Blog 10b Artificial Intelligence

I liked the Ansgar video about the man opening the book and turning the pages. It reminded me of some of my students. The Bradford video was great! Just seeing the professor managing everything in his life through his voice and touching the screen was like Star Trek. The one technology we do not have in personal computing today is an interactive human interface.
I found an article from IBM Research on Artificial Intelligence at http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/research.nsf/pages/r.ai.html. It states that Artificial Intelligence is the study of how computer systems can simulate intelligent processes such a learning, reasoning, and understanding symbolic information in context. The IBM Research's chess-playing program Deep Blue made history by beating world chess champion Gary Kasparov. AI research goes far beyond game playing and is at the forefront of many of the hottest areas of Artificial Intelligence. AI applications include electronic commerce, intelligent tutoring systems, knowledge management, performance management, and exploratory vision. IBM projects include Anti-Spam Research, Machine Learning for Coverage Directed test Generation, Personal Wizards, Swift File (An intelligent assistant for Lotus Notes that helps users organize their e-mail.

Blog 10a Thomas Barnett: The Pentagon's New map for war and peace

Thomas Barnett argues that the moral mission of the United States is to extend the benefits of globalization to the one-third of the world that is disconnected from the global community. America needs to create a more secure world by eliminating the seeds of conflict. In Barnett's world, Earth is made up of two groups, The first is the Functioning Core, nations like the U.S., Canada, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, and India. The second is the Non-Integrating Gap, made up of the Middle East, most of Africa, parts of Central and South America and parts of Asia. The Core is defined by economic, political and military stability while the Gap is home to poverty, authoritarian regimes and conflict. Led by the U.S., it is the Core's mission to shrink the Gap and usher in a new era of relative global stability. A transformation of a new military- one that would split the present force into two different organizations would be used to provide security to Gap nations which will slowly be added to the Core. The United States-with help from other nations-will play the role of global policeman and global SWAT officers.

I think it makes sense to realize that the trouble in the world stems from poverty, authoritarian regimes and conflict. Could Barnett's concepts be improved? How about trying out what he has proposed? The countries of the Functioning Core should take the lead and work together using their economic, political, and military stability to help the Gap people become self sufficient, democratic, peaceful societies.

Ted Talk Craig Venter: A Voyage of DNA, genes, and the sea

Craig Ventor is a biologist and genomic researcher. In 2001 he sequenced the human genome, in 2003 he sailed the globe to sample, catalog and decode the genes of the oceans unknown microorganisms. Now he is working to create the first synthetic lifeforms - microorganisms that can produce alternative sources of energy.

A human genome is a person's complete set of DNA. Genomics is a term that describes the study of all the genes in a person, as well as the interactions of those genes with each other and a person's environment.

Ventor spoke about millions of new genes discovered from organisms in the world's oceans and about his voyage aboard the Sorcerer II, a 92 foot yacht that sailed to Bermuda, Halifax, the Caribbean, Panama, Galapagos, and the Indian Ocean. He has made amazing discoveries about gene similarities like every species uses pigment and sunlight to see.

He spoke about synthetic genomics which is a field of research in which scientists use chemically created pieces of DNA and assemble chromosomes to create new pharmaceuticals and biologically produced green fuels.

Venter said that in the future species could be genetically engineered for food and posed the question as to weather or not we should make an artificial life form. The technology of synthetic biology will continue to evolve rapidly, but not without debates about the societal impact and potential dangers to the world.

Ventor says that genomics is the field of science that has the power to transform the world around us by impacting human health and better treating disease by enabling a better understanding of the environment and potentially creating new biological sources of energy.

If new sources of energy can be created through genomics, this may be what the world has been looking for, ways to produce alternative fuels such as ethanol or hydrogen. To design, synthesize and assemble synthetic microorganisms that will produce fuels that that the planet needs could be vital to solving environmental problems of the future.

Blog Action Day October 15, 2007

We can save the world together! Here is a cool online coloring book for kids! NIEHS Kids Pages.

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/colepa1.htm Check it out!

Blog 8a Al Gore: 15 Ways to Avert a Climate Crises

Al Gore was funny when he described how depressing it is to have been the vice president, then not. He talked about what you can do about the Climate Crises.

Reduce emissions in your home (insulation, better design)

Buy a hybrid car.

Be a green consumer, you have choices, choose products that have a much less harsh effect on the environment.

Live a carbon neutral life.

Reduce your carbon emissions.

Look at the website http://climatecrises.net/ which shows a consumer friendly carbon calculator with options to reduce carbon emissions.

Make your business carbon neutral.

Integrate climate solutions in all you do.

Become a catalyst of change, teach others about it, learn about it.

Become politically active.

Support the idea of capping carbon emissions.

Help with mass persuasion techniques.

Rebrand Global Warming: Climate Crises

This is not a political issue, but an opportunity to bring more coherence to ideas. We are one.

I am so impressed with Al Gore and his crusade for Climate Crises. We do have choices and we need to
make the right ones to keep the carbon emissions from destroying our world. This TedTalk was filmed in February of 2006, and since then Al Gore has won an academy award for his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" which has had an international impact in global warming awareness. Now Al Gore and the UN group for climate change have won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. They were credited for their efforts in spreading the message of climate change and global warming. Gore was said to be the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted.

Googlereader RSS feed to blog

My Googlereader Feed is: http://www.google.com/reader/view/#overviewpage.

Alex Steffen: Inspired Ideas for a Sustainable Future

Alex Steffen is a journalist, environmentalist, and cofounder of WorldChanging.com. He talked about the earth's sustainability and said that our ecological footprint has major flaws. This small planet circling around the sun has evolved into a place with too much stuff that is hurting the environment. We don't know if the earth is environmentally sustainable. The world is changing quickly and we need to look for tools, models, and ideas that will change the game. He asked, "What are we looking for?" and answered, "The Bright Green City" which means changing the way we live in cities. He mentioned cities like Vancouver (denser and more livable), and Portland (using growth management where the pastures and trees stay and nothing changes).Mr. Steffen said that people in close proximity need to be Smart Places; they need to know where things are, they need to use car share clubs, information technology to use less stuff. They need to look for low cost technology like cell phones to help people freely work together. He spoke of using new tools for people in developing countries and innovative ideas like refrigerators that don't need electricity, a straw to suck water that makes it drinkable, and a merry-go-round that pumps water as kids play. We need to Leap Frog or use what we all ready know and invent new tools to make A Bright Green Future for the World.
Mr. Steffen's ideas are awesome! He is leading the way in saving our planet. We do have the ability to change our cities through consumer activism, new farming techniques, alternative energy, green building projects, technology globalization, and human rights. I think most people on the earth want to make it a better place and will contribute to new and better ways to improve the environment and totally increase livability for all of us.