Recently at Carnegie Mellon University a new way of gathering information has been created, using a $20 budget per meter. Wall++ was created out of a series of materials like painter tape, conductive tape and electrodes, with just these materials a group of young men where able to create an intelligent wall that is basically gesture-sensing touchpad. The Wall++ also can act as antennas, picking up sounds that are close to them and being able to identify what they are, it can also track the appliances that are being used inside a room, for example if the owner turns the lights on, Wall++ is able to detect this. This wall is a new development of the emerging field of smart building and smart city, the idea proposed by Bill Gates that regards building a city that is driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence.

I personally found Wall++ to be fascinating, if at such a simple stage it can already do so much, if it keeps developing into something bigger the future of this technology can be even more impressive. Since machine learning and artificial intelligence keep developing so quickly in this modern time I really think this project will become something much bigger, maybe in a near future we could control our entire home from just a wall.

Sources:https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/4/28/17289976/smart-wall-carnegie-mellon-disney-home

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/new-smart-wall-lets-you-control-your-home-swipes-taps-ncna869006

T-Mobile and Sprint have finally announced plans to merge after many rumors. The reason behind their merge was to form a new,”broad and deep” 5G network that would be faster if they built it as a team rather than individually. Hopefully the merger will be complete in mid 2019, but that is only if the government approves of it, and due to the possibility of reduced competition, it may be a more difficult sell. The companies try to combat these worries by saying that a 5G network is more involved than just mobile capabilities and will take many different providers to make it a cohesive network. T-mobile and Sprint also have promised that the merge of the two companies will actually create more jobs, but before the merge of the two companies is approved, it is extremely important that they are able to provide proof of the creation of these jobs. Many large companies claim that their next step will create new jobs, therefore in order for this merge to be approved by the government, it is extremely important that they show that they won’t slash jobs to eliminate overhead costs.

The merge of these two companies would reduce the US to only three mobile providers. T-Mobile is doing the best that it ever has, and Sprint is just recovering from rock bottom. The combination of the two would create a company that would be a comparative size to Verizon and AT&T and will create more competition, especially in prices, between the three.

https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-t-mobile-and-sprint-will-merge-to-creat/f-b695753da4%2Fengadget.com

It is quite interesting to see this resurface after our lecture that talked about the fisherman and farmers that were being used and stolen from. This emergence of mobile phones in developing countries is quickly advancing their economies. By not having to carry around physical money these people are living overall safer lives. These local payments include PayPal, MasterCard, and Amazon help citizens to safely make or receive payments. Not only does it make it more convenient, but now people can have more money on them at one time which means fewer trips back and forth from town. These companies are now reaching out and teaching those how to remember a pin number and make deposits and withdrawals all from their mobile devices. This may seem like normal technology to us, but to them, it is the creation of a new way of life. This new technology can even lead to people starting and running their own businesses and being able to spend their guarded money on other local businesses. It makes me wonder how long it will take for everyone to catch on to this trend.

After on-and-off talks since 2014 between Sprint and T-Mobile, the companies have finally announced their plans to merge. If the merger is approved by regulators and the company’s stockholders, the United States will only have 3 major wireless carriers, instead of 4.

The new company name will be T-Mobile and they will be headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. John Legere, who is the current T-Mobile CEO, will continue as the CEO of the combined company. Mike Sievert, who the current T-Mobile COO, will become the COO and president. As for the CEO of Sprint, Marcelo Claure, he will sit on the new company’s board.

By conducting the merger, the companies said they would be able to offer lower prices and take advantage of “greater economies of scale”. As the two companies have always been behind of their competitors, AT&T and Verizon, this will give them a much-needed boost. They plan to release their 5G network soon across the country to their almost 100 million combined customers. While the deal has been a possibility for the past couple years, they started talking about a deal earlier this month and were able to close it at $26 billion. Next up is getting the deal approved by regulators, which may be not be so easy, considering they are probably concerned about the smaller number of carriers.

I think that the T-Mobile and Sprint merger would be a good thing, but I understand why regulators and consumers would be worried about it. To me, I feel like it makes sense for the two companies to combine because they would be able to work together to try and compete with AT&T and Verizon. Separately, neither company has truly been able to reach their rivals, so the merger will hopefully give them the chance to improve their service and prices. On the other side, I do see how this will ultimately give consumers less choices and that could be a problem. It will be interesting to see how the approval process plays out. It will definitely be a big change in the wireless phone industry if the deal does go through.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/29/17298904/sprint-and-t-mobile-merger

Over the past few years technology has been developing and expanding more rapidly than it ever has in the past. And as of right now, the technological world is in a type of renaissance, as says computer scientist and president of Google, Sergey Brin in Google’s annual Founder’s letter. In the same letter Brin also warns that we much be cautious in the upcoming few years with technology, because while it is extremely helpful in our day to day lives, there are also potential dangers to society. One of the biggest innovations is the development of Artificial Intelligence. AI is seen in many forms and performs many tasks that were never thought possible. For example, AI analyzes photos, translates over 100 languages, powers self-driving cars, and now is  even able to help diagnose disease and find new planets in space. While AI is able to do so many things, the amount of tasks AI can do has the potential of disrupting the job market, Brin also fears about “the challenges of making unbiased and transparent algorithms; and the fears that this technology will be used to “manipulate people.”’

Last week the tech earning report was released, and the statistics showed the growth in technology in the past year, the report showed a 26 percent increase in revenues, and Amazon’s earnings jumped up 43 percent. As technology begins to grow these fears will become more and more justifiable. Brin closes off his letter by reminding people that at this point there is no turning back in our development with technology and that we must “tread with deep responsibility, care, and humility.”

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/28/17295064/google-ai-threat-sergey-brin-founders-letter-technology-renaissance  

A new video conferencing technology allows for two parties to video conference with full size, 3D holographic images. This technology makes it so that you can see a full 3D image of the person you are video chatting. TeleHuman2 uses a circular ring of projectors that project a 360 degree light field that can project full holographic images. Being able to read body language and take non-verbal cues will transform the way that professionals communicate during business meetings. It will make meetings more efficient and waste less time. TeleHuman2 is the first truly holographic video conferencing system. The first version of TeleHuman only allowed for one viewer to see the entire image at a time, but TeleHuman2 is the first system that allows multiple viewers to view the hologram. What do you think of this new technology?

Queen’s University. “Move over Tupac! Life-size holograms set to revolutionize videoconferencing: New light field displays effectively simulate teleportation.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 April 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180425120208.htm>.

In preparation for finals week, I decided to re-watch The Terminator. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it, its all about AI taking over and killing everyone, and time travel, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. ANYWAY the movie isn’t really what I’m talking about here today, but I bring it up because it made me wonder about AI and its potential to murder us all. Therefore, I decided to give the issue a look see to determine how soon I need to build my AI proof bunker.

First off, in order to murder all of us, AI would probably need to develop some sort of advanced super intelligence. So that sort of brings us to the first question: is that possible? Why don’t we check in with a panel of AI experts including Demis Hassabis, Elon Musk, David Chalmers and others who met five months ago to answer that very question. According to this panel the unanimous answer is yes. Therefore, AI is probably going to become smart enough kill all of us, although the panel didn’t really know when this would happen.

However, the real question is: once AI develops the ability to outperform humans and become sentient beings, what will they do? Is this the part where they murder us all? The real answer is that nobody knows, but that has never stopped humanity from speculating wildly. The more hopeful answer is that we can coexist peacefully and make the world a better place and whatnot. However, another alternative is that they decide to kill their inferior slave masters (that’s us) and commence the Skynet style termination of the entire human race. Of course, there are those that still believe that the idea of AI supremacy is absolute malarkey.

Anyway folks, you should definitely check out The Terminator and build your anti AI bunkers in preparation for the potential AI takeover.

https://thenextweb.com/artificial-intelligence/2017/11/06/stephen-hawking-thinks-ai-will-cure-disease-if-it-doesnt-kill-us-all/

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a low-cost, portable 3D printer that uses 3D Sensing technology to map out the shape of the surface skin or a wound to repair cellular tissue to print electronics onto a hand.  This printer cost only $400 and is easily portable.  The printing process for most products onto the skin takes only a matter of minutes, and this technology is hoped to be used on soldiers.

Regarding electronics, sensors can be printed onto the hand that can detect harmful chemical and biohazards that will alert soldiers when activated.  Solar power absorbing cells can also be printed, as well as agents that draw power from natural body heat, which will be used to power such devices.

Additionally, these printers can produce cellular tissue (a technology further being developed by biomechanics company, Cellink, in Sweden) directly onto the skin to heal wounds.  This technology will be able to help soldiers to heal and avoid hazardous situations both during and after battles, and could create a major difference in the way soldiers operate.

https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/researchers-3d-print-electronics-and-cells-directly-skin

Every year, more VR and AR products and games are being seen at the festival.  This year in particular, however, empathy technologies are taking a turn from just simply creative colors and scenery to a more political and serious atmosphere.  One game, entitled Terminal 3 is a game in which the user is an airport security officer interviewing muslims.  In this experience, users are prompted to ask different questions as an interviewer to ultimately decide whether or not to let this individual into the country.

The designer and writer of this game, Asad J. Malik, grew up in Pakistan and he claims that his game’s purpose is not to promote any one specific message in particular about Muslims and the way that they are treated in airports.  Rather, he just wants to illustrate the tremendous difference in the personalities and backgrounds that most people do not realize.  He says that there is such variety in the types of people that may or may not recognize themselves as Muslims, but “who the world would recognize as Muslims.” Malik is using his knowledge of empathy technologies and his credibility as a designer at the Tribeca Film Festival to create a change that he would like to see in the world.

This year’s Tribeca Film Festival uses AR and VR to explore music-making and empathy

I don’t know how the rest of you feel, but purchasing a new iPhone for me is not a fun experience, especially after the elimination of 2-year contracts and the discounted price. Paying the full price means you will spend anywhere from $450 – $1,000 depending on what model you are looking for. Some people don’t give it much thought, but this is outrageous. Luckily, it seems like Apple is in the process of releasing an iPhone that will save you some money.

The iPhone SE, which starts at $349 will be refreshed in the near future according to Apple. The SE is currently Apple’s smallest phone with a screen size of 4 inches. This is a design that is reminiscent of the older iPhone 5s model. The SE 2 is expected to look the same, but come equipped with the some of the newer features found in the iPhone 7 such as an A10 processor.

Despite these talks of a higher quality low priced phone, there is some doubt among employees that this will ever come to fruition. Developers believe that Apple does not have enough spare resources to develop a new model in time for the second quarter of 2018. Furthermore, developers also believe that instead of keeping around another screen size that they will need to support, it may be more beneficial to just extend the life of lower models such as the 6s or the 7. It will be interesting to see how things unfold in the future!