Domains holds the future of AI

Ever since the day I have started programming BASIC in MS DOS, I had a great respect for Bill Gates. There were never a moment that I had to let down. He has been always amazing with ever green thought process. Some people are gifted talent of predicting future which naturally comes to Bill Gates.

Today I read his speech to the students, who were getting graduated. There he mentioned about few ideas on which he would bet for his future, if he is at his 20's. It was interesting to see some of his thought processes were aligned to my early days.

Here are the exerts from his speech 

" One is artificial intelligence. We have only begun to tap into all the ways it will make people’s lives more productive and creative. The second is energy, because making it clean, affordable, and reliable will be essential for fighting poverty and climate change. The third is the biosciences, which are ripe with opportunities to help people live longer, healthier lives. " - Bill Gates


One thing I like very much in the way its put forward is the real positive value add to the human race.. 

Any solution or idea will not get go a great heights, unless it really add a +ve value to the very own human who is going to consume it.

- Saravana Kumar

All about death and Science...

This was my cognition for a long long time, but I never put effort to understand more. I always wonderd what happens when you faint or sleep. But now after an experience of fainting and realised that it was just a death for minute. So I started to explore the answer for the question : what is death ?

I have compiled this post long back, but not got time to publish it :) finally here it goes...

When I started searching for answer with the help of google, I came to know immediately that there are no definite answer till date. Death is only defined legaly and Clinically but scientifically it is not yet but there are multiple theories exists.

Information Death
One of the theory of death is Information-theoretic death (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information-theoretic_death). This is actually explains that what we call death is not a death and just your information in your brain is lost its power to keep it alive. This is the current belief of the death.

Relatively speaking, a dead body is very much like powered off computer, that does not mean that the computer is dead. It is just not functioning and fully idle. All the information stored in its hard drive and non volatile memory are still available. When we power on again, it is alive and knows all the things stored in the memories and storages before its power went off. This is like fainting.

Based on information theoritic death, there are scientists allover the world doing multiple research to find how to get a dead person alive. There are two ways to this research
1. Keeping the body cells (mainly brain) intact so that when science grown enought to reinitiate the life pulses and heart beat.
2. Retriving information from the almost dead brain cells so that these information can be uploaded to another active brain (I am still wondering what purpose this will solve)

Cryonics
This is the first way. Here the assumption is that our brain cells are the eqivalent of non volatile memory. The problem with powered off(dying) human body is that the cells start decaying (even with in few minutes) , so if our body lost its power (or Dead!) for some time then the memory cells
started decaying and losing the information stored in it.

Cryonics is a way of avoiding this cells decaying and preserving the information in the brain cells for future use. This is more advanced form of mummies and life cell storage. The human body after immediate death (clynically not yet brain dead) is stored in a place where the cells are not going to decay and loose the information.

There are lot of rich (and intelligent ) people opted for storing their bodies in Cryonics until such time science improves and gives the life pulses and heart beat back to the Cryonically preserved body!!

There is a organisation doing this dedicatedly. You can refer the details at http://www.alcor.org/. This has been shown in many hollywood movies till now including
Austin Powers, Vanila sky etc.

Mind Uploading
This is the second way. Here it is about download and upload the information stored in the brain cells into a computer / robo. By doing this we are able to give a human another body. If we can make this work, then the Information death theory will become truth.

Here the aim is to let a dead human continue his life in a computer / robo. Weired ? but researches are in full swing on this method called Mind uploading.

Brain Transplant / Body transplant
This is not like the above mentioned two theoritical way. But this is straight forward but complex. This brain transplant is similar to any other limb body transplant but this is still in research stage. Reason being its not yet possible is due to the undelying complexities. This is for the persons who's brain is intact and body to support is damaged and lost power (dead!)

The future of this brain transplant is discussed detailed in here http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/brain-transplants.html


The world has evolved and improved over decades on how to practically avoid burrial alive by detecting the death clinically. Before that it was worse that burial alive been reported regularly. People woke up after they got burried :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_burial

Possibilities are that in future robots will become second life of human or dead human living in other person body or you might come alive after 300 years your body in Cryonics.

 But this might be not possible even in next generation or even next few generations.
- Saravana Kumar (Since 1976)

What is the problem really ?

I was thinking about the problems we face globally challenging us and lot of money and energy spent on. These are my thoughts on what is our real problem and what is not.



The problem is not we are able to make a robot with human intelligence
The problem is we are not able to use the human intelligence available 


The problem is we are not able to build buildings taller than 1000 meter
The problem is we are not able to provide 1 meter tall shelter to all human


The problem is not that my neighbour country is killing my people and need huge military
The probelm is that we have our own people killing our own people


The problem is not that we have AIDS kiiling 200 K people and we are not able to find anti virus
The problem is that we have 10 Million infant death with all available medicines


The problem is not that we are not able make a rocket @ speed of light
The problem is that we are not able make a plane with no accident


The problem is not that we are not able to make mars livable 
The problem is that we are not able to make earth livable peacefully

- Saravana Kumar (Since 1976)

If we were only 100 people in this world

I just came across an interesting statistics site states on what if we are only 100 people live in this world and how our statistics looks like (its nothing but a % but it is interesting to see it in a simple way)

50 would be female
50 would be male

20 would be children
There would be 80 adults,
14 of whom would be 65 and older

There would be:
61 Asians
12 Europeans
13 Africans
14 people from the Western Hemisphere

There would be:
31 Christians
21 Muslims
14 Hindus
6 Buddhists
12 people who practice other religions
16 people who would not be aligned with a religion

17 would speak a Chinese dialect
8 would speak Hindustani
8 would speak English
7 would speak Spanish
4 would speak Arabic
4 would speak Russian
52 would speak other languages

82 would be able to read and write; 18 would not

1 would have a college education
1 would own a computer

75 people would have some supply of food and a place to
shelter them from the wind and the rain, but 25 would not

1 would be dying of starvation
17 would be undernourished
15 would be overweight

83 would have access to safe drinking water
17 people would have no clean, safe water to drink

Source : http://www.100people.org

Saravana Kumar

Making another planet a home ?

This is another post after long time again as usual, I have reason that I have become father of two. Its amazing that time just fly by when you are awake and sleep :) Today it is about moving out of earth.

I just read a news about Stefan Hawkins about the long term livability of earth and we must flee earth. It was amazing for me to realize that the thought process which he has got.

The theory goes like, In hundred years of time, it will be difficult for us to manage and live in this our mother earth. This is due to disasters from inside earth and outside of it. So, it was high time for me to find what human had already done for this part.

I was literally amazed that there were so many human being thinking about it and also did much about it. It was my first choice that Mars to be the next possible nearest planet to make it our home. It is worse that the planet is much worse than the earth that we cant even imagine living there.

But there were so many work already done to analyse how do we make Mars livable. see the image below

This story goes like making the ice in Mars north pole to melt and get the water out of it to make ocean, river and make it like earth, remember it is an 1000 year plan (??!!) can you imagine what you and me will be doing by then (!!?)

But at least there is a thought process about the very distant future, which is still imaginable.

My simple question is, when we try all these very hard work to make Mars livable, why cant we save our earth from dying, which could be a easy option instead ??

- Saravana Kumar (Since 1976) Tweet

Time

I have been reading a book on time by Paul Davies. It was interesting as time and space are till now open science, since it was opened by Einstein. Here it goes

We just live in a prison of time. But we never thought about how to come out of it. But actually when you think of coming out of it means become temporal (Like lord Bramha). The God :)

Time is just created for human by human. Who knows the correct time as you reading this ? As of now the cesium atomic clock is perfect one for at least thousands of years. Our earth itself is not keeping its time for a single day (one rotation) so its not possible to define one second is 1/86400 of a day. It is defined as 9,192.631,770 beats of a cesium atom. To correct the clock to sync with earth rotation sometimes we have to add "leap seconds" into our cesium atomic clock. Last time it happened was during June 1994. So the cesium clock is correct than our earth. How do we define time then?

As per Einstein, time is having a start and end, means we can reverse it. But even with theory it is not yet proved. If we try to stretch this theories to this limit, it often clash with the religious thoughts.

In Hindu religion there was a story of time,

Once Narath asked Lord Vishnu to clear him on what time is.

Vishnu asked Narath to go to a river in Earth and get water for him. As instructed, Narath went to riverside to bring water, but on the other side he seen a beautiful lady taking bath..

He got lost his memory and went along with the girl to her house. Days went by and soon he got married to the same girl. Years went by.. he inherited her fathers business and got 3 kids.

Once when Narath and his family was crossing the river on a boat, there was a sudden flood tossed the boat. Except Narath all of them died. Only Narath got escaped. Helplessly by looking at his entire family washed away in the flood, he started crying until he was weak. He turned to Vishnu when he felt some one touching him from the back when he was still crying. Vishnu asked Narath Why are you crying ?

Then Lord explained him later that it was all Maya of time, between you went to bring water and now.

Time is out now.. prison is calling :) catch later..

Saravana Kumar - Since 1976.

Science Revisited

Its again a good gap since I have posted one. Here I am back alone and got time to open this blog. Now a days I am again back into the olden days when I have been so attached to the science and inventions.

Even though I have not invented anything worthy, some time I felt that some one made it big with my thoughts :)

One example is the concept "The Matrix".

During my college days (1993-95) I managed to assemble a FM radio that connects to hand made speakers (managed to stick normal magazine cover as vibrating material and handmade coil). But in the night before sleep I used to connect them to the ear-plug and hear local radio songs. I always hated wearing ear-plug, which normally does not fit properly or painful.

I was imagining of a input audio to brain instead of through ear, why cant we make a electronic connection with the nerve system (so avoid analogue ear drum :) ), which can balance between the external audio connection and our natural ears. I thought this will be same for video directly connecting with the video nerves. Wired is it ?

Just imagine your life with out our 5 senses. Can you imagine you cant see, hear, taste, sense and smell. What would the world looks like ? Nothing right ? So, now bypass all our natural sensors (eye, ears, nose, tongue and skin) and connect a controlled computer output, which would be making our virtual reality a reality.

My thoughts were the concept for the movie "The Matrix" which got released when I was working in Pune (In 1999). I really surprised to see it on movie which I was always thinking about directly connecting to brain.

Now also still I am awaiting a wireless device connected to brain embedded in our skin, which will connect with a bluetooth device... This is just to avoid having ear plugs and TV/Mobile/Computer screens ;) let me hope this will be reality soon....

- Saravana Kumar (Since 1976)

One year one post - After one child

The world has changed a lot in a year but I get only one chance a year to post a single post in this blogger.

Its really impressive that they have been keeping my blog content for more than 5 years now.
I will soon post something interesting when I get a time.
Its very difficult to get time apart from work and spending time with child and other house chores.

Catch you soon...

Saravana Kumar ( Since 1976)

Just to make it alive

I almost got busy with my family and work. Some good quotes i read it reacently..

Life is a zoo in a jungle.
- Peter De Vries

Science is always wrong. It never solves a problem withoutcreating ten more.
- George Bernard Shaw

When men and women agree, it is only in their conclusions;their reasons are always different.
-George Santayana

Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.
- Doug Ivester

He who learns but does not think is lost.He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
- Confucius

Happiness is the art of never holding in your mind thememory of an unpleasant thing that has passed.

When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selvesthat they are bored.
- Eric

What we do not understand, we cannot possess.
- Johann

Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.
- Lewis Carroll

Not your aptitude,but your attitude,sets your altitude.
- Zig Ziglar

Each success only buys an admission ticketto a more difficult problem.
- Henry

Ordinary people merely think how they shall "spend" theirtime; a person of talent tries to "use" it.
- Arthur Schopenhauer

Goals are dreams with deadlines.
- Diana Scharf Hunt

The most merciful thing in the world is the inabilityof the human mind to correlate all its contents.
- H.P. Lovecraft

To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own.
- Abraham Lincoln

I think today its enough, got to take care of crying son.. :) Catch soon.

- Saravana Kumar (Since 1976)