D technology

Source: Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash Chances are you've used one of these phrases recently, perhaps even today: “I’ve got to reboot.” “I’m searching my memory banks.” “My brain needs an upgrade.” “I’m having a system crash.” “I’m processing.” When we use this language, we are analogizing our brains with computers. I want to consider how the computer metaphor for the brain influences our daily lives. Whether we realize it or not, our default assumption is that the way to understand and fix what our brains are doing is the same as how we understand and fix our computers. To some extent, this is justified since our brains do carry out computations to accomplish some tasks. The computer metaphor has guided neuroscience for more than half a century. It has helped spur important discoveries about fundamental brain processes, such as how the brain achieves visual perception. But we are at a point of diminishing returns. The computer metaphor is leading us … [Read more...] about Do You Really Need a Brain “Upgrade”?

Dr. Chander Source: Photo credit: Rosso Can technology read your mind? Divya Chander, M.D., Ph.D., has a surprising answer to that question. Chander is a neuroscientist and physician on the faculty at both Stanford University and Singularity University. She was educated at Harvard, the University of California San Diego/Salk Institute, UCSF and Stanford. Her post-doctoral work was in optogenetics at the pioneering Deisseroth lab at Stanford University. In Chander’s presentation at Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine , she referenced the example of a research group at Berkeley that was able to use machine learning , a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to try to understand what the brain sees. fMRI measures brain activity by showing the changes in hemodynamics such as the oxygenation, volume and changes in blood flow. Ironically, what’s expediting the recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, AI and fMRI, … [Read more...] about Brain-Computer Interfaces and Neuroscience

Source: MohammadHasan/Pixabay Why do people feel exhausted after spending hours in virtual meetings? Recently, Stanford professor and founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL), Jeremy Bailenson, published a paper in Technology, Mind, and Behavior about the potential psychological factors that cause “Zoom fatigue.” “While there are dozens of empirical studies in psychology, human-computer interaction, and communication that examine behavior during videoconferencing, there has yet to be rigorous studies that examine the psychological consequences of spending hours per day on this particular medium,” wrote Bailenson. “Hence this piece outlines a theoretical explanation—one based on previous work—as to why the current implementation of videoconferencing is so exhausting.” Video conferencing, also called web conferencing, online meetings, webcasts, web meetings, videoconferencing, virtual meetings, and webinars, refers to real-time meetings … [Read more...] about Stanford Professor on ‘Zoom Fatigue’ and How to Prevent It

Tom Cruise has officially joined TikTok after deepfake videos of the actor went viral. Three bizarre deepfake videos of the Mission Impossible actor appeared on the platform in recent days under an account titled "deeptomcruise." A number of videos appeared to show Cruise doing various things like playing golf, doing a magic trick and recalling the time he met the former President of the Soviet Union. It has since been reported that the clips were created by Chris Ume, a video visual effects specialist from Belgium. But the quality of imitation achieved in the works has startled internet users this week and sounded alarms for what such technology is capable of achieving. A deepfake is essentially applying a digital animated mask on to a face that depicts a certain person and the Cruise ones are so realistic that viewers were genuinely confused as to whether they are real or not. The clips had amassed more than 11 million views on TikTok as of Tuesday and had also been … [Read more...] about Tom Cruise Joins TikTok After Deepfake Videos of Movie Star Go Viral

New Zealand’s share market is the fourth-best performing since 1900, new data shows. Credit Suisse has released its latest Global Investment Returns Yearbook, which shows how markets around the world have fared. It includes 120 years of data on stocks, bonds, bills, inflation and currencies. The report shows that equities are the best long-run financial investment. Over 121 years, global equities provided an annualised return, in US dollars, of 5.3 per cent a year, versus 2.1 per cent for bonds. The yearbook put Australia as the best-performing sharemarket over the time, with an annualised real return of 6.8 per cent a year since 1900. READ MORE: The real David vs Goliath investment story is not Gamestock Coronavirus: Covid-19 exposes naked risk behind KiwiSaver funds NZ one of the best performing sharemarkets in the world over 120 years In US dollar terms, that put it ahead of the US, South Africa and New Zealand. New Zealand had a return of 6.5 per cent a … [Read more...] about New Zealand’s share market fourth-best performing over 120 years