Gigaom AI Minute – June 1

Transcript

• Facebook has hired a team of 60 people to devise a way to type with your brain. The team hopes to decode and translate user's neural activity to produce 100 words per minute. Facebook sees applications in augmented reality, and in assisting those with communication disorders. Read more.

• A man in the Netherlands recently received a thought-controlled robotic arm. The robotic arm is clicked into the socket and communicates using the patient's nerves, allowing the patient to control the prosthesis with their mind. Read more.

• Would you wear a jogging suit made of breathing biological cells? MIT researchers believe you will. They have invented a “breathable" and fluorescent workout suit lined with live microbial cells that "shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity.” This allows the entire outfit to act as a reactive sensor helping the wearer cool off as needed and to be seen in the dark. Read more.

• "In the weeds with AI" now has a new meaning. Franklin, a Massachusetts-based robotics company, has revealed Tertill a solar-powered weed killing robot that uses proprietary algorithms to find and destroy unwanted weeds in the garden. Read more.

• Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard commencement address centered around how we can improve life through big projects, equal opportunity, and building both local and global community. He outlined a plan “to create a world where every single person has a sense of purpose.” Rather than focusing on the opportunities for the Harvard students, he urged the students to ignite opportunities for those less fortunate. And instead of shying away from the fact that technology is creating new challenges for the underprivileged, he said we need to address automation’s impact on employment head on. Read more.