. Big Data companies turned to machine learning and deep learning techniques to help derive value from their data. OpenAI rounded out the year with the release of Universe, a new AI software platform for testing and evaluating the general intelligence of AI.

Artificial intelligence is intended to help people make better decisions. The system learns at scale, gets better through experience, and interacts with humans in a more natural way, said Jonas Nwuke, platform manager for IBM Watson.

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The world’s first demonstration of spintronics-based …

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

December 20, 2016 Fig. 1. (a) Optical photograph of a fabricated spintronic device that serves as artificial synapse in the present demonstration. Measurement circuit for the resistance switching is also shown. (b) Measured relation between the resistance of the device and applied current, showing analogue-like resistance variation. (c) Photograph of spintronic device array mounted on a ceramic package, which is used for the developed artificial neural network. Credit: Tohoku University

Researchers at Tohoku University have, for the first time, successfully demonstrated the basic operation of spintronics-based artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence, which emulates the information processing function of the brain that can quickly execute complex and complicated tasks such as image recognition and weather prediction, has attracted growing attention and has already been partly put to practical use.

The currently-used artificial intelligence works on the conventional framework of semiconductor-based integrated circuit technology. However, this lacks the compactness and low-power feature of the human brain. To overcome this challenge, the implementation of a single solid-state device that plays the role of a synapse is highly promising.

The Tohoku University research group of Professor Hideo Ohno, Professor Shigeo Sato, Professor Yoshihiko Horio, Associate Professor Shunsuke Fukami and Assistant Professor Hisanao Akima developed an artificial neural network in which their recently-developed spintronic devices, comprising micro-scale magnetic material, are employed (Fig. 1). The used spintronic device is capable of memorizing arbitral values between 0 and 1 in an analogue manner unlike the conventional magnetic devices, and thus perform the learning function, which is served by synapses in the brain.

Using the developed network (Fig. 2), the researchers examined an associative memory operation, which is not readily executed by conventional computers. Through the multiple trials, they confirmed that the spintronic devices have a learning ability with which the developed artificial neural network can successfully associate memorized patterns (Fig. 3) from their input noisy versions just like the human brain can.

The proof-of-concept demonstration in this research is expected to open new horizons in artificial intelligence technology - one which is of a compact size, and which simultaneously achieves fast-processing capabilities and ultralow-power consumption. These features should enable the artificial intelligence to be used in a broad range of societal applications such as image/voice recognition, wearable terminals, sensor networks and nursing-care robots.

Explore further: First demonstration of brain-inspired device to power artificial systems

More information: W. A. Borders, et al. Analogue spin-orbit torque device for artificial neural network based associative memory operation. Applied Physics Express, DOI: 10.1143/APEX.10.013007

New research, led by the University of Southampton, has demonstrated that a nanoscale device, called a memristor, could be used to power artificial systems that can mimic the human brain.

The research group of Professor Hideo Ohno and Associate Professor Shunsuke Fukami of Tohoku University has demonstrated the sub-nanosecond operation of a nonvolatile magnetic memory device.

Uber announced Monday it was buying the artificial intelligence group Geometric Intelligence, to form the core of the ride-sharing giant's own research center.

The neural structure we use to store and process information in verbal working memory is more complex than previously understood, finds a new study by researchers at New York University. It shows that processing information ...

Human intelligence is being defined and measured for the first time ever by researchers at the University of Warwick.

Imagine a world where "thinking" robots were able to care for the elderly and people with disabilities. This concept may seem futuristic, but exciting new research into consciousness could pave the way for the creation of ...

Tufts University engineers have created a new format of solids made from silk protein that can be preprogrammed with biological, chemical, or optical functions, such as mechanical components that change color with strain, ...

(Phys.org)Physicists have found the strongest evidence yet for no violation of Lorentz symmetry, one of the fundamental symmetries of relativity. Lorentz symmetry states that the outcome of an experiment does not depend ...

Engineers at Caltech have developed a system of flat optical lenses that can be easily mass-produced and integrated with image sensors, paving the way for cheaper and lighter cameras in everything from cell phones to medical ...

It is the holy grail of light microscopy: improving the resolving power of this method such that one can individually discern molecules that are very close to each other. Scientists around the Nobel laureate Stefan Hell at ...

The same researchers who pioneered the use of a quantum mechanical effect to convert heat into electricity have figured out how to make their technique work in a form more suitable to industry.

Yale scientists have shown how to enhance the lifetime of sound waves traveling through glassthe material at the heart of fiber optic technologies. The discovery will be described in the January edition of the journal ...

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Artificial Intelligence Market Size and Forecast by 2024

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Danzig

Artificial intelligence is a fast emerging technology, dealing with development and study of intelligent machines and software. This software is being used across various applications such as manufacturing (assembly line robots), medical research, and speech recognition systems. It also enables in-build software or machines to operate like human beings, thereby allowing devices to collect, analyze data, reason, talk, make decisions and act The global artificial intelligence market was valued at US$ 126.24 Bn in 2015 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 36.1% from 2016 to 2024 to reach a value of US$ 3,061.35 Bn in 2024.

The global artificial intelligence market is currently witnessing healthy growth as companies have started leveraging the benefits of such disruptive technologies for effective customer reach and positioning of their services/solutions. Market growth is also supported by an expanding application base of artificial intelligence solutions across various industries. However, factors such as low funding access or high upfront investment, and demand for skilled resources (workforce) are presently acting as major deterrents to market growth.

On the basis of types of artificial intelligence systems, the market is segmented into artificial neural network, digital assistance system, embedded system, expert system, and automated robotic system. Expert system was the most adopted or revenue generating segment in 2015. This was mainly due to the extensive use of artificial intelligence across various sectors including diagnosis, process control, design, monitoring, scheduling and planning.

Based on various applications of artificial intelligence systems, the market has been classified into deep learning, smart robots, image recognition, digital personal assistant, querying method, language processing, gesture control, video analysis, speech recognition, context aware processing, and cyber security. Image recognition is projected to be the fastest growing segment by application in the global artificial intelligence market. This is due to the growing demand for affective computing technology across various end-use sectors for better study of systems that can recognize, analyze, process, and simulate human effects.

North America was the leader in the global artificial intelligence market in 2015, holding approximately 38% of the global market revenue share, and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period from 2016 to 2024. High government funding and a strong technological base have been some of the major factors responsible for the top position of the North America region in the artificial intelligence market over the past few years. Middle East and Africa is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 38.2% throughout the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to enormous opportunities for artificial intelligence in the MEA region in terms of new airport developments and various technological innovations including robotic automation.

The key market players profiled in this report include QlikTech International AB, MicroStrategy Inc., IBM Corporation, Google, Inc., Brighterion Inc., Microsoft Corporation, IntelliResponse Systems Inc., Next IT Corporation, Nuance Communications, and eGain Corporation.

Chapter 1 Preface 1.1 Research Scope 1.2 Market Segmentation 1.3 Research Methodology

Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Market Snapshot: Global Artificial Intelligence Market, 2015 & 2024 2.2 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Revenue, 2014 2024 (US$ Bn) and CAGR (%)

Chapter 3 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis 3.1 Key Trends Analysis 3.2 Market Dynamics 3.2.1 Drivers 3.2.2 Restraints 3.2.3 Opportunities 3.3 Value Chain Analysis 3.4 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Types 3.4.1 Overview 3.4.2 Artificial Neural Network 3.4.3 Digital Assistance System 3.4.4 Embedded System 3.4.5 Expert System 3.4.6 Automated Robotic System 3.5 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Application 3.5.1 Overview 3.5.2 Deep Learning 3.5.3 Smart Robots 3.5.4 Image Recognition 3.5.5 Digital Personal Assistant 3.5.6 Querying Method 3.5.7 Language Processing 3.5.8 Gesture Control 3.5.9 Video Analysis 3.5.10 Speech Recognition 3.5.11 Context Aware Processing 3.5.12 Cyber Security 3.6 Competitive Landscape 3.6.1 Market Positioning of Key Players in Artificial Intelligence Market (2015) 3.6.2 Competitive Strategies Adopted by Leading Players

Chapter 4 North America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis 4.1 Overview 4.3 North America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Types 4.3.1 North America Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Types, 2015 & 2024 (%) 4.4 North America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Application 4.4.1 North America Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Application, 2015 & 2024 (%) 4.5 North America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Region 4.5.1 North America Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Region, 2015 & 2024 (%)

Chapter 5 Europe Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis 5.1 Overview 5.3 Europe Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Types 5.3.1 Europe Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Types, 2015 & 2024 (%) 5.4 Europe Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Application 5.4.1 Europe Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Application, 2015 & 2024 (%) 5.5 Europe Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Region 5.5.1 Europe Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Region, 2015 & 2024 (%)

Chapter 6 Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis 6.1 Overview 6.3 Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Types 6.3.1 Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Types, 2015 & 2024 (%) 6.4 Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Application 6.4.1 Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Application, 2015 & 2024 (%) 6.5 Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Region 6.5.1 Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Region, 2015 & 2024 (%)

Chapter 7 Middle East and Africa (MEA) Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis 7.1 Overview 7.3 MEA Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Types 7.3.1 MEA Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Types, 2015 & 2024 (%) 7.4 MEA Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Application 7.4.1 MEA Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Application, 2015 & 2024 (%) 7.5 MEA Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Region 7.5.1 MEA Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Region, 2015 & 2024 (%)

Chapter 8 Latin America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis 8.1 Overview 8.3 Latin America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Types 8.3.1 Latin America Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Types, 2015 & 2024 (%) 8.4 Latin America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Application 8.4.1 Latin America Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Application, 2015 & 2024 (%) 8.5 Latin America Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, by Region 8.5.1 Latin America Artificial Intelligence Market Share Analysis, by Region, 2015 & 2024 (%)

Chapter 9 Company Profiles 9.1 QlikTech International AB 9.2 MicroStrategy, Inc. 9.3 IBM Corporation 9.4 Google, Inc. 9.5 Brighterion, Inc. 9.6 Microsoft Corporation 9.7 IntelliResponse Systems Inc. 9.8 Next IT Corporation 9.9 Nuance Communications 9.10 eGain Corporation

The Artificial Intelligence Market report provides analysis of the global artificial intelligence market for the period 20142024, wherein the years from 2016 to 2024 is the forecast period and 2015 is considered as the base year. The report precisely covers all the major trends and technologies playing a major role in the artificial intelligence markets growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the market growth during this period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the markets growth in terms of revenue (in US$ Bn), across different geographies, which includes Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).

The market overview section of the report showcases the markets dynamics and trends such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of this market. Moreover, the report provides the overview of various strategies and the winning imperatives of the key players in the artificial intelligence market and analyzes their behavior in the prevailing market dynamics.

The report segments the global artificial intelligence market on the types of artificial intelligence systems into artificial neural network, digital assistance system, embedded system, expert system, and automated robotic system. By application, the market has been classified into deep learning, smart robots, image recognition, digital personal assistant, querying method, language processing, gesture control, video analysis, speech recognition, context aware processing, and cyber security. Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis for the artificial intelligence market and classifies it into various levels, thereby providing valuable insights on macro as well as micro level.

The report also provides the competitive landscape for the artificial intelligence market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence, market attractiveness and recent key developments. The complete artificial intelligence market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the artificial intelligence markets growth.

QlikTech International AB, MicroStrategy Inc., IBM Corporation, Google, Inc., Brighterion Inc., Microsoft Corporation, IntelliResponse Systems Inc., Next IT Corporation, Nuance Communications, and eGain Corporation are some of the major players which have been profiled in this study. Details such as financials, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players has been provided as part of company profiling.