The Reaper and the Predator became household names when drones became the latest military technology. They were originally called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and come as remotely controlled or entirely autonomous flying vehicles. This opened new ethical aspects of warfare.
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Future of the Library
A World Without Books
Introduction
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Memory Implants
Fixing Neurological Shortcomings
Understanding how the brain works have already led to significant improvement in “neurological health” such as “pacemaker implants” to control Parkinson’s disease. But with this understanding comes the ability to manipulate the brain, perhaps upload memory from a hard drive or to download memory from the brain to an external device–as suggested the Matrix movie. Transfer of thoughts between Man and Machine have already been demonstrated, and with the accelerating miniaturization of chips, the implant of chips in the brain that communicated with the Internet is on the horizon.
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Artificial Intelligence
Conscious Robots
Our cars are almost entirely computer controlled. Our TVs and phones are “smart”. But are they intelligent? Are IBM’s Deep Blue and Watson intelligent? What does it actually mean to be intelligent? How can we tell?
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Elder Care
Dealing With Our Personal Future
A brief survey of present options for eldercare and family support plus a glimpse at how technology may be expanding options in the future.
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GMOs: Pros & Cons
The Remaking of Food Products
Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, have become part of our everyday life, mostly in food products. And they seem to become more and more widely used.
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