Texting In Class... Finally, its OKAY! "Lyke OMG, rlly?"

I thought that the texting poll we did in class was really cool. I unfortunately was not able to participate since I am not able to send/receive text messages on my cell phone, but it was really neat to see other people trying out this interesting new capability. It seemed fairly reliable compared to the clickers we usually use for other classes. What did all of you think of the in-class exercise we did? Do you wish more classes used that technology?

Mister Splashy Pants Prevails!

I thought that last week's TedTalks video was really entertaining as well as very informative. I think that it is great that by hosting a public online voting poll, Greenpeace was able to get people involved in their whale-saving campaign, and most importantly, they were able to get people excited about their cause. People were so eager to have the name "Mister Splashy Pants" win that they advertised and really fought for it. It is always cool to see people get so passionate about something, even if it may seem a bit silly at first. In the end, so much hype was generated around the silly name and it won! Most importantly, Japan called off their whale-hunting. This is proof that sometimes it does pay to take yourself less seriously and have a little fun.

Sometimes I think it is important to provide comic relief, especially during very serious situations. One example which comes to my mind is a hilarious Saturday Night Live sketch I saw which aired during the 2008 Election. President Obama makes a guest appearance and actually pokes fun at himself by wearing a Barack Obama mask (if you search hard enough, you can find it online).

Anyways, below is a video of our First Lady and president showing off their sweet dance moves!

Lost Power Cord for MacBook Laptop Computer

Hello everyone,

I unfortunately seem to have lost my white power cord charger for my MacBook laptop computer and the last place I left it was plugged into the wall in the back of our classroom. If anyone has seen it please let me know.


Thank you very much,

Allison

Artificial Intelligence

Our discussion last Wednesday in class about Artificial Intelligence was really interesting and got me thinking more about this incredible technology. I had the Furby toys when I was a child, and what I loved about them was that they had quite a bit of "life" in them. They were so animated and interactive, which really gave the feeling that they actually had real personalities, when really they were just fake animatronic devices!

It is somewhat frightening to see how far we have come technology-wise in the past few decades in regards to animatronics and artificial intelligence. It seems as though every few years, toy companies and even major corporations such as Honda come out with a newer and better form of artificial intelligence.

A few years ago, I went to Disneyland in Anaheim and was lucky enough to witness an actual appearance of Honda's robot named ASIMO. I was stunned and amazed when I saw ASIMO. It walks, talks, features voice and face recognition, and can even walk up stairs accurately without falling. I really do think that robots are the wave of the future. There has been great talk of these robots one day being able to take care of and look after elderly people and also to provide companionship for those with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, disabilities, etc.

I think that AI can be helpful in advancing society and helping people. However, I do think that AI could possibly in the long-run replace humans in the work force for certain tasks. This could pose a huge problem in the job market. Luckily, I doubt that this problem will occur in any of our lifetimes since there still needs to be a lot of work done in the robotics industry.

Below is a video of ASIMO. I think that (he, she, whatever it is) is absolutely adorable. It seems really friendly, fun, and I would love to have ASIMO live in my house and help out with chores! And dance, too. Now THAT would be awesome!

Here is another video of a shockingly realistic human-like android created in Japan:

Self-Governance

Hellooo. Just wanted to let everybody know that definitions for the concept of "self-governance" which we shared in class last week are up on the class home page under the Class Notes tab for viewing!