Bob McGinley::J2Evolution

The next leap forward: Parallel Processing

One of the nice things about having a blog is that I can always point to a previous post and say, "I predicted this!".  Unfortunately, predicting parallelism as the next great step for computational processing is no great feat.  The serial nature of our current CPU's is inhibiting.  The processors are fast, but they are primarily single threaded, meaning they can only process one instruction at a time.  The human brain by contrast is slow in comparison to today's CPU's, but the human brain is multi-threaded and can handle multiple requests at once, making the brain more efficient at processing information per cycle.

Last week at the OOPSLA (Object-Oriented Programming, Systems and Languages) conference in Montreal, the programming demi-gods of our age got together to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Simula 67, the first object oriented programming language. 

Zabaware Wins Loebner Prize for Artificial Intelligence

The Loebner Prize for Artificial Intelligence is awarded every year for accomplishments in making computers more 'human', or more like humans.  This years award has gone to Zabaware's Ultra Hal software for 'most human' computer in the world.

Zabaware Wins Loebner Prize for Artificial Intelligence

It is one thing to talk to your computer it is quite another to have a conversation where you are exchanging information and the computer learns and utilizes the information in the future. Zabaware’s Ultra Hal technology and its associated brain are currently doing just that. The software can give your computer a personality using AI technology, speech recognition technology, and real-time animation. It can be used as an entertainment program, a companion, or an office assistant. It learns from conversations and evolves and improves the more it talks with a person. In addition to chat it can perform useful functions such as remembering and reminding of appointments, keeping an address book, dialing phone numbers, launching program, and more.

Zabaware appears to have combined a decent voice recognition solution with some rather high-level response routines.  I haven't downloaded the app (which is available here) but I went and read through some of the interaction that is displayed in text form.  I'm impressed with the semantic nature of the AI responses from what I can read.  Of course I'm not sure if these responses are actually conversational, or if they are actually canned responses regurgitated based on indexed keywords.

Either way, this is a nice step forward for human-machine interfacing.  As this type of technology matures and becomes more natural, I think we'll see it become more pervasive in other technology areas like gaming, and even business applications.

There are some great little companies out there making progress in these areas.  I couldn't help but think that Zabaware and Mike Sellers' Online Alchemy should consider some collaboration in this area.  This could end up being the game engine of the future.

The H-1B Visa conspiracy

As an IT Architect who has led multiple large scale development engagements, including hiring a large staff of technical resources, I can't help but comment on the fiasco around H-1B Visas.  And because this subject has so much to do with race and culture, I'll state right out of the gate that my opinion has nothing to do with race and culture.  My opinion is based on pure labor economics.

Vivek Wadhwa writes in last weeks Business Week:

The Visa Shortage: Big Problem, Easy Fix

This visa shortage is a problem for U.S. companies that depend on engineers because significantly more foreign-born students than Americans are completing higher degrees in engineering. According to the American Society of Engineering Education (asee.org), foreigners account for nearly 45% of masters-level engineering students and 60% of PhDs. The result? Multinationals have little choice but to expand their engineering operations abroad, and smaller businesses that can't afford to expand overseas are unable to hire the talent they need.   ***snip***

Unlike many of the problems facing the U.S., this one isn't hard to fix. All we need to do is increase the number of visas that are available for international students who get job offers from U.S. companies. An even better solution is to offer these students permanent-resident visas rather than H-1Bs. In the new global landscape, we need the world's best talent on our side.

Let me be very clear on what I think here, this is nothing more than pure, unmitigated, CRAP!  I don't know the last time Mr. Wadhwa has had to hire any technical staff, but I can tell you his article is highly biased to the employer (cheap labor) side of this debate.

Computers to predict the unpredictable

Get ready for a rant. U of Arizona prof. Jerzy Rozenblit has been awarded a $2.2 million grant to study volatile 'political and military situations' using software that will predict the actions of paramilitary and ethnic groups, terrorists and criminal groups, etc.   I'm in constant amazement with the human race.  Why does it seem that every time we make any scientific progress in a specific area, our first instinct is to use it to make weapons.

$2.2 Million Grant Calls for Designing Computer Software to Predict the Unpredictable

The Asymmetric Threat Response and Analysis Project, known as ATRAP, is a massively complex set of computer algorithms (mathematical procedures) that sift through millions of pieces of data, considering many factors including social, political, cultural, military and media influences, said Rozenblit, who holds the Raymond J. Oglethorpe Endowed Chair in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the UA.

The software can handle data loads that would overwhelm human analysts, while dispassionately exploring actions and behaviors based solely on the data, sidestepping human cultural biases that might prematurely rule out unorthodox or seemingly bizarre courses of action.

The brain to computer interface

In a recent post I discussed the concept of establishing a protocol for machines to communicate with human brains.  The question I posed had to do with variances in our brain functions across individuals, and our brains filter systems that it uses to block certain kinds of information, i.e., a learning disorder, or even autism.

There is some progress being made in areas other than what the folks at uMind are doing. 

Engineers work on real-time control of artificial limbs

"A prosthesis revolution is under way, and a lot of the mechanical problems are getting solved," said Nitish Thakor, a professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, speaking at one of two workshops on neural systems. "Now the challenge is linking prosthetic devices to the nervous system to control them in a real-time fashion."

OT: Citizens for Financial Responsibility

This is off topic, but worth sharing.  As an avid market participant I find it becoming more and more obvious that the game is rigged in favor of the large banks in investment houses.  I think what crisis with subprime mortgages could have been avoided with proven conservative and fair lending practices.  The greed and corruption have been allowed to run rampant under this Treasury and Fed Reserve.  Its time for a change.  Please help me in supporting an effort to let Congress know that we demand a fair and trust worthy financial system.

Congress - Repair our Financial System!

New Human Interface gadget uses transparent screen & robot eyes.

I'm not a hardware geek by any means, but I couldn't resist tossing this one out there.  I happen to be one of those people that is very frustrated with the current state of user interface development.  Sure, AJAX and some of the WEB 2.0 technologies are great, but which technology is going to make the next great user interface leap?  Where is the next generation mouse and keyboard?

Transparent Gadget could trump iPhone interface.

A touch-sensitive gadget with the sensing panel on its back, instead of the screen, is being developed by US researchers. Using your fingers behind the device allows a firmer grip and more accurate performance without obscuring your view of the screen, they say.

Alternate Reality Education

Another story about education and the use of new paradigms to teach information.  This is such a fascinating field to me because I tend to learn very well in these environments.  And I'm not sure if its because of the medium used to disseminate the information, or my tendency to be more interested in subjects I find intriguing, such as technology.

Alternative reality: UW prof touts computer game learning

Even though parents and educators increasingly see the value of computer game learning, the powers who drive education policy are either still too wedded to the type of learning that prepared students for the industrial age, or they think teaching with computer games is too radical to suggest at the moment - even if they know the digital world is creating a new paradigm for education.

A couple points here.  I grew up with our "industrial age" education system, and to be quite frank, looking back on it now I find it quite boring and stale.  Accurate and up to date information was incredibly difficult to find, and more research time was wasted flipping through stacks of books and dewey decimal indexes than actual learning.  When you did find a book on a subject of interest, it was more than likely outdated.

Some Nano News

First, from IBM's Stuart Parkin, a new type of computer memory using nanowires.  Nanowires are quantum strands that are just a few nanometers wide, but are of an undefined length.  Depending on the material used for the nanowires, the magnetic fields and electrical current applied, these nanowires can be used to store 100's of bits in a solid state environment, i.e., no spinning disk and vibrating read head. 

IBM Attempts to Reinvent Memory

Stuart Parkin, an experimental physicist at IBM's Almaden Research Center, in San Jose, CA, says that the memory, which would pack a hundred bits of data on a single nanowire, could potentially store 10 to 100 times more data than flash--the type of memory used in digital cameras and other small portable devices--while operating at much faster speeds. And because it's solid-state memory, it would be far sturdier than magnetic hard drives, which require mechanical devices to read and write data. "In principle, we could be cheaper than flash would be, denser than flash would be, and orders of magnitude faster," Parkin says. "And there's no wear-out mechanism, so it's totally reliable."

Artificial Intelligence aids real intelligence.

Saw this press release today about a company that is doing very well creating eLearning tools.  This type of education material is becoming more and more popular in the technology arena because its so affordable, and such a positive experience for its users.  And of course, I just love the creative side of this technology.

uMind Artificial Intelligence Software Poised to Take Over eLearning World

A result of 10 years of research and development, uMind will deliver two pioneering platforms that teach rather than simply deploy content. Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence, uSim and uLearn estimate, control, and anticipate learner behavior. They build and modify the learning path in real-time and generate advanced pedagogical strategies according to the learner’s needs. They assist and guide the learner throughout the course and provide him with relevant, adapted feedback in real-time.