“Grossman pointedly questioned Kurzweil about the potential loss of our “human nature” in a world dominated by artificial intelligence. But Kurzweil linked the future of our “human-machine civilization” to the full sweep of human history: “Ever since we first picked up a stick to reach a tree branch,” he said, we have been creating tools to aid our existence. So he sees the futuristic nanotechnology and artificial intelligence purely as tools that will serve as extensions of our humanity. Also: Just as today the data one access on their iPhone exists both within the phone and out in the cloud, he envisions a future where not only are nanobots being added to our bodies but where our brains being augmented by processing power in the cloud. Where search engines do not need to be prompted to offer helpful information, but instead grow intuitive, providing us information as we need it. As Kurzweil sees it, this is about expanding our intellect, and our capabilities, not deferring all this to machines.” - Time Techland

futuristgerd:

(via Inside the Mind of Futurist Ray Kurzweil: When Robots Rule the World (and Humans are Immortal) | Techland | TIME.com)

Worth watching … if a bit scary:))

Ah, the mixtape. One of the most sentimental gifts of the 20th century, with the added benefit of telling someone who you were through your musical choices before the days of Facebook.  MakerBot has come up with a delightful way of reviving the mixtape: a 3D printed MP3 player kit that looks like an old-fashioned cassette. You can either download and print the chassis yourself with the 3D Replicator and assemble the device, or order the whole gadget in assembled form. The Makerbot Mixtape holds 2GB of music, can be used as a USB stick, and plays directly through a headphone jack.

redesignrevolution:

Phone Charger Concept: StreetCharge by Brooklyn-Based Design Company, Pensa

enochliew:

iVictrolas by Matt Richmond

Constructed using vintage horns from old phonographs or radios.

joshbyard:

An Engineer’s Plan to Use Swarm Robots to Make Smart Buildings Behave More Like  Super-Organisms

Using swarms of robotic sensors that “chase” a structure’s human occupants, he wants buildings to understand everything about us, down to our emotional state.

These robot sensors will learn from their mistakes, self-regulate using digital “hormones”, and record information over the course of years, building up a record of experiences to be used as “DNA” to program future versions of themselves, or even other buildings.

“Living organisms give birth to the next generation, and have immunity to viruses such as influenza,” says Mita in a video promoting his work. “Our idea was that we wanted to give architecture this kind of biological response capability.”

(via BBC - Future - Technology - Robot swarms aim to bring buildings to life ht Kurzweil AI)

The Guardian: “What is the Higgs boson? video”

@StanleyPiano is the world’s first interactive player piano, makes his worldwide debut at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party. Stanley is a precocious instrument who takes song requests via Twitter.  Stanley bares all as his moving parts (gears, bellows, hammers, valves) visibly work as the keys press themselves.

To make a request or chat with Stanley during the Block Party (July 20-22), simply tweet your song or message to @StanleyPiano. Fans will be notified when their song is up next and view the full list Block Party songs at stanleypiano.com. Stanley is very chatty, so all song requests are welcome. Ask him to play Freebird and see what happens.

Can’t make it to the Block Party? Enjoy Stanley online, where he’s streaming live all three days of the event—playing tracks for his fans around the world.

Introducing Stanley from DIGITAL KITCHEN on Vimeo.

Business Week: Joe Sumner: Synchronizing Crowdsourced Movies

CNet News: Mobile app Vyclone covers every angle on social video mixing

To date, 528 people have travelled in space. But over 529 soon to be astronauts have put down deposits to travel 68 miles above the Earth’s surface.  There are reports that celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks and Katy Perry have signed up.

Will space become the new pit stop for the jet set?