lughnasadh

lughnasadh OP t1_iys2jc6 wrote

Reply to comment by LeftOnQuietRoad in Researchers claim a human trial with 90 people has shown a simple laser therapy improves short-term memory by 25%. The treatment, called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), has had claims in previous studies to also improve reaction times, accuracy and attention by lughnasadh

>>I wonder if it just mimics human touch and belonging.

Apparently this works at some specific wavelengths and not others.

That would suggest to me, the mechanism is some transfer of energy from the laser to specific molecules in brain cells. The article mentions this, and suggests those molecules may be in astrocytes, a type of cell that seem to have a role in supplying energy to other cells.

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lughnasadh OP t1_iyrvj08 wrote

Reply to Researchers claim a human trial with 90 people has shown a simple laser therapy improves short-term memory by 25%. The treatment, called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), has had claims in previous studies to also improve reaction times, accuracy and attention by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

The downside to this is that no one is sure what the mechanism is, and they also don't know how long the effect lasts. Clearly, if this is to become a useful therapy then answers will be needed there.

Low-level laser therapy is a field of medicine with some controversy. It's currently being used in many applications where some people feel there is inadequate evidence for its uses. Still, this research seems to suggest there may be future useful applications for it.

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lughnasadh t1_iyrssj6 wrote

Reply to comment by Mobius_Peverell in Solar energy in Europe will be 10 times cheaper than gas by 2030 by EnergyTransitionNews

>>from Ireland to England & the Continent

Minor correction. Ireland is connected to the British Grid via Scotland & Wales, not England, and its connection to the EuroGrid will be via France.

But you're correct with your overall point. Though I'd suggest connecting the east of Europe to the western countries off-shore Atlantic wind power might be the most important thing. Maybe the most important north-south connection, might be solar in Spain to the north of Europe.

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lughnasadh OP t1_iy3rbhh wrote

Reply to An AI-generated cover version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" with a deep-faked singer's voice, shows us a world of AI-generated music is coming. by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

Here's a link to the song.

What's interesting is that it's surprisingly good, as the AI nails using the human voice clone expressively. The song needs a suitable emotional register of heartbreak, and the AI gives it that.

I wonder what this means for the future of the music business? Will the biggest-selling artists still be able to make as much money when their voice has been endlessly cloned for thousands of cover versions? Presumably, we will have a future where every popular song has been covered by thousands, if not millions, of deep-faked voices. When will we reach a point AI deep-faked songs outnumber the human ones?

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lughnasadh OP t1_ixz8s2m wrote

Reply to Combining game theory with AI, Meta's Cicero was able to outsmart 90% of human players of the strategy game Diplomacy. Game theory models many forms of group human behavior, especially in politics and economics, where this AI will have many applications. by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

Meta has had a rough few weeks with AI. Their new Galactica science summarizer got a bad reception and was shelved. However, with Cicero, it looks like they are much more successful.

This is a very interesting advance in AI as it incorporates a form of reasoning. Most of that reasoning comes from applying game theory. This is fascinating as game theory models many types of group human behavior. As ever this has black and white hat applications. I won't be surprised if the world's intelligence agencies are looking at this and wondering how to use it in psy-ops and influencing other countries.

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lughnasadh OP t1_ixuznad wrote

Reply to Nvidia has created a text-to-3D generative-AI that will allow people to make high-resolution 3D models from just text prompts. by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

Nvidia isn't the first to do this, DreamFusion got there first, but Nvidia's AI is a significant step up in quality. Professional grade 3D modeling software, like Blender, has a steep learning curve, so this will democratize 3D content creation. Apple is rumored to have VR glasses in the works for next year. If so, there is likely to be a big increase in 3D content creation.

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lughnasadh OP t1_ixo2d87 wrote

Reply to San Francisco police propose using robots capable of ‘deadly force’ by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

Arming robots feels inevitable. They would allow the lives of police officers to be protected, if the robots could face armed assailants instead. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has seen drones move to the forefront of 21st armed conflict. I'm surprised quadruped robots, like Boston Dynamics Spot, haven't been used more yet. The Boston Dynamics robot is expensive, but there are several inexpensive clones of it produced in China. Though a Chinese manufacturer seems to be working on something like this.

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lughnasadh OP t1_ixnci8q wrote

Reply to A cheap $200 solar-power plastic robot that destroys weeds, shows that global agriculture can dramatically reduce the chemicals used in farming, and reduce the 45% of crops lost to pests. by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

Approximately half of global agricultural farming production is lost due to pests. This robot doesn't deal with them all, just weeds, but how long before robots can tackle insects, fungi and other diseases in crops?

Doubling global food production would be a staggering achievement. It's amazing to think the mass adoption of cheap plastic robots could contribute so much to that goal.

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lughnasadh OP t1_ixi3hzd wrote

Reply to China says it will use the Tiangong Space Station to test the transmission of space-based solar power to Earth. by lughnasadh

Submission Statement.

The European Space Agency formally committed to a feasibility study on space solar at their big annual meeting in Paris this week. ESA specifically referenced baseload electricity generation in their reasoning for supporting this idea.

Personally, I don't get it all. Research & deployment in many different types of grid storage batteries is racing ahead at the moment, and this will be space-based solar's main competitor. It seems hard to believe it will ultimately ever beat it on price.

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lughnasadh OP t1_ixdrog7 wrote

Reply to Over 1,000 songs with human-mimicking AI vocals have been released by Tencent Music in China. One of them has 100m streams. by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

One of the ironies of the debate around AI/robots replacing human labor is that people used to think it was unskilled labor that would go first. Instead, western countries are awash with unskilled minimum wage positions that are going unfilled, and it's the skilled high paid jobs that look more under threat.

This is just another indication that Generative AI is on the cusp of rapidly eating up creative work. Digital artists and illustrators must feel especially under threat by the likes of Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. There will of course be new jobs. AR/VR is around the corner and some people will make money off operating and selling services from Generative AI.

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lughnasadh OP t1_iwzosif wrote

Reply to First privately built Indian space rocket launches by lughnasadh

Submission Statement

The company is aiming to start full commercial services with its [Vikram 1 rocket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikram_(rocket)) in about 12 months time.

The global small-lift launch market is getting crowded with new private companies. It will be interesting to see these compete on price. India has a great track record on getting to space with relatively small budgets; it sent an orbiter to Mars for just $73 million.

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