Google's Duplex Has Even More Human Qualities

Google unveiled the Duplex, an artificial intelligence voice technology in the early week of May 10. It is supposed to be used with Google Assistant, and it can book your appointments and reservations over the phone. According to Richard Nieva of Cnet, Duplex sounds "jaw-droppingly human." The release of Duplex has created some controversy because in the past, Google had said that they wanted to make sure that people know if they're talking to a robot. However, the Duplex sounds so realistic that it can be mistaken for a human. It even has the ability to identify itself to humans. It uses verbal ticks like "uh" and "um," and it speaks as if it's a real person. This is shown when it pauses before responding as if it is thinking about their reply, and when they sound out certain words as if they want to buy themselves some time to think about what to say.

The creation of this voice technology could be the next step to creating a robot that's on par with a human, but as robots keep growing to mimic humans, problems of deceiving arise. People are questioning whether robots have to identify themselves as robots, or if they should be allowed to just roam free without letting others know that they're a robot.

Link: https://www.cnet.com/news/google-says-its-designing-duplex-with-disclosure-built-in/

Natural Gas that doesn't Produce Carbon

A company on the outskirts of Houston called Net Power have found a way to capture the Carbon Dioxide released by Natural Gas and turn it into energy again. What the company did was find a way to capture the carbon dioxide released by the production of natural gas and then put it under high pressure and convert it into a type of CO2 that will drive a machine that will eventually recycle carbon dioxide and produce more energy for future use. This is very important, because it means we can use natural gas without causing damage to the environment through the release of CO2. By cutting our carbon emissions, we can lessen out carbon footprint.

https://www.citi.io/2018/03/12/top-breakthrough-technologies-for-2018-zero-carbon-natural-gas/

Holographic Phone

A US-based company called RED is going to be releasing a phone, and it's surprising because they are known for building cinema cameras for Hollywood and they have never made a phone. The phone costs $1595 for the titanium version, and $1195 for the aluminum one. RED's phone will have two modes: a regular 2D mode and then a 4-View holographic mode (4V). According to the people who have seen the 4V view in person, they have reacted with gasps, swears, and grins. The 4V mode is said to be better than a 3D image, and it does not require glasses. There are also add ons for battery and camera, and the modules can be added onto each other. The camera module seems to have the greatest interest because it allows a phone to have a camera with the quality of cameras used in Hollywood cinema. The release of this phone may lead to a whole different dimension (4D?) and a lot more functions for phones, a day-to-day technology used by almost everyone.

Link: https://www.cnet.com/news/red-hydrogen-one-holographic-phone-might-actually-ship-this-summer/

Drug Testing on Animals is a thing of the past

For years, we have always used animals to test products designed for humans. However, scientists have determined that computer models of organs, such as the heart, are more accurate in testing new drugs developed for humans. These models can run from a few cells to a 3D model of the heart. The few cells can take a few minutes to run, whereas a complete 3D heart can take up to hours and use up a lot of energy. Despite this, scientists believe that this simulation has great potential in reducing the number of animals that will be used for drug testing, and that the testing of drugs for humans and its effects on our bodies will be more efficient with these simulations.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-we-should-test-heart-drugs-on-virtual-human-instead-animals-180968588/

The First Ever Projector Smartwatch?

Similar to a hologram, a smartwatch developed by researched at Carnegie Mellon University and ASU Tech projects an interactive surface area on the wearer's arm or hand. This means that you can tap or swipe on your skin to use the watch. The watch is made up of a logic board, projector, depth sensor, metal enclosure, and battery. The projection is bright enough to be seen outdoors and can be used for 1 hour of continuous projection. However, with intermittent use, it is anticipated to last an entire day.

Although this smartwatch is not the first to project images on the wearer's skin, it is the first to project a useable on-body interface. However, this function causes the smartwatch to be bulkier than average. But with further research, the abilities of the smartwatch would be improved, and the size may also be reduced.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/4/27/17289572/lumiwatch-projector-smartwatch-arm-touch-screen