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Stephen Hawking warns artificial intelligence could end mankind

Rory Cellan-Jones

December 2, 2014

    “The development of full artificial intelligence (AI) could spell the end of the human race”, said Professor Hawking. His warning came in response to a question about a revamp of the technology he uses to communicate, which involves a basic form of AI. But others are less gloomy about AI’s prospects. The theoretical physicist, who has the motor neurone disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is using a new system developed by Intel to speak. Machine learning experts from the British company Swiftkey were also involved in its creation. Their technology, already employed as a smartphone keyboard app, learns how the professor thinks and suggests the words he might want to use next. Prof Hawking says the primitive forms of AI developed so far have already proved very useful, but he fears the consequences of creating something that can match or surpass humans. “It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate,” he said. “Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”

    But others are less pessimistic. “I believe we will remain in charge of the technology for a decently long time and the potential of it to solve many of the world problems will be realised,” said Rollo Carpenter, creator of Cleverbot. Cleverbot’s software learns from its past conversations, and has gained high scores in the Turing test, fooling a high proportion of people into believing they are talking to a human. Mr Carpenter says we are a long way from having the computing power or developing the algorithms needed to achieve full artificial intelligence, but believes it will come in the next few decades. “We cannot quite know what will happen if a machine exceeds our own intelligence, so we can’t know if we’ll be infinitely helped by it, or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivably destroyed by it,” he says. But he is betting that AI is going to be a positive force.

    Prof Hawking is not alone in fearing for the future. In the short term, there are concerns that clever machines capable of undertaking tasks done by humans until now will swiftly destroy millions of jobs. In the longer term, the technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has warned that AI is “our biggest existential threat”.

   In his BBC interview, Prof Hawking also talks of the benefits and dangers of the internet. He quotes the director of GCHQ’s (Government Communications Headquarters) warning about the net becoming the command centre for terrorists: “More must be done by the internet companies to counter the threat, but the difficulty is to do this without sacrificing freedom and privacy.”

    He has, however, been an enthusiastic early adopter of all kinds of communication technologies and is looking forward to being able to write much faster with his new system. But one aspect of his own tech – his computer generated voice – has not changed in the latest update. Prof Hawking concedes that it’s slightly robotic, but insists he didn’t want a more natural voice. “It has become my trademark, and I wouldn’t change it for a more natural voice with a British accent,” he said. “I’m told that children who need a computer voice, want one like mine.”

(www.bbc.com. Adaptado.)

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Pop songs ‘derogatory about growing old’

March 8, 2016

    Pop songs set a bad example by portraying ageing and old people in a negative light, focusing on dying and physical decline, according to a study in a nursing journal.

    UK researchers trawled the musical archives from the 1930s to the present day for any tracks mentioning old age. The majority - 55 out of 76 songs - focused on “bad” aspects of ageing. The Beatles and Elton John feature on the “negative list”, along with Pulp and The Who.

    Meanwhile, Bob Dylan and John Lennon were commended by the researchers for penning positive lyrics in their respective songs Forever Young and Borrowed Time, with Dusty Springfield mentioned for her version of the Carole King and Gerry Goffin song Goin’ Back.

    Lead researcher Jacinta Kelly, senior lecturer in nursing at Anglia Ruskin University, whose work is published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, says popular music is a powerful tool that can influence behaviour and attitudes, and it should be used responsibly.

    “For example, The Beatles’ When I’m Sixty Four, is generally thought of as an upbeat tune that is quite lighthearted. “But the lyrics ‘when I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greeting, bottle of wine’ are actually questioning whether someone who is old is still loveable, and that’s concerning.”

    Likewise, The Who’s My Generation song has lyrics saying “I hope I die before I get old”, while Pulp’s Help The Aged track asks the listener to give the aged hope and comfort “cos they’re running out of time”. But Dusty Springfield sings that “growing old is no sin” and John Lennon’s song declares “now I am older, ah hah, the future is brighter”.

    The researchers scanned the Music Lyric Database, Songfacts, The Macronium and Absolute Lyrics for English language music texts relating to age and ageing. Then they categorised the songs they found as either “contented and celebrated aged”, “pitiful and petulant pensioners” or “frail and flagging old folks”.

    Ms Kelly said: “The message coming out of the negative songs is that the elderly are frail and a burden. It’s confidencelowering. Music is very pervasive and the message could penetrate. While it may prove an impossible task, as well as an infringement on the freedom of expression, to censor negative portrayals of old age, it is important that awareness is raised and some efforts are made to reduce these negative stereotypes.”

(www.bbc.com. Adaptado.)

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Night sweats

Kathleen Davis
July 17, 2015

    Night sweats, also known as sleep hyperhidrosis, refers to sweating at night resulting in drenched sleepwear and sheets, unrelated to an overheated sleeping environment. Night sweats affect approximately 3% of the population and can be a sign of a serious disease. Although the majority of causes of night sweats are non-life threatening, a health care provider should always be consulted to determine the underlying cause.

Facts about sweating

    Sweating is the body’s natural cooling system to prevent overheating. The brain’s hypothalamus regulates our body temperature, utilizing over two million sweat glands to help keep us cool. During periods of exercise, hot weather, or when the body’s core temperature goes too high, the hypothalamus triggers the glands to release sweat. As the watery sweat evaporates from the skin, it releases heat energy, which in turn cools the body.

Causes of night sweats

    Hot days and workouts are not the only things that trigger the hypothalamus to cool us down. Other conditions can trigger the hypothalamus to produce excess sweat, particularly during sleep. Some of these conditions include: (1) infection: tuberculosis is the infection most commonly associated with night sweats. Others include HIV, influenza, and other febrile illnesses; (2) various hormone (endocrine) imbalances that occur with menopause, diabetes, thyroid disease, puberty, and pregnancy; (3) ailments such as obstructive sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux, anxiety disorders, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and Parkinson disease; (4) substance abuse; (5) medication side effects: many medications such as antidepressants, hormones, diabetes medications, pain relievers, and steroids can cause sweating.

Treatments for night sweats

    The treatment of choice for night sweats depends upon the underlying cause such as correcting hormone irregularities, adjusting medications, and attending to contributing factors. If there is no direct determined cause of the excessive sweating, treatment consists of both prevention and management methods. Night sweats are a common annoyance usually associated with sleeping in warmer than ideal conditions. However, persons with drenching night sweats or a change in their pattern of sweating should pursue a medical evaluation.

Menopause symptoms ‘last for at least 7 years’

    Hot flashes and night sweats affect up to 75% of women in the US who are going through menopause. Though common, these symptoms can significantly impact a woman’s quality of life. But how long do they last? According to a new study published in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) Internal Medicine, many women may experience these symptoms frequently for at least 7 years.

(http://medicalnewstoday.com. Adaptado.)

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Birth Plan Overhaul: Brazil hopes to reduce 85% C-Section rate and change public’s attitude toward natural births

C-sections can increase the risk of harm for both mother and baby.

Dana Dovey

July 8, 2015

    Dr. Alexandre Sasaoka, an obstetrician working in an upscale maternity clinic in Sao Paulo, Brazil struggles to remember the last time he delivered a baby naturally. This is because Brazil has one of the highest rates of cesarean deliveries in the world, with some hospitals reporting 99 percent C-section. However, a new government initiative aims to shave down these high figures.

    According to Brazil’s pro-natural birth initiative, doctors must now inform women about all the risks associated with C-section births and ask them to sign a consent form before performing the operation, the BBC reported. The new ruling also states that doctors must justify the reasoning behind their C-section before proceeding with the operation, and must fill in a complete record of how the labor and birth developed step by step. The government hopes the initiative will help to reduce the country’s exceptionally high C-section rate, something that Brazilian pediatrician Luciana Herrero described as an “international shame.”

    The World Health Organization recommends that a nation’s cesarean section rate should not be higher than 10 to 15 percent, but many countries greatly surpass this recommendation. In the United States, around a third of all births are C-section, and in the UK, nearly one in four women chooses to deliver this way. However, despite the current trend in favor of C-section births, few nations can touch Brazil figures. Eighty-five percent of all births in Brazilian private hospitals are cesareans, and in public hospitals the figure is 45 percent, the BBC reported.

    The reason for Brazil’s high caesarean birth rate is complicated. For one matter, booking a C-section beforehand ensures a new mother will have a hospital bed, a commodity that has become quite rare in the South American nation. Hospital beds are almost exclusively reserved for women undergoing C-sections, Newser reported. In addition, in Brazil, vaginal birth is considered taboo, since many women regard natural childbirth as “uncivilized and primitive.” In private hospitals, C-sections are seen as a status symbol, NPR reported. Unfortunately, money also seems to be one of the main drivers behind Brazil’s high C-section rate. Brazilian doctors get paid more to perform C-sections. They also report feeling more in control during C-sections and therefore more protected from litigation.

    While C-sections are sometimes necessary, when done unnecessarily, they can pose a danger to both mother and baby. Generally, women who have C-sections take longer to recover from giving birth and report residual pain for longer when compared to women who deliver vaginally. And although risk of life-threatening complications from birth are rare, women who undergo C-sections are three times more likely to suffer from serious birth complications, such as severe bleeding, blood clots, and major infection when compared to women who give birth naturally, according to Consumer Reports.

(www.medicaldaily.com. Adaptado.)

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Birth Plan Overhaul: Brazil hopes to reduce 85% C-Section rate and change public’s attitude toward natural births

C-sections can increase the risk of harm for both mother and baby.

Dana Dovey

July 8, 2015

    Dr. Alexandre Sasaoka, an obstetrician working in an upscale maternity clinic in Sao Paulo, Brazil struggles to remember the last time he delivered a baby naturally. This is because Brazil has one of the highest rates of cesarean deliveries in the world, with some hospitals reporting 99 percent C-section. However, a new government initiative aims to shave down these high figures.

    According to Brazil’s pro-natural birth initiative, doctors must now inform women about all the risks associated with C-section births and ask them to sign a consent form before performing the operation, the BBC reported. The new ruling also states that doctors must justify the reasoning behind their C-section before proceeding with the operation, and must fill in a complete record of how the labor and birth developed step by step. The government hopes the initiative will help to reduce the country’s exceptionally high C-section rate, something that Brazilian pediatrician Luciana Herrero described as an “international shame.”

    The World Health Organization recommends that a nation’s cesarean section rate should not be higher than 10 to 15 percent, but many countries greatly surpass this recommendation. In the United States, around a third of all births are C-section, and in the UK, nearly one in four women chooses to deliver this way. However, despite the current trend in favor of C-section births, few nations can touch Brazil figures. Eighty-five percent of all births in Brazilian private hospitals are cesareans, and in public hospitals the figure is 45 percent, the BBC reported.

    The reason for Brazil’s high caesarean birth rate is complicated. For one matter, booking a C-section beforehand ensures a new mother will have a hospital bed, a commodity that has become quite rare in the South American nation. Hospital beds are almost exclusively reserved for women undergoing C-sections, Newser reported. In addition, in Brazil, vaginal birth is considered taboo, since many women regard natural childbirth as “uncivilized and primitive.” In private hospitals, C-sections are seen as a status symbol, NPR reported. Unfortunately, money also seems to be one of the main drivers behind Brazil’s high C-section rate. Brazilian doctors get paid more to perform C-sections. They also report feeling more in control during C-sections and therefore more protected from litigation.

    While C-sections are sometimes necessary, when done unnecessarily, they can pose a danger to both mother and baby. Generally, women who have C-sections take longer to recover from giving birth and report residual pain for longer when compared to women who deliver vaginally. And although risk of life-threatening complications from birth are rare, women who undergo C-sections are three times more likely to suffer from serious birth complications, such as severe bleeding, blood clots, and major infection when compared to women who give birth naturally, according to Consumer Reports.

(www.medicaldaily.com. Adaptado.)

The seven-decade journey to an expanded Panama Canal is coming to a close, despite one last obstacle.

(by David Z. Morris / April 17, 2015)

    The Panama Canal is getting a major
overhaul, and despite an unresolved lawsuit that
has delayed the project, it’s poised to transform
global trade dramatically.

    The original Panama Canal remains of the
most ambitious public works projects of all time.
But it wasn’t quite ambitious enough: within a few
years of its opening in 1914, it was too small for
many military and cargo ships. The U.S. authorities
then in control began excavation for larger locks in
1939—but that work came to a standstill as
America entered World War II, and no effective
progress was made on the project for the remainder
of the 20th century.

    That changed swiftly when the canal
transitioned to full Panamanian control in 1999. By
2006, a detailed expansion plan had been drafted
and approved by Panamanian voters in a 77%
landslide. With a total budget of $5.2 billion,
completion was initially projected for 2014. Last
year, the canal netted $2.6 billion, roughly half of
Panama’s national revenue. The Panama Canal
Authority has projected that the expansion will
increase that revenue eightfold by 2025. 

    There’s been a hitch in the expansion effort,
however. A group of mostly European contractors
known as the Grupo Unidos por el Canal has filed
claims totaling more than a half billion dollars
against the Panama Canal Authority, alleging that
misinformation led to cost overruns. 

    But according to Dr. J. David Rogers, a
professor of geological engineering at Missouri
University of Science and Technology, who has
worked closely with the Panamanians for more
than a quarter-century, the real problem is that
contractors knowingly underbid the job. 

    The canal expansion is about more than
money to the Panamanians, according to Dr.
Rogers. “It’s a national pride project for them. It’s
their lifeblood,” he says of the Panamanians’
feelings about the canal. “It’s what makes them
go.” 

    The same seriousness didn’t characterize
Americans’ approach to canal expansion. Of a
series of false starts and fizzled plans, the most
amazing came as part of Operation Plowshare, the
“Atoms for Peace” program of the U.S. Atomic
Energy Agency (now the Department of Energy).

    Intended to highlight the peacetime usefulness of
atomic warheads, Plowshare spent more than a
decade exploring the possibility of widening the
canal by detonating a string of nuclear warheads.
Rising awareness of environmental risks in the
1960s scuttled the idea. 

    Under the current, nuke-free plan, new
approach channels and locks are being excavated
alongside the existing entrances, allowing
operations to continue normally during
construction. The new locks and channels will be
about three times bigger, allowing the passage of
more of today’s huge container ships. The
maximum load will increase from about 5,000
containers to 12,000—though the very largest
ships, which currently balloon up to 19,000
containers and primarily work routes between
Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal, still
won’t fit.

    The expansion will provide cheaper shipping
between Asia and the American Gulf Coast. Traffic
that currently flows through West Coast ports such
as Los Angeles and Long Beach—including huge
amounts of Midwestern grain and coal—will soon
move more directly through ports including
Houston and Savannah. Ports along the U.S. Gulf
and East coasts have been expanding to
accommodate increased ship size and traffic. 

    The ongoing court battle means that even the
Panama Canal Authority’s recently-updated 2016
target for completion may be missed. But a bigger
canal is finally coming—and with it, a host of new
possibilities.

 (fortune.com/2015/04/17/panama-canal/)