U.S. Military May Create an Internet-Based Intelligent Machine

U.S. military may create an intelligent machine that will teach itself on the Internet:

Of the various possible types of AI, the “most revolutionary would be an intelligent machine that uses the Internet to train,” write the authors of a military-commissioned National Research Council report on emerging cognitive neuroscience. With so much information online and constantly updated, “If a system that reasoned like a human being could be achieved, there would be no limit to augmenting its capabilities.”

This is part of a report by National Research Council. It will be interesting to see how this initiative will lead to. With the exponential growth of technology, there is a danger that the “creature” will do more harm than good to humanity.

How to Create Your Own Nation - Like Pitcairn Islands

If you ever think about creating your own nation, there are many ways to do it:

A larger nation can colonize a smaller one and change the name, like the British did with Rhodesia. The opposite can take place; a colony can rebel against its colonial masters, like the Zimbabweans did against Britain. Another possibly less bloody method is to purchase an uninhabited island and secede from whatever nation owns it. Owning land offers more legitimacy to the movement, and since no one was living on the island, the new nation may see less resistance from the government it formerly belonged to. You, however, choose the land-based secessionist route, and this version of nation founding can require the most finesse.

This reminds me of the smallest nation (a British protectorate, actually) in the world that has only 50 people. The name of the country is Pitcairn Islands. Perhaps creating our own countries is not that far away in the horizon.

Smaller .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Size Thanks to .NET Framework Client Profile

Microsoft has good news for .NET developers: the size of .NET framework is reduced significantly by 86.5 percent from 197 MB to 26.5. It will simplify .NET applications deployment to client computers. This change comes along the release of .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 SP1:

Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Visual Studio 2008 SP1. These releases come just nine months after the release of the .NET Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008, and include a substantial number of updates based directly on customer feedback. The service packs continue to address the needs of the developer community by making it even easier to develop applications for the latest platforms, with new features such as the .NET Framework Client Profile for faster deployment of Windows-based applications, multiple enhancements to ASP.NET, and unparalleled support for database application development through the ADO.NET Entity Framework, ADO.NET Data Services and integration with SQL Server 2008.

It is .NET Framework Client Profile technology that enables the significant reduction of the framework size.

International Development Design Summit (IDDS) Aims to Help Developing Countries

Recently there was an interesting event held at MIT: International Development Design Summit. The goal of the event is to design technologies that can improve people’s lives in the developing country:

Using a bicycle wheel to thresh millet, making LEGO-like bricks from dirt, or hooking up an electric generator to an irrigation pump may not save the world, but such simple projects could go a long way toward improving the lives of millions of people living in the world’s developing countries. That’s the guiding principle behind a month-long summer workshop at MIT that wrapped up today. Its goal was to develop simple, inexpensive devices that can make a real difference for people and communities.

The goal of this initiative reminds me of Mohammad Yunus’s microloan initiative. The microloan idea seems simple but it has big impact. This initiative - hopefully - will have similar impact.

Stanford Study Shows That People Are Willing to Help Others

There is a good news for humanity: people are more willing to help others than what we usually think.

“Our research should encourage people to ask for help and not assume that others are disinclined to comply,” said Frank Flynn, associate professor of organizational behavior at the Graduate School of Business. “People are more willing to help than you think, and that can be important to know when you’re trying to get the resources you need to get a job done, when you’re trying to solicit funds or what have you.”

This finding is interesting because it encourages us to be willing to ask. Since people are willing to help, if we don’t ask we will lose opportunities.

MIT Study Shows Ways to Reduce Fuel Consumption by 2035

Is it possible to reduce energy consumption without sacrificing the economy in the future? It’s challenging, but MIT thinks so:

…over the next 25 years, the fuel consumption of new vehicles could be reduced by 30-50 percent and total U.S. fuel use for vehicles could be cut to year 2000 levels, with greenhouse gas emissions cut by almost as much. But it will be challenging to meet those demands.

It will require not just developing improved and new engines, vehicles and fuels, but also convincing people that they don’t need to buy bigger, faster cars. Each step will be difficult, yet all must be pursued with an equal sense of urgency.

Developing future energy alternatives is a topic that’s always interesting for me. Between solar energy and fusion reactors, having abundant and clean energy sources in the future is the ultimate challenge of this century.

Nokia Released Reset Generation on N-Gage

Nokia released Reset Generation, its game about video games, on N-Gage:

The objective is simple - rescue the princess. Players begin by choosing a hero from ten designs by celebrity artists, representing the pantheon of video game history and each with its own unique superpower. Players then either conquer the game in 18 single-player story missions or compete with up to four players online. The last princess standing wins!

Even more interesting is the fact that it supports multiplayer action between mobile and PC:

Players can also enjoy seamless multiplayer action between mobile and PC. On PC, the game is free to play and is available as an embeddable web widget and as downloadable content with N-Gage compatible devices. The mobile version sold through Nokia channels will cost around 10-12 EUR depending on local taxes and can be bought with a credit card or charged to an operator subscription where operator billing is available.

SQL Server 2008 Launched with Business Inteligence Emphasis

Microsoft just released SQL Server 2008 to manufacturing:

Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the new version of the company’s acclaimed data management and business intelligence platform. This version of SQL Server provides powerful new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services. SQL Server 2008 provides the trusted, productive and intelligent platform necessary for business-critical applications.

SQL Server is released in no less than seven editions: Enterprise, Standard, Workgroup, Web, Developer, Express, and Compact. It’s interesting to see how this new database will compete against its competitors such as Oracle.

Future Army Training with MMOG

U.S Army plans that future army training will use massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) similar to World of Warcraft:

“Potentially an MMOG could be created which adheres to the physical and behavioral reality of the world and provides an ‘always on’ environment in which to execute training, something like World of Warcraft, but focused on the military training customer,” says Dr. Roger Smith.

The Army has used games for training purposes before. One of them is America’s Army. It’s interesting to see how this new initiative will be different from the previous ones.