Amazon is one of the world’s most successful companies and has been growing exponentially since it’s creation. With thousands of products to choose from at the click of a button to cashier-less grocery stores, it seems like there’s almost nothing Amazon can’t offer. Not too long ago we encountered the launch of Amazon’s Alexa, the smart home in a speaker. Now they’re taking it up yet another step and introducing home security packages. According to an article on The Verge by Dani Deahl, there will be five different tiers of home security packages which range in service and price. To begin the process, Amazon will have an employee come to your home and assess your security needs and install the package. For only minor needs, there is a deal worth a mere $240 that includes motion-detecting lights and a wireless waterproof speaker. On the other hand, a package worth $840 includes a smart flood and leak sensor, entry sensors, and the well-known Ring doorbell. No matter what package the user chooses, an Amazon echo dot is automatically included. Personally, I think this is a great way to bring together the Ring doorbell system, recently purchased by Amazon, with its artificial intelligence products Alexa and the Echo Dot. This could be a huge bonus to smart homes across the country. Adjusting your heat and preheating the oven with the touch of a button is great, but having the ability to keep track of your home’s safety at all time’s would make life less stressful and vacations more enjoyable. With this addition to AI, there are definitely security risks. Like we went over in class, AI is “Any system that generates seemingly intelligent decisions or predictions.” Having AI devices now connected to a camera outside of your home and being able to gain information through sensors, there’s a possibility of hacking and having that data and video footage accessed by people with malintent. Do you think it’s worth having Amazon’s security packaged installed?

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/27/17291134/amazon-smart-security-packages-installation

Alexa is known to most as the Amazon product that can turn any house into a smart home with the click of a button. You can have Alexa do almost anything from turning your Christmas lights on to closing your garage door. Even though most people still can’t fully wrap their minds around all of Alexa’s present capabilities, she’ll soon be gaining even more. Right now Alexa functions the same in every household, but what if she could be programmed with owner specific information?  According to an article on TechNewsWorld by Peter Suciu, Amazon has just introduced Alexa Skill Blueprints, a program that enables users to customize pre-set templates that will only be available on their own Amazon account. This new addition to the already advanced artificial intelligence product will further broaden its educated response system. According to Amazon, the Alexa Skill Blueprints will offer 4 different templates for users to customize including Learning and Knowledge, Fun and Games, At Home, and Storyteller. At Home will allow the user to program personal information for babysitters or house guests to access such as phone numbers and emergency contact information. Learning and Knowledge gives the user the ability to make customized quizzes with Alexa where she can then test you and be your own personal study buddy. The Fun and Games feature will offer jokes templates, compliments, and the ability to make family games. Lastly, Storyteller will enable Alexa to tell different genre stories such as fantasy or sci-fi. After learning about this new addition to the already beloved smart home device, the principal analyst of Netpop Reseach, Josh Crandall, stated that it will inspire the makers in our midst and I definitely agree. The Skills Blueprints will allow the user to be more creative while interacting with Alexa. So far, Alexa has just made daily life more mindless and less independent for users, but now people will actually be able to learn and have fun with Alexa and the rest of their family. Just as we discussed in class on maker culture, there will be community knowledge sharing.

Of course, there is always a downside and concerning aspect of devices with this much artificial intelligence. The main part of Alexa Skills Blueprints that creates a major potential issue is the At Home feature. The user is giving Alexa personal information to share with trusted employees or houseguests, but what if that information could get into the wrong hands? Every day there are millions of hackers trying to recover disclosed information on people and use it for malicious intent. Do you think this feature has more benefits than security risks?

Source: https://www.technewsworld.com/story/With-Custom-Skills-Alexa-Inches-Closer-to-Being-One-of-the-Family-85295.html

Over the past couple of years, homes around the world have been becoming more and more technologically connected. Smart homes, once a futuristic idea, are now a reality. They are a prime example of the internet of things, something discussed in class as the network of physical devices, that contain software, sensors, and the ability to connect to other devices via networks. With just one device, such as a Google Home, you can regulate your home’s temperature, turn lights on and off, and even set your oven to preheat before a dinner party. Now that people have gotten comfortable with such a technological luxury in their own homes, they’ve begun to realize how antiquated hotels seem. If you’ve recently stayed at a hotel you’ve probably noticed there’s still a need for a key card to unlock doors, a corded telephone used for customer service, and basic cable television. With all of the technology we have right at home, the experience of going on vacation is diluted with the lack of connectivity.

According to an article from the University of Delaware, “A survey of 595 people who had stayed in a hotel during the last year found that the greater the relative standing of a hotel’s technologies when compared with home, the higher the guest satisfaction.” The hospitality industry has realized a major need for the internet of things to become a part of American hotels. Their goal is to have these smart technologies provide customers with the comfort and accessibility they would have at home or a superior vacation experience for those who don’t have the luxury of a smart home. According to a researcher at the university, their first step is to get rid of the key card and replace it with a lock that would be connected to your smartphone. Users would, therefore, be able to use an app to access their assigned room. They would also be able to control heating and lighting from their phones as well and every room would be provided a smart t.v in order to connect to the customer’s Netflix account. Personally, I believe the internet of things being implemented into hotels is a long-awaited upgrade that will highly benefit the customer’s experience while traveling.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-04-technology-hotels-home.html

Prosthetics have been around for decades now, but they’ve been evolving at a very slow rate throughout this time. Of course prosthetics are extremely useful no matter what and can offer someone without a limb to gain back some function to that area. Unfortunately, prosthetics have never been more than physically connected to someones body making it difficult if not impossible for the person to regain sensory feedback. This is exactly the reason why Garrett Anderson has been working on creating prostheses that include machine learning abilities to provide this crucial sensory data. According to an article on CNET by Abrar Al-Heeti, Garrett Anderson, a retired US Army sergeant, had almost caused his grandmothers hand to break after trying to gently squeeze it with his prosthetic hand. As humans, we pick up different objects and already know how much pressure should be applied. Anderson was determined to enable prosthetic users to have these same abilities once again. For the past couple of years, Anderson has been working with the startup company Psyonic to bring machine learning into protheses and give the owner “intuitive control”. Machine learning is basically a computerized system that will learn over time to make educated decisions from data it receives. According to Psyonic, there are pressure sensors on the fingertips which recognize when someone touches an object and then gives them a sense of pressure in their working muscles and nerves. The sensors are meant to learn overtime how much pressure is required with different types of objects such as hands, eggs, door knobs, and so on. I feel this is an incredible step forward for the world of protheses as well as technology and will allow its users to have a more “human” feeling once again. It’s amazing how machine learning is being implemented to benefit the lives of those without hands, arms, legs, or feet.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/prosthetic-hands-get-a-sense-of-touch/

As with everything else in the world, war is being technologically advanced little by little with artificial intelligence. The use of drones during combat has been a major controversial debate among people around the world. According to an article by Brandon Specktor on Life Science, Google has set up an agreement with the U.S Department of Defense (DOD) to create advanced software that will provide the drones with the superior ability to identify objects during warfare. The hoped for outcome of this software is to “improve America’s ability to win wars with computer algorithms and artificial intelligence”. Currently, drones have just been providing footage of combat zones in Syria and and Iraq which takes officials hours to go through. According to the DOD there are thirty-six classes of objects that are recognized within current drone footage. This new software will allow for the automatic detection of these classes, making the process shorter and more efficient. It’s incredible how military drones are now being adapted and designed to better assist deployed militants. Although the article states that these drones won’t be able to identify targets, there is still a concerning aspect to the increased capabilities of them.

Google reported they will be using TensorFlow programming in the drones as well. TensorFlow is known for being used to create neural networks, or computer systems that are based off of the human nervous system and brain adding that artificial intelligence aspect. According to Google, the software is only meant to identify images that will be looked over by humans, but what if this advanced system can do much more? It’s definitely a concerning thought especially when dealing with war and combat. My cousin has been deployed in Syria for 2 tours now and is personally alarmed by the introduction of AI into something that is so centered on human interaction and strategy. Personally, I agree with him and fear that war will eventually be completely machine operated. Even employees from Google are concerned with the abilities of these new drones. Who knows what types of immense destruction they could bring to our world.

Source: https://www.livescience.com/61952-google-providing-ai-drone-footage-department-of-defense.html