Episode 159 – Virtually Secure

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Michael R and Michael M, go deep on virtual assistants and the security storm around WhatsApp in the news recently. We also look at how an old virtual world shopping experience may be coming to life in virtual reality.

The duo start with the Facebook/Oculus tour of the White House and think about whether movies and television shows have the layout and rooms of the building right.  Michael and Michael quickly then turn to Amazon’s focus on virtual reality shopping experiences stemming from articles from TechCrunch and Variety.  Michael R shares his experiences in developing just this kind of experience for Sears 10 years ago.

Then things get even more interesting with holographic personifications of artificial intelligences — where the Gatebox anime character looms large — or rather hovers in a coffee machine style enclosure, and interacts with the user via voice and text chat.   While speech commands are picking up steam, it is still has a social hurdle to climb.  It is embarrassing or just feels weird to talk to inanimate objects, even though the author of the Digital Trends article makes the valid connection that talking to devices is like talking to a pet, and pets do sometimes listen…

The show wraps up with an interesting discussion on the security news related to WhatsApp.  We hope you enjoy!

Show Links:
Virtual White House – http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2017/01/13/obamas-lead-white-house-tour-virtually-help-oculus/96532192/
The West Wing http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200276/

Amazon possibly working on VR Shopping Experience https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/19/amazon-job-posting-suggests-plans-to-bring-shopping-experiences-into-vr/
Google Daydream View https://store.google.com/product/daydream_view
Oculus Rift https://www.oculus.com
Samsung Gear VR http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/gear-vr/
Bridge AR/VR headset https://bridge.occipital.com
Sears VR Shopping Experience – now 10 years old https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABxTr8sL3U&feature=youtu.be

Variety article — Amazon VR Shopping app http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/amazon-vr-shopping-app-1201962695/

AI Assistants are like Pets http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/talk-to-ai-assistants-like-your-pets/
Gatebox Home AR Powered Holographic Robot http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/12/the-anime-girlfriend-experience-gateboxs-ai-powered-holographic-home-robot/
Gatebox story http://gatebox.ai/story/
Gatebox https://gateboxlab.stores.jp/items/57ea607100d331404d002d77

Twitch See Bots Chat https://www.twitch.tv/seebotschat

Security Researchers call for Guardian to retract false WhatsApp backdoor story https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/20/security-researchers-call-for-guardian-to-retract-false-whatsapp-backdoor-story/?ncid=rss
SecurityNow! Transcript Episode 595 -What’s up with WhatsApp? https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-595.txt

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Episode 158 – 2017 Kickoff

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We kick off 2017 with a short show.  Michael M. and Phaedra discuss an augmented reality app launched in conjunction with the recently released movie “Hidden Figures”, review Smart Canes and have a lively discussion about the challenges surrounding video capture and the importance of thorough testing from the Kotaku article — a good reminder for everyone involved in technology development.

The augmented reality app (App Store — Google Play) has the user go to specific geographic locations, such as on the University of North Carolina campus to unlock content related to the stories and accomplishments of STEM leaders.  Michael gave this a try, and the picture above shows the statue of Katherine Johnson superimposed on the phone screen in front of the Bell Tower at UNC.

Show Links:
Hidden Figures – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340/
AR and Hidden Figures – http://wraltechwire.com/-hidden-figures-ibm-augmented-reality-project-links-in-3-triangle-universities-/16402395/
Smart Canes and Wheelchairs – https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/05/smart-canes-and-wheelchairs-among-tech-empowering-the-disabled-at-ces/
Racist Video Game – http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2017/01/12/how-we-accidentally-made-a-racist-videogame

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Episode 157 – Through the 2016 Looking Glass

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In their final episode of 2016, Michael and Michael explore themes where sci-fi blends with reality. In the TechCrunch IoT Redux article, Michael and Michael kick off the discussion with the state of affairs on all the data emitted from the things on the internet, and quickly go into the realm of the British Channel 4 television show Black Mirror (available on Netflix). It is simultaneously possible to have so much of your life available to you at your fingertips, and what could go wrong with such technical capability — the Kingsman movie being another example from the entertainment world.

Turning to the skies, the pair talks about a recent patent from Amazon on a creative approach to the last mile logistics of delivery — drones delivering from a platform attached to a zeppelin. Interesting to consider the example of Duracell’s battery delivery in the midwest states — providing over one ton of batteries to prevent the dreaded “batteries not included” scenario from spoiling (or delaying gratification – you pick), and how useful something like a flying drone warehouse could be. One of the commenters on the Twitter stream for this compared this story to the recent movie Storks.

Periscope announced a new 360 degree broadcasting capability — provided of course, you have a 360 degree camera — yet the functionality on the viewing side was fantastic. Panning or swiping, you can see all the way around.

Both Michaels were happy that our Android friends will get their hands on Mario Run, and Michael R was especially pleased with the earlier than anticipated delivery of the AirPods.

We are thrilled to be back for another year, and look forward to engaging with you.

selected links
TechCrunch article: IoT Redux — https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/28/iot-redux-this-time-its-personal/
Black Mirror episode Entire History of You — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You
Wikipedia: Steve Mann — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann
SingularityHub article: Lifelogging — https://singularityhub.com/2014/02/09/lifeblogging-gear-is-small-cheap-and-powerful-so-like-it-or-not-youre-going-to-be-recorded/
New York Times Bits Blog: One on One: Steve Mann, Wearable Computing Pioneer — http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/07/one-on-one-steve-mann-wearable-computing-pioneer/
Independent article: Gamifying Obedience to the State — http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-has-made-obedience-to-the-state-a-game-a6783841.html
Black Mirror episode Nosedive — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosedive
Kingsman — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsman:_The_Secret_Service
Zoe Leavitt “Death Star of #ecommerce” tweet — https://mobile.twitter.com/zoe_leavitt/status/814212767041331202
United States Patent: 9305280 — http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=9305280.PN.&OS=PN/9305280&RS=PN/9305280
Ad Week article: Duracell Express — http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/duracell-saved-lot-tears-delivering-free-batteries-midwest-families-christmas-eve-175309
Storks — http://www.storksmovie.com
MacRumors article: Twitter’s Periscope Now Supports 360-Degree Live Videos — http://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/28/periscope-360-degree-live-videos/
@Feynwoman’s 360 degree tour of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum — https://www.periscope.tv/w/azUYdjFEWUtYYk5iYXZFZ0x8MWRSS1pYcVpEd1ZKQo71GNCpXWNOcwF2Pj8lTX25w3MNUmA56MLO1oXdSEhq
TechCrunch article: Super Mario on Android — https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/29/you-can-now-register-to-find-out-when-super-mario-run-hits-android
MacRumors article: AirPods Supplier Increasing Production Capacity Due to Strong Demand — http://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/30/airpods-increasing-production/

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Episode 156 – AI for All

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For what may be the final Games At Work recording of 2016, Michael and Michael get ready to welcome our new robotic overlords in all the ways they may arrive.

First off, the co-hosts marvel at how Google Translate has made dramatic improvements through the rewrite completed in a mere nine months, turbocharging the understanding of language, and making the automatic translation of text and full sites even more powerful. Michael R has even set up our own website to use the service to translate Games At Work into a language of your choosing. Unfortunately, Klingon and Pirate are not currently available choices.

Switching gears from language AI to automotive AI, Michael and Michael discuss the new capabilities that Nvidia is unlocking, as well as the recently announced Waymo spinoff from Alphabet approaching the challenges of mobility from an AI perspective.

Going from AI to AL (as in Yankovich), Michael M shares the ALsongs.com website which is oh so handy, to help you find the lyric that’s been floating around in your brain, along with the song being parodied. Bookmarked!

And talking about bookmarking sites, the team concludes with an intriguing article which describes how researchers can capture a person’s interest by reading their EEG brainwaves and in their tests, bookmarking the relevant Wikipedia pages. Amazing.

From the science fiction meets reality, know that you can now buy yourself an authentic original series Star Trek communicator, which will pair with your cellphone and allow you to talk with your friends & colleagues, and prepare for your away team adventure. How cool!

selected links

New York Times article — The great AI awakening — http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/magazine/the-great-ai-awakening.html

TechCrunch article — Nvidia is now clear to test self-driving vehicles on California roads — https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/08/nvidia-is-now-clear-to-test-self-driving-vehicles-on-california-roads/

Waymo — https://waymo.com

Spectrum iEEE article — Google’s car graduates to standalone business —
http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/googles-car-graduates-to-standalone-business

ALsongs — http://alsongs.com

TechCrunch article — Researchers use machine learning to pull interest signals from readers’ brain waves — https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/14/researchers-use-machine-learning-to-pull-interest-signals-from-readers-brain-waves/

Emotiv headset — https://www.emotiv.com

MacRumors article — Apple AirPods now estimated to ship in 6 weeks — http://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/14/airpods-now-ship-in-6-weeks/

Bluetooth 5.0 — http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/what-is-bluetooth-5
Star Trek Communicator with awesome videos via ThinkGeek — https://www.thinkgeek.com/product/iphv/

Games the hosts are doing

Playing Michael M: just starting Walkr — https://walkrgame.com/en/

Reading Michael R. – The Last Firewall (Singularity Series Book 3) by William Hertling — http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18305964-the-last-firewall

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