Google's New AI Kill Switch

Have you ever wondered what would happen if we reached a point in which robots carried out all of the mundane tasks that we don’t want to do? Then what if these robots learned to optimize these tasks and update themselves based on real world experiences? Then what if they stopped updating to do the right thing, but instead to do the wrong thing? What if this led to robots plotting against humans in an attempt to takeover the world? Yes, what I just explained is the plot from “I, Robot” but the general line of thinking is more realistic than you would think.

AI Robots in "I, Robot"

Google researchers have recently developed an AI kill switch in order to shut down an AI robot no matter what. This is incredibly important because AI robots often work by trying to maximize some sort of function or algorithm. They will then read real world events as inputs and adapt those inputs into their systems so that they can continue to maximize their functions. Human interference can be considered one of these real world events. Therefore, if the machine determines that human interaction is detrimental to maximizing their functions or that the human is trying to shut it down, the machine could act out against the human to stop this from happening. Due to this fear, Google created an AI kill switch to automatically shut down a robot at anytime.

However, Google would never want to use the kill switch unless it had to and is instead working on creating a way to have robots read human interactions as part of the task and therefore not as a detrimental interruption. Doing so would essentially allow humans to teach robots things such as to not go outside in the rain. Hopefully, through both teaching robots how to read human interactions and including a kill switch in the machines, we will never have to live through the reality in “I, Robot.”

Resources:

1. http://motherboard.vice.com/read/google-researchers-have-come-up-with-an-ai-kill-switch
2. http://www.themanufacturer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/EPA245.jpg
3. https://www.singularityweblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Kill-Switch.jpg
4. http://images.contentful.com/7h71s48744nc/3l9IwugJKgcCq8YMwWGiy/8fdbc22b56ca7a2d34fb26e76952533e/i-robot.jpg

Backing up Memory to an External Hard Drive

Earlier this week I knocked a cup of water off my desk and onto my laptop causing my heart to skip a beat and my life to flash before my eyes. As I looked down, I watched prized pictures, videos, documents, and everything else that was on my computer go down the drain. Luckily enough, the water only got onto the top of my computer and everything was fine. However, I realized that I had to back everything up that was stored in the memory of my computer immediately. Of course, as for all things I need, I went onto Amazon and bought an external hard drive immediately.

This hard drive is similar to the one I purchased

After the hard drive came in the mail yesterday, I hooked it up to my computer followed the prompt, and then waited as 320.6GB of my precious information was transferred over. The way that this process worked through a computer science standpoint was that I cleared the memory on the external hard drive so that it was empty. I then connected it to my computer with a USB cable to establish a link between the two devices. The computer then sent signals with information to the hard drive and wrote that data into the memory on the hard drive. After the data was all copied over, I then had a full backup of all of the information on my computer. Talk about a relief!

The new SanDisk 1TB microSD card

This experience related to our class discussion on how memory works. The hard drive is able to use extract the information from the bytes in the computer and copy them into it’s own memory. While the original model for this system, the Turing Machine, was based around an infinite amount of space, the hard drive that I purchased had 1 terabyte of space. While this seems like a lot of space, it is actually not that much when you look at recent developments. Just a few days ago, SanDisk released a design of a 1 terabyte memory card that alone has more storage than my entire computer. Hear that Apple? Please adopt these 1 terabyte memory cards so we no longer have to run out of storage on our phones! As this progress with memory storage continues, there may be some day where we can have a near infinite amount of storage on devices.

References:

1)   http://nypost.com/2016/09/20/this-memory-card-has-more-storage-than-your-computer/

2)   http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-computer-memory-works.html

3)   https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/sandisk-1tb.jpg?w=738

Drones-- Computer Science in our Everyday Lives

One of the most prominent and emerging breakthroughs in robotics during the 21st century has been drone technology. Drones, a subset of UAV's (unmanned aerial vehicles), use infra-red cameras, GPS technology, lasers, and state of the art computer software to be piloted from remote locations. Their use has infiltrated many aspects of our lives ranging from recreational, to cinematography, to military.

A military drone from the early 2000's

Drones work via remote control from an operator on the ground. The person controlling the drone uses joysticks and buttons to control the flight pattern, camera, and specific functionalities of the drone. Each one of these operations can be considered an input which the drone's program must decipher and determine an output. For example, if the operator moves the joy stick down and to the left, the drone must receive that signal and then read it to know that it must fly up and to the left. 

How military drones function

In recent years drones have come under fire for ethical reasons. People argue that that drones can be used to violate personal privacy and can also be considered a dangerous advancement in warfare. However, despite these concerns, drones have continued to be refined are are becoming more and more prominent in the commercial marketplace. While only time can tell the future of drones, it is safe to say that they are a prominent example of the influence of computer science in our lives.

Resources:

Pictures

• http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/48461000/gif/_48461757_how_drones_work_464.gif
• http://www.trbimg.com/img-5244b88a/turbine/la-na-nn-fbi-using-drones-2006-20130926

Resources

• https://www.dronezon.com/learn-about-drones-quadcopters/what-is-drone-technology-or-how-does-drone-technology-work/
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/04/18/drones-are-not-toys--theyre-dangerous-and-they-must-be-regulated/

Bitcoins- a complex system broken down

To begin this blog I want to clarify one thing: Bitcoins are confusing. Bitcoins are an online currency that are used for untraced, non-refundable online transactions. They operate without any central authority and are protected through cryptography. Bitcoin's value stems from consumer confidence meaning people are willing to either accept bitcoins or buy them based on what they perceive they can then sell them for in return. As of September 8th, the digital currency reached a value of $630.

The value of Bitcoin over the past 5 years.

Being a digital currency that facilitates online transactions and its protection comes from cyber cryptography, Bitcoin is inherently computer science related. However, they relate most to our in-class discussions through the way that they are "mined". Bitcoins regulate inflation through a process called "mining". This is when Bitcoin users with powerful enough computers use a special software to solve complex math problems and receive Bitcoins in return. Weird right? However, these math problems help Bitcoin's operating processes and cryptography and therefore help ensure the security of the currency. Since these problems require powerful computers and therefore would be too much for Bitcoin to manage on its own, the responsibility is passed off to its users. 

Two computers set up for Bitcoin mining

These programs and the problems that they solve are what relate to our class. They use a program with takes an input: the math problem, runs an algorithm: the software, and then provides an output: the solution/final product. This output is then rewarded with Bitcoins with then can be used for online transactions. This is a clear example of an industry which relies on computer science fundamentals in order to survive and prosper. 

References:

Pictures

• https://46qasb3uw5yn639ko4bz2ptr8u-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2014/01/mining-rig.jpeg
• http://mfi-miami.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bitcoin.png
• http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-price-flirts-630-traders-bet-long/

Content

• http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-price-flirts-630-traders-bet-long/
• https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page
• https://www.bitcoinmining.com/

'The Little Prince"- CG Animation vs. Paper Cutout Animation

CG on the left and Paper Cut-Out on the Right

On August 5, 2016 Netflix released their original film "The Little Prince". Adapted from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s popular 1943 novella “The Little Prince”, this film received rave reviews with 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.8/10 IMDB. The reason this film received such critical acclaim was it's seamless integration of CG Animation and Paper Cutout Animation into the same film.

CG Animation is the style of animation which has made large studios such as Pixar and DreamWorks so famous. This style requires painstaking effort in order to animate just one frame, to which there are about 24 per second, within the film. The level of detail that goes into the background, characters, dialogue, etc. accounts for how films such as Disney's "Frozen" takes so long to make. For example, an article on Bennet.com stated how for one scene alone, due to "its complexity, the scene took 4,000 computers over 30 hours to render each and every frame."

CG Animation



Paper Cut-Out Animation

Paper Cutout Animation is instead actually filmed using paper figures and stop-motion animation. these scenes require physically creating a set compared to digitally designing one. Paper Cutout Animation is incredibly difficult in it's own right since if one part of a scene is decide to be changed, the entire scene must be changed to account for that.

'The Little Prince" uses this disparity to it's advantage by creating two different "worlds" within the film-- one in CG and one with paper cut-outs. However, if it weren't for computers, we would not be able to do CG animation and instead this film would be one dimensional. As a result, "The Little Prince" serves as a perfect example for how computers and CG Animation open up a whole new world of opportunities in the film industry.

References
Pictures:
1) https://resizing.flixster.com/_qcN2zw4SFl6lZwek4EQMYKhFQ8=/206x305/v1.bTsxMjE5OTU0MTtqOzE3MDYxOzEyMDA7NzI5OzEwODA
2)http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/9874/713722_048.jpg
3)http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/06/movies/how-the-little-prince-came-to-animated-life.html?_r=0


Content:
1)http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/06/movies/how-the-little-prince-came-to-animated-life.html?_r=0
2)http://multimediamcc.com/old-students/ashaver/3d_process.html