Month: December 2021

Categories
Drones

Drones Take Center Stage in U.S.-China War on Data Harvesting | Bloomberg

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Carson Miller, an Indiana college student with 80,000 YouTube subscribers, does not appear to be an unknowing instrument of Chinese espionage in his youtube videos of the latest drone designs. Hundreds of other Americans who buy drones from Shenzhen-based SZ DJI Technology Co., the global highest manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, are increasingly being recognized in this light by the US.

Miller, who purchased his first DJI model for $500 in 2016 and now owns six, demonstrates why the business controls more than half of the drone industry in the United States. Critics of DJI claim the company is sending torrents of sensitive data to Chinese intelligence agencies, ranging from essential infrastructures such as railroads and reservoirs to private information like pulse rate and face recognition. 

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-19/drone-wars-us-china-fight-over-big-data-shifts-from-tiktok-wechat-to-the-sky 

Categories
Cyber Security

2021 was the year cybersecurity became everyone’s problem | Axios

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The threat of a cyber incursion was formerly mainly a problem of IT executives, but it is now a primary concern for CEOs and global leaders. Indeed, a spike in nation-state strikes and malware sparked a turning point for harmful cyberattacks on computer networks this year. The surge in cybercrime has made negotiation among sovereign nations more difficult. Even for countries with severe wars, there has remained a relatively defined line that works as a deterrent when it comes to physical attacks. The distinction online, on the other hand, is murkier. Many argue that this needs a global consensus on what is and isn’t permitted, similar to how the Geneva Convention limits traditional warfare. 

Source: https://www.axios.com/2021-cybersecurity-ransomware-cyber-attack-91ccc592-b611-4825-8e0a-65e37d06a450.html 

Categories
Artificial Intelligence

New theory of consciousness in humans, animals and artificial intelligence | Medical Xpress

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Professor Armin Zlomuzica of RUB’s Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience research group and Professor Ekrem Dere of RUB’s Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience research group have proposed a novel theory of consciousness. Consciousness, according to the new notion, is a phase that is linked to sophisticated cognitive functions rather than an underlying passive state that takes over when we are up. According to the new idea, conscious cognitive acts are carried out on the basis of an “online platform,” which functions as a kind of central executive that oversees subordinate systems. Their theory will be published in the journal Behavioural Brain Research on February 15, 2022, with the online piece available from November 2021. 

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-12-theory-consciousness-humans-animals-artificial.html 

Categories
Space Force

Space Force launches experimental payloads into orbit | C4ISRNET

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As part of the Space Test Program, the US Space Force deployed lots of new test cargo into orbit along with a NASA satellite on Dec. 7. The Space Test Program-6 satellite, or STPSat-6, was combined with nine Space Force payloads chosen by the Defense Department’s Space Experiment Review Board. The Atmospheric Burst Reporting System, developed by the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration to increase detection of nuclear detonations, was the primary payload. The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration payload, designed to showcase laser communications for NASA’s civilian space agency, was also on board. 

Source: https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/12/07/space-force-launches-experimental-payloads-into-orbit/ 

Categories
Robots

A humanoid robot makes eerily lifelike facial expressions | The Verge

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Engineered Arts, a UK-based developer, and builder of humanoid robots, recently put a clip on Youtube showcasing one of its most realistic models. Ameca, the robot, is shown making a sequence of remarkably human-like facial expressions. Ameca seems to “wake up” at the start of the video, as its face expresses a mix of uncertainty and displeasure when it opens its eyes. However, when Ameca begins to examine its hands and arms, the robot opens its lips and arches its brows in apparent astonishment. Ameca smiles and extends a welcoming hand to the spectator at the end of the video if that’s how you choose to take that gesture. 

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/5/22819328/humanoid-robot-eerily-lifelike-facial-expressions