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Hyper-Reality: The Future of Augmented Reality?

Our physical and virtual realities are beginning to blend.  Animation is becoming more realistic.  Virtual and augmented reality are becoming more affordable. Wearables are becoming pervasive.  And, the internet of things will soon overtake the Internet.

We're moving towards a world where technology envelops every aspect of our lives ... figuratively and literally. 

The following (still fictional) video is thought-provoking.  What happens when these new technologies are used to influence behavior, decision-making, and even your identity?  

 

Keiichi Matsuda via Vimeo

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are not new fields - but, they are evolving quickly. Technology and infrastructure are getting to the point that AR and VR will become common for us.

You have already started to see it (from Google Glass, to the NBA, and of course, to porn). 

"Not too far in the future you will begin to see the integration of AR and VR together eventually leading to having your favorite performer on your lap, in your bedroom doing a custom performance for you and responding to your verbal and physical cues."

- Anna Lee, HoloFilm Productions

Your doctor or nutritionist could help you make better choices for you.  Your therapist or coach could help you perceive and respond differently to the challenges life presents you.  Marketers could better influence your purchases.  Employers could better monitor and measure your performance and productivity. And governments will not be far behind ... doing what they do.

Like many things, these technologies make possible awesome new capabilities (if used well) and horrific consequences (if abused or used in authoritarian ways).

Similar issues are being dealt with in the fields of BioEthics and AI Ethics. In addition, there is a growing discussion of the impact these technologies will have on society. 

We live in interesting times! 

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23 concepts that show what Apple's futuristic smart glasses might look like (AAPL)

Slaughterbots Assemble!

Technology can be scary - especially when it is used to move towards autonomous killing machines. 

Recently, a UC Berkeley computer science professor helped to create a video that imagined a world where nuclear weapons were replaced by swarms of autonomous tiny drones that could kill half a city and are virtually unstoppable.

Stuart Russell, the professor, said these drones are already a technological reality.

The video takes the viewer to an auditorium where a speaker showcases a drone roughly the size of a mockingbird. At one point the drone lands on his hand, the speaker quickly recalibrates it and then throws it out into the audience again. After a few seconds, the small drone turns back to the stage and crashes into the forehead of a dummy standing off to the left of the speaker.

 

 

The video was released earlier this month by the Future of Life Institute, which is backed by Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk. It was presented by Russell at a United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, according to The Mercury News.

“Trained as a team, [the drones] can penetrate buildings, cars, trains, all while having the capacity to evade any countermeasure. They cannot be stopped,” the speaker told the audience in the video.

Russell said that although A.I.’s “potential to benefit humanity is enormous, even in defense,” allowing the widespread use of machines that “choose to kill humans will be devastating to our security and freedom.”

Expect to hear a lot more about Swarm Intelligence (and some of the more positive things it can do).

What Is The Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is literally just a connected network of digital "things" that can interact with each other through the internet (or intranets). 

Yet, the IoT also represents a paradigm shift (and the next big upgrade to the web). By 2020, over 26 billion (with a b) things will be connected to the internet.

 

But how does it work, and why do you care?

 

Information Is Beautiful created a helpful interactive primer on the IoT that's worth a look.

Click here to see it. It answers questions like "What kind of things? and "how will the things be used?" but also gives you a chance to look at the innovations, the innovators, and the challenges involved. 

 

via Information Is Beautiful

Ultimately, things like cars, buildings, home appliances and wearables will communicate and interact to create a connected world. 

People's homes are already becoming more connected. With smart hubs you can control your alarms, your lights and HVAC, all the way down to starting your coffee machine. 

Now imagine that connectivity in a hospital or a supply chain. It's going to be a huge breakthrough. 

 

But what about challenges?

 

As we get more technologically advanced and interconnected, there are inherent issues and weaknesses. 

For example, as more devices access the internet you have more chances for attacks by hackers. 

Computers, smartphones and other devices often come with virus protection, security measures and more. The same isn't true of your fridge or your coffee machine...

If there's one vulnerability in your network, that can easily affect all other devices on your network. 

In fact, hacker's just stole a Casino's high roller database through a "smart" thermometer in their lobby aquarium. 

As well, there are privacy issues, bandwidth issues and the unfortunate reality for many companies which is ... you may not be nimble enough to keep up with this innovation landscape. 

What do you think about IoT? Do you have a connected home already? Can you start your car with your phone?  Does your hedge fund use technology like this to let trading systems communicate, coordinate, and collaborate?  Can you imagine what that would be like?

I can!

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - April 1st, 2018

 Happy April Fool's Day. What were your favorite pranks?  Here is a list of some that made news this year.

 

via LegallyDrawn

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Daniel Pink How to Make Better Decisions and Be More Creative. (Tim)
• 2018 Framework to Understand Digital Innovation. (HackerNoon)
• Why Dogs Really Do Love You, According to Science. (Inverse)
• China's 'Social Credit' System Bans Millions from Travelling. (Telegraph)
• We Asked Astronauts If They Think Aliens Exist. Here's What They Said. (Mashable)

 

Trading Links:

• What Exactly is Vladimir Putin's Net Worth? is He the Richest Person on the Planet? (CNW)
• China's One-Man Show. (JacobinMag)
• The next Housing Crisis: a Historic Shortage of New Homes. (Wall Street Journal)
• A Nobel-winning Economist is Part of a Team Launching a Low-volatility Cryptocurrency. (Quartz)
• President Trump Reportedly Obsessed' with Regulating Amazon, Wants to Clip Jeff Bezos' Wings. (GeekWire)

Avoiding Death by Snowmobile

I was in Saskatchewan, Canada last week for my first-ever snowmobiling experience.

When I got there, everyone was in great spirits. Apparently, this is a sport done with day drinking, lots of laughter, and abandon.

We split into groups: Insane, Merely Crazy, and the Turtles.

I figured I was relatively safe with the Turtles. Still, I have to admit that I was a little nervous. The machines are capable of gliding over the snow at speeds approaching 200 miles per hour. And, I heard stories that 70 percent of these outings ended in some form of injury. Those are some sphincter-tightening things to put together.

The scenery was majestic.

But I didn't notice till it was over.  Humans are deletion creatures. That means they can hold seven things (plus or minus two) in their memory. Everything else gets filtered or deleted. For example, in chess, a grandmaster can focus on the portion of the board that is most proximately related to winning. A novice, however, wastes their buffers with thoughts like "the horsey-thing goes up two and over one."

While everyone else was focused on having fun, I focused on how to make the sled do something. There were no instructions that said click this, press that. Here's the brake, or, the three most important things to remember are … 

I quickly learned two rules. The first, you have to lean in the direction that you want to turn (otherwise the sled tips over). By the way, it took me a few iterations to figure this one out. 

Here is a picture of me just after they dug me out from under the sled.

 

 

The second rule is to try to stay on the sled. I never quite figured that rule out fully. 

I guess you can be skillful, you can be lucky, or you can pray.

Luckily, I saw Father Rac before we started.   My question was whether he was here to bless the participants or perform last rites.

 

 

 

After a nice conversation, he said he'd pray for me.

In my industry, we call that hedging.

I did last longer than the sled.  It had to be towed.

Meanwhile, I still have ten fingers and ten toes, ended the day vertically, and had a ton of fun.  Victory!

I’ll suck less next time.

Making Peace With Massage Chairs and Robot Toilets

Even though my company specializes in automating things that people used to do, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I found out Japan Airlines no longer offers massages in their First Class Lounge. Instead, they have replaced the people with massage chairs.

I fly through Japan several times a year – and I had come to look forward to the quick massage between flights.  I’d rush from the plane to the club to make sure that I got on the list (and would feel slighted if there wasn’t enough buffer time between flights to accommodate this indulgence).  So, I was somewhat skeptical about the switch to massage chairs.

The reason was history – I bought my first massage chair in the mid-1990s ... and it was not very good.  Things have come a long way.

Here is a picture of me overcoming my reservations about technology (yet again).

 

 

It presses, stretches, rolls … and (most importantly) works. I was relaxed, refreshed, and tempted to press the button to do it again.

Sure, I didn’t understand the remote.  But, I didn’t understand the massage attendant either.

On a related note, the club has robot toilets as well.  What I mean is that a “washlet” guidance and targeting system automatically cleans the mess you made.  Disconcerting the first time you use it … but, I want one.

Imagine the testing and QA process to get that right.  Glad all we have to do is engineer trading systems to make and keep money.

Why Elon Musk's SpaceX Launch Is So Important

Last Tuesday, Musk launched his Tesla Roadster and it's passenger "Starman" into space on his Falcon Heavy rocket. 

Cool?  Clever Marketing?  Or Both?

 

Space via Twitter

This feat is exciting for a number of reasons.

1. Falcon Heavy is cheaper than other heavy lift rockets – yet, it is twice as powerful. 
2. This means we can ship payloads to Mars (or potentially farther). 
3. The boosters landed back on their platform to be reused.
4. And, ultimately, it's inspiring and momentum building to a new age of future space explorers.

When I was growing up, the space race caught the public's hearts and minds.  I was a kid, but I still remember watching the lunar landing.  It was a big deal! 

Likewise, I remember when astronauts were positioned as national heroes.  Now, we're more jaded.

In the past decade, rockets, space-stations, satellites, etc. were often just an afterthought or a small filler news item.  Meanwhile, A.I., Cloning, Voice Recognition, 3D Printing, Drones, and other technological advances were the sexy attention-getting topics. 

Recently, that has changed.  The space race is getting hot again.  Resources are pouring into this area, and SpaceX's launch is proof that we are making progress (and probably altering life's history). 

Take a look. 

 

 

This was supposed to be captivating.  Teachers can show their students a rocket launch where a man shot a car into space ... then they can watch the car float through space.  It's taking what we're used to only seeing in movies ... and making it real. 

Passion in the sciences is important, and successes like this can ignite passion in our future, in more than just space exploration. 

We live in exciting times. 

Onwards!

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - January 21st, 2018

It's day 2 of the government shutdown; but what does that actually mean?

In short: 

• "Essential" government services will still run even if employees aren't getting paid - USPS, TSA, Social Security
• Other "non-essential" government employees will be "furloughed" and told to stay at home. 
• Military will be required to work, but won't be paid until Congress comes to an agreement
• Employees will be paid retroactively once an agreement is met. 

 Efficiency at its finest ... or a force function to get the children to play nicer with each other?

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Want to Get Wisdom? Be Your Own Crowd. (Bloomberg)
• NASA Just Proved It Can Navigate Space Using Pulsars. Where to Now? (Wired)
• It's So Cold in Russia that Thermometers are Breaking. (BGR)
• What Robot Strippers Say about Sexism, Tech and the Future. (AP News)
• Benjamin Franklin Built His Character around 13 Virtues and Following His Weekly Plan Could Change Your Life. (BusinessInsider)

Trading Links:

• How Donald Trump Has Remade the Rules for Business. (Wall Street Journal)
• Fed Paid $29.3 Billion to Banks 'Not' to Lend in 2017; Gave $80 Billion to Treasury. (ZeroHedge)
• One Person is Probably Responsible for Almost 600 Percent of Bitcoin's Price Rise. (Mashable)
• Kodak's Pivot to Crypto Seems to Be Working out Quite Nicely. (FastCompany)
• These are the Biggest Risks for Businesses in 2018, According to the World Economic Forum. (Fortune)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - January 14th, 2018

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Tesla Model 3: the First Serious Review. (The Drive)
• How Religion Made a Global Comeback in 2017. (The Atlantic)
• New Year's Fitness Resolutions: the Smartest Way to Keep Them. (WSJ)
• How Kaspersky's Software Fell under Suspicion of Spying on America. (Wall Street Journal)
• Could Your Apple Watch Save Your Life?: How Smartwatch Sensors Could Help Tackle a Dangerous Heart Condition. (ZDNet)

Trading Links:

• Kodak Announces Blockchain Plan, Share Price Soars. (FinExtra)
• Here's Why Spotify is Bypassing the Normal IPO Process and Why More Companies Don't Do It. (BI)
• As Dow Tops 25000, Individual Investors Sit It Out. (Wall Street Journal)
• Amazon Has a Master Plan to Turn Alexa into a Full-fledged Economy All on Its Own. (Insider)
• A Crypto Expert Explains the Difference between the Two Largest Cryptocurrencies in the World: Bitcoin and Ethereum. (BusinessInsider)

Ultra Spiritual Wisdom on Bitcoin

Seemingly everywhere I go, someone asks me about Bitcoin.

Clearly, there are speculators and day traders banking coin. 

I am a little surprised by how fast it captured the cultural zeitgeist.

Here's a clever spoof ... worth watching.

  

 AwakenWithJP via Youtube

I'm sure we'll talk more about Bitcoin ... but, more importantly, Blockchain (which is the technology that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were built upon).

I am currently investigating and planning how we'll use Blockchain.

Onwards.

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