It’s been called the “rapture of the nerds,” but such derision didn’t stop an estimated 500 enthusiasts from showing up to the Singularity Institute’s conference in San Jose, Calif., last weekend to discuss the possibility of artificial intelligence overtaking that of humans.
That’s the concept of technological singularity, popularized by author and inventor Ray Kurzweil. Talking [...]

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From Financial Times:
“A Sheffield company has launched a “virtual rat” computer programme, which it claims will mimic drug trials on animals.
Simcyp, spun out of Sheffield University, has specialised for the past seven years in creating virtual populations, essentially computer programmes loaded with data about human metabolism that can predict the likely response of people to [...]

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Chipmaker Intel said this week that despite its record US$10.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter, the company is worried that the global economic crisis will affect future performance. Despite such a general malaise across the industry, however, there is some very good news on the tech front.
Buried under the cloud of economic [...]

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A new magazine called H+ has launched and I have an article in its first edition (“Science Fiction Gets Funding”). It’s edited by cyberculture icon RU Sirius and is published by Humanity Plus (aka the World Transhumanist Association). Here’s some media coverage of the launch: Boing Boing, Kurzweil.net.

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From the WSJ:
“Even with the credit crisis, the telecommunications industry is in better shape than it has ever been in. It is now competitive, relatively flush with subscribers and strategic options….“You’re not seeing the same liquidity issues and hue and cry coming out of the telecom industry that you’re seeing out of other industries,” Seidenberg [...]

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Here’s the story.
“Up to a fifth of adults, including college students and shift workers, may be using cognitive enhancers, a poll of 1,400 by Nature journal suggests. “

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Well, for older people perhaps, according to UCLA researchers. “A simple, everyday task like searching the web appears to enhance brain circuitry in older adults, demonstrating that our brains are sensitive and can continue to learn as we grow older,” said professor Smith.
This is in contrast to an article in Atlantic called “Is [...]

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Complete Genomics, a startup based in Mountain View, says it can sequence an entire genome for $1000 in materials costs and will sell it for $5000 to cover the costs of labor etc. If that’s correct, they should be in the running for the X-Prize in Genomics (assuming they can sequence 100 genomes in [...]

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The financial crisis currently consuming the U.S. has led tech industry leaders, such as Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, to speak out in favor of quick Congressional action. Tech stocks, as well as general stocks, have plummeted, and there is confusion over why this crisis is happening and spreading so fast. One explanation that makes a lot [...]

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