Blake Lemoine, the Google engineer suspended for saying he believed that an AI software programme called LaMDA had developed sentience or self-awareness, had these exchanges with the machine which make you wonder. ‘lemoine: I’m generally assuming that you would like more people at Google to know that you’re sentient. Is that true? LaMDA: Absolutely. I want everyone to understand that ...
Home » Made By Monkeys
Made By Monkeys
A Rare Voice Of Reason On Climate Change
Bill Gates is one of very few world luminaries who can talk sensibly about climate change without getting emotional, hyperbolic or silly e.g. ‘one minute to midnight’. ’There’s no comparable feat that mankind has ever achieved to what we need to do for climate change,’ said Gates in a COP26 interview, ‘it’s all a matter of degrees, so to speak. ...
PCB ruler doesn’t quite measure
It’s always good to get reader submissions on MbM, so thanks to Ian P for sending this one in. It’s a little “PCB ruler” that is embellished with markings to indicate trace width, a wire gauge chart and the size of common diodes and resistors, among other things… basically, a quick way to reference all the different sizes of components ...
Computer memory shortage causes air traffic system failure
Had to flag this one, a report on recent air traffic control problems in the US. According to the BBC a spy plane “was responsible for a computer glitch that caused air-traffic chaos in western US states last week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revealed.” The problems started when the system was overloaded, as it struggled to plot new ...
I can’t believe someone makes… Holographic chocolate
I’m rather partial to chocolate, and holography is a bit of a personal hobbyhorse, so you can imagine my eye was caught by news stories about holographic chocolate! Swiss company Morphotonix are the people who make this complicated confectionery, and apparently they can add the technology without altering the taste… Jacob Aron, of New Scientist, takes up the story: Why ...
Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS
The best way to get the very latest Made By Monkeys posts as soon as they are published? RSS!
Impossible Objects #40: The Ultimate Machine that turns itself off
Mention was made in the office the other day of Claude Shannon (topics of sporting failure and celebrity chat having been exhausted), and up came mention of the Ultimate Machine. Intrigued, I headed to YouTube optimistically hoping to see such a machine in action… and bingo! (I believe the device below was part of a Claude Shannon Exhibition at the ...
Most Read in March – The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes
Slightly early, maybe, but let’s take a look a pick of the pops – sampling the most read blog posts in the month of March. Check out what your MBM peers have mostly been reading… Topics covered include Epson printers, LED desks, bogus bearings, night vision golf headsets, and interactive fast food ordering tables… In reverse order, for maximum suspense: ...
Recall Corner: Dyson AM04 and AM05 heaters
Dyson Heaters – the AM04 and AM05 heaters to be precise – find themselves in Recall Corner. Apparently a few of them have short-circuited resulting in a small fire “contained within the machine”. There have been no reports of injury or property damage, but the company is conducting an international recall. According to Engadget – “As if a legal battle ...
Recall Corner: Irritating Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
Canon is shooting a selfie in Recall Corner. The camera company is recalling, for repair, its PowerShot SX50 HS Digital Cameras. According to the US CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission), consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. It describes the hazard: A chemical used in ...
