Facebook to See a Surge of Artificial Intelligence in the Near Future?

Facebook to See a Surge of Artificial Intelligence in the Near Future?: "

Artificial Intelligence has a big future. At least that's what one of Russia's biggest web tycoon says. And it won't only be used for the robots of your dreams: The Internet's social networking future will have a large AI component, too. That's right--in the future, you may end up friending AI.

Yury Millner is the chap in question here, a famously media-shy person who rarely grants interviews. So his recent words with the Russian business daily newspaper Vedomosti are worth paying attention to, not only because one of his companies (DST Global Investment) has a big minority stake in Facebook, but because he's chairman of Mail.ru, which dominates the massive Russian email scene, and which recently raised around a billion dollars in an IPO.

So what did Millner say? Among other pronouncements, he remarked: 'I think that in 10 years if you ask a question on a social network and you get an answer you will not know if a computer or a person has answered you.' It'll work the other way around too, Millner thinks: 'When you receive a question, you will not know if it has been asked by a person or an artificial intelligence. And by answering you help the computer create an algorithm.'

This is a pretty bold suggestion, but it's backed up by some solid science. There's already an app on Facebook called Ultra Hal (inspired by the computer in 2001) that is a web-interface to an artificially intelligent chat interface. Made by Zabaware, it won the 17th annual Loebner Prize for AI--based on the Turing Test for how realistically convincing an AI is. Hal lets Facebookers chat to it, and it actively learns to improve its intelligence during the discussions. Zabaware sells a commercial version that's smart enough to be 'used as a companion or entertainment product' and 'can discuss any topic' or 'be used as a personal or office assistant.' Back in November, Spanish scientists crafted a program which can recognize emotions in a human voice--vital for well realized AI in the future, and influential futurist Ray Kurzweil has a big money bet that a computer will ace the Turing Test by 2029.

AI is booming at the moment, and Facebook (and its contemporaries, like Twitter) is an excellent platform on which to test AI--there is a wealth of conversational data in all languages, perfectly suited to honing an AI's talents. Plus AI could actually find a place inside Facebook's workings--as the site gets bigger and more influential, and more people use it to share more information, finding what you prefer to read inside your Facebook page will be difficult. An AI system could be quite helpful in sifting through reams of data, as it could be programmed to learn what you prefer, and even to guess at things you may be interested in outside of your normal habits. Is this what Millner is hinting at?

To read more news on this, and similar stuff, keep up with my updates by following me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

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My BlackBerry is NOT Working - Some British BlackBerry Humor...

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

The BBC posted this video preview of The One Ronnie show to their youtube account earlier this week. It's definitely a good little piece of British BlackBerry humor (note for the North Americans in the crowd, that "Orange" is a cellular carrier!). Check it out for a Wednesday morning laugh. I spotted this one on Isaac Kendall's facebook stream, so thanks Isaac!

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. My BlackBerry is NOT Working - Some British BlackBerry Humor...

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Astonishing Paper Sculptures from Jeff Nishinaka

Astonishing Paper Sculptures from Jeff Nishinaka: "

Los Angeles-based artist Jeff Nishinaka is a paper sculptor born in Los Angeles. He has gained international recognition in the past fifteen years through his unique representational art forms in 3-Dimension for both the fine and commercial arts. “Paper to me is a living breathing thing that has a life of its own. I just try to redirect that energy into something that feels animated and alive” said Nishinaka. Look at the vivid sculptures, don’t they really have lives now?

"

The prettiest woodpile I've ever seen

The prettiest woodpile I've ever seen: "

My dad emailed me this photo today. I think it's just lovely. In fact, I'm not sure I'd have the heart to take the sculpture apart, even if I did need the firewood.

Dad didn't know where the photo came from. Do any of you? I'd love to know whether it's the work of an artist, a creative cabin owner with a lot of free time—or even just a nice Photoshop job. Whichever it is, I like it.

UPDATE: Solved! In, like, two seconds. You guys are amazing. The artist is Alastair Heseltine.

Also, I just want to take a quick moment to clarify that, when I wrote 'creative cabin owner with a lot of free time', I did not mean that as an insult. My apologies for crappy wording. I meant that more to distinguish professional artists from people who don't consider themselves capital-A Artists, or who have other jobs, but who make the time to pursue artistic hobbies that they love. Something like this couldn't have been thrown together in an afternoon on a whim. It was something somebody had to have taken a lot of time to do. That's what I meant. I just worded it really poorly.

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Fossil Finger DNA Points to New Type of Human

Continued study of an approximately 40,000 year old finger bone from Siberia has identified a previously unknown type of human — one that may have interbred with the ancestors of modern-day Melanesian people.

The fossil scrap — just the tip of a juvenile female’s finger — was discovered in 2008 during excavations of Denisova cave in Siberia’s Altai Mountains. Anatomically, it looks like it could have belonged to a Neanderthal or a modern human. But, in an initial announcement published in April in Nature, a team of scientists led by geneticist Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology concluded the bone belonged to a distinct population of humans that last shared a common ancestor with Neanderthals and our species about a million years ago.

The new study, published by Pääbo and colleagues Dec. 22 in Nature, provides further evidence that Denisova cave was home to unique humans. The researchers analyzed genetic sequences recovered from the nuclei of cells, which offer better resolution of relationships than the mitochondrial samples used in the previous research. The Denisova DNA sequences were closest to the Neanderthals, indicating they shared a more recent common ancestor with Neanderthals than with us.



The new genetic data suggests the ancestors of the Neanderthals and Denisovans left Africa between 300,000 to 400,000 years ago and rapidly diverged. But this estimate is based on models of the rates that genes typically mutate and could be off the mark.

“The Neanderthal and Denisova population history may be roughly twice the length suggested in [the Nature] paper,” said University of Wisconsin — Madison anthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved with this study. “The ancestors [of the Denisovans] might be the original “Homo erectus” dispersal from Africa.”

The big question, however, is whether the Denisovans are a new species of human.

They were genetically distinct from other humans, and an upper molar tooth (above) found at the same excavation hints that these people were similar to earlier species like Homo erectus.

But this is not enough to declare a new species, especially since the same team of researchers recently found that Neanderthals likely interbred with populations of our species that moved outside Africa. Between 1 and 4 percent of the genes of non-Africans match those found in Neanderthals, making it difficult to draw the species line.

An unexpected discovery about the Denisovans further complicates the picture: Some modern-day people carry Denisovan genes. Through genetic comparisons Pääbo’s team found that some people from Melanesia — an assemblage of islands off Australia’s east coast, including New Guinea — share 4 to 6 percent of their genomes with the Denisovans. This probably indicates that the Denisovans interbred with anatomically modern humans despite the split between our lineages over a million years ago.

The authors of the new paper didn’t go as far as calling the Denisovans a new species, and “on a biological species concept,” says Hawks, “there’s really no reason to regard this as a different species.”

Images: 1) The molar from the Denisova cave, as seen from above and the side. Credit: David Reich et al., Nature. 2) A map of human migrations. The triangles and circles represent sampling locations of Neanderthal remains of present-day human genomes, respectively. The blue arrows trace major migration routes of anatomically modern humans out of Africa. The yellow box and star denote the correspondence between the Denisova DNA samples and the genomes of people from Melanesia. From Bustamante & Henn, Nature.

See Also:

• Possible New Human Ancestor Discovered
• Neanderthal Genome Shows Most Humans Are Cavemen
• Neanderthals Had Feelings, Too
• What Makes Us Human? Neanderthal Genome Holds Clues

"

Avocados side effects, nutritional values and health benefits

Avocados were first cultivated in South America with later migration to Mexico. It was believed that a Mayan princess ate the very first avocado and that it held mystical and magical powers. European sailors traveling to the New World used avocados as their form of butter. Avocados were first seen in the United States in the early 1800's. California is currently the largest producer of avocados stateside. There are more than 80 varieties, with the "Hass" variety dominating the crop share. A single mature avocado tree can produce more than 400 pieces of fruit in a year.


NUTRITIONAL VALUES Avocados are loaded with nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate. They're also cholesterol and sodium free. Avocados contain 60% more potassium per ounce than bananas. This fruit is an excellent source of monounsaturated fat. In addition, researchers have shown that avocados extracts improved calcium absorption in rats and addition of avocado to salsa significantly improved lycopene, lutein and carotenes 
absorption in healthy human subjects. [1, 9]


POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF AVOCADO Researchers from South Africa proposed to use Avocado (Persea americana) leaf aqueous extract for the management of childhood convulsion. The data from their study in rats suggested that 'avocado' leaf aqueous extract produced its anticonvulsant effect by enhancing GABAergic neurotransmission and/or action in the brain. [8]

Some studies show the potential benefits of soybean combined with avocado on the symptoms of osteoarthritis. [12-15, 18] The combo is believed to exert anti-inflammatory and stimulatory effects on aggrecan or proteoglycan synthesis in chondrocytes. [15, 17] The common dose of the Avocado-soybean unsaponifiables (ASU)  in some of the studies is from 300 to 600 mg/day. [16, 19]


AVOCADO MAY HAVE BENEFITS OF CUTTING CANCER RISKS The California Hass avocado (Persea americana Mill.) avocados were found to contain the highest content of lutein among commonly eaten fruits as well as measurable amounts of related carotenoids (zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene, and beta-carotene). Lutein accounted for 70% of the measured carotenoids, and the avocado also contained significant quantities of vitamin E. An acetone extract of avocado containing these carotenoids and tocopherols was shown to inhibit the growth of both androgen-dependent (LNCaP) and androgen-independent (PC-3) prostate cancer cell lines in vitro. [11] On the other hand, Kim OK from Kyoto university, Japan, proposed that persenone A, an active ingredient of avocado, is a possible agent to prevent inflammation-associated diseases including cancer. They found that persenone A at concentration of 20 microM almost completely suppressed both iNOS and COX-2 protein expression in a vitro study. [21]


AVOCADO HELPS CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DIETS Researchers found that intake of avocado could enhance the effect of low-fat diets on lipid reduction. [22, 26] Mexican researchers consider avocado as an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acid in diets designed to avoid hyperlipidemia without the undesirable effects of low-saturated fat diets on HDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations. [23]

In a study of healthy adult normolipidemic volunteers and 37 adult patients with mild hypercholesterolemia, Mexican researchers found that intake of avocado was linked to a significant decrease of serum total cholesterol (17%), LDL-cholesterol (22%) and triglycerides (22%), and increase of HDL-cholesterol (11%) levels in hypercholesterolemic subjects. [24]


EFFECTS OF AVOCADO ON WEIGHT LOSS AND BLOOD PRESSURE The consumption of 200 g/d of avocado within an energy-restricted diet does not compromise weight loss when substituted for 30 g of mixed dietary fat. Serum lipid concentrations, plasma fibrinogen, arterial compliance, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures were not affected by weight loss or avocado intake. [10]


BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS / SIDE EFFECTS OF AVOCADO ETRACTS AND OILS One common side effect of avocado intake is allergy or hypersensitivity. The symptoms include skin reactions, vomiting, bronchial asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, urticaria and angioedema. [25, 28] In a study, eight of the 21 avocado skin test positive patients reported that symptoms repeatedly followed the ingestion of avocado; two reported systemic reactions, but six noted oral symptoms only. Serum IgE antibodies to avocado were elevated in seven of the eight patients reporting symptoms after eating avocado. Avocado-induced symptoms occurred in 8% of 100 consecutive atopic allergic rhinitis patients unselected for avocado reactivity. Oral, and less frequently systemic, allergy symptoms appear to be more common among the atopic population than previously appreciated. [25]

In later 1980s, researchers from Israel fed rats with avocado or avocado seed oils for four weeks and they noticed an increase in the amount of hepatic lipids, a decrease in blood levels of triglycerides in the animals and changes in levels of some liver enzymes. [2]

Rats fed with unrefined avocado oils showed significant increases in soluble collagen content in skin. The increased soluble collagen content appears to be a consequence of the inhibition of lysyl oxidase activity. The total collagen content did not change. [4] However, researchers also found a significant decrease in total collagen solubility in the liver after supplementation of unrefined avocado or soybean oil to rats for one week. They confirmed the results by repeating the experiment with chicken. They also found collagen accumulation in the liver of the rats, suggesting early stages of fibrosis. [5]

Though there are indications (above) that avocado may damage the liver by collagen formation, Japanese researchers have shown the protective effects of avocado on liver injury caused by D-galactosamine. [20]

The leaves of avocado in doses exceeding 20 g fresh leaf per kg bodyweight, produced damage to the mammary gland with decreased milk production in an animal study. [3] Six of 21 goats feeding on fresh avocado leaves from pruned trees, showed clinical signs of cardiac distress. [6] Ingestion of avocado leaves also caused lung oedema, hydrothorax, severe myocardial degeneration, necrosis and fibrosis in 15 Cameroon goats. [7] In a study, nine out of 120 ostriches died from congestive heart failure within 96 h of ingesting avocado leaves and immature fruit in an avocado orchard containing Hass and Fuerte cultivars.[27] Finally, researchers from Kenya observed dyspnoea, pulmonary oedema, abdominal enlargement and signs of elevated liver enzymes from two dogs which had a fondness for avocado fruits. [29]


THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH 
YOUR DOCTOR. THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT RECOMMEND TAKING EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF AVACODO. ALL RIGHTS 
RESERVED 2008 ZHION DO NOT COPY TO OTHER WEBSITES NOR BLOGS NOR ANY OTHER TYPES OF 
PUBLICATIONS.Reference: [1] Raonimalala AF, Digaud A, Fournier P. Action of soluble carbohydrates from avocado (Persea gratissima Gaertner) fruit on utilization of 
calcium in the rat Ann Nutr Aliment. 1980;34(4):735-44. [2] Werman MJ, Mokady S, Neeman I, Auslaender L, Zeidler A. The effect of avocado oils on 
some liver characteristics in growing rats. Food Chem Toxicol. 1989 May;27(5):279-82. [3] Craigmill AL, Seawright AA, Mattila T, Frost AJ. Pathological 
changes in the mammary gland and biochemical changes in milk of the goat following oral dosing with leaf of the avocado (Persea americana). Aust Vet 
J. 1989 Jul;66(7):206-11. [4] Werman MJ, Mokady S, Nimni ME, Neeman I. The effect of various avocado oils on skin collagen metabolism. Connect 
Tissue Res. 1991;26(1-2):1-10. [5] Wermam MJ, Mokady S, Neeman I. Effect of dietary avocado oils on hepatic collagen metabolism. Ann Nutr Metab. 
1991;35(5):253-60. [6] Grant R, Basson PA, Booker HH, Hofherr JB, Anthonissen M. Cardiomyopathy caused by avocado (Persea americana Mill) leaves. 
J S Afr Vet Assoc. 1991 Mar;62(1):21-2. [7] Stadler P, van Rensburg IB, Naude TW. J S Afr Vet Assoc. 1991 Dec;62(4):186-8. Suspected avocado (Persea 
americana) poisoning in goats. [8] Ojewole JA and Amabeoku GJ Anticonvulsant effect of Persea americana Mill (Lauraceae) (Avocado) leaf aqueous 
extract in mice. Phytother Res. 2006 Jun 14; [9] Unlu NZ,et al, Carotenoid absorption from salad and salsa by humans is enhanced by the addition of 
avocado or avocado oil. J Nutr. 2005 Mar;135(3):431-6. [10] Pieterse Z, Jerling JC, Oosthuizen W, Kruger HS, Hanekom SM, Smuts CM, Schutte AE. 
Substitution of high monounsaturated fatty acid avocado for mixed dietary fats during an energy-restricted diet: effects on weight loss, serum lipids, 
fibrinogen, and vascular function. Nutrition. 2005 Jan;21(1):67-75. [11] Lu QY, Arteaga JR, Zhang Q, Huerta S, Go VL, Heber D. Inhibition of prostate 
cancer cell growth by an avocado extract: role of lipid-soluble bioactive substances. J Nutr Biochem. 2005 Jan;16(1):23-30. [12] Mauviel A, Loyau G, 
Pujol JP. Effect of unsaponifiable extracts of avocado and soybean (Piascledine) on the collagenolytic action of cultures of human rheumatoid synoviocytes 
and rabbit articular chondrocytes treated with interleukin-1Rev Rhum Mal Osteoartic. 1991 Apr;58(4):241-5. [13] Henrotin YE, Deberg MA, Crielaard JM, 
Piccardi N, Msika P, Sanchez C. Avocado/Soybean Unsaponifiables Prevent the Inhibitory Effect of Osteoarthritic Subchondral Osteoblasts on Aggrecan and 
Type II Collagen Synthesis by Chondrocytes. J Rheumatol. 2006 Jul 1 [14] Andriamanalijaona R, Benateau H, Barre PE, Boumediene K, Labbe D, 
Compere JF, Pujol JP. Effect of Interleukin-1beta on Transforming Growth Factor-Beta and Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 Expression in Human Periodontal 
Ligament and Alveolar Bone Cells in Culture: Modulation by Avocado and Soybean Unsaponifiables. J Periodontol. 2006 Jul;77(7):1156-1166. [15] 
Angermann P. Avocado/soybean unsaponifiables in the treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritisUgeskr Laeger. 2005 Aug 15;167(33):3023-5. [16] Ernst 
E. Avocado-soybean unsaponifiables (ASU) for osteoarthritis - a systematic review. Clin Rheumatol. 2003 Oct;22(4-5):285-8. [17] Henrotin YE, 
Avocado/soybean unsaponifiables increase aggrecan synthesis and reduce catabolic and proinflammatory mediator production by human osteoarthritic 
chondrocytes. J Rheumatol. 2003 Aug;30(8):1825-34. [18] Lequesne M, Structural effect of avocado/soybean unsaponifiables on joint space loss in 
osteoarthritis of the hip. Arthritis Rheum. 2002 Feb;47(1):50-8. [19] Appelboom T, Schuermans J, Verbruggen G, Henrotin Y, Reginster JY. Symptoms 
modifying effect of avocado/soybean unsaponifiables (ASU) in knee osteoarthritis. A double blind, prospective, placebo-controlled study. Scand J 
Rheumatol. 2001;30(4):242-7. [20] Kawagishi H, et al Liver injury suppressing compounds from avocado (Persea americana). J Agric Food Chem. 2001 
May;49(5):2215-21. [21] Kim OK, et al, An avocado constituent, persenone A, suppresses expression of inducible forms of nitric oxide synthase and 
cyclooxygenase in macrophages, and hydrogen peroxide generation in mouse skin. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2000 Nov;64(11):2504-7. [22] 
Carranza-Madrigal J, et al, Effects of a vegetarian diet vs. a vegetarian diet enriched with avocado in hypercholesterolemic patients. Arch Med Res. 1997 
Winter;28(4):537-41. [23] Alvizouri-Munoz M, et al, Effects of avocado as a source of monounsaturated fatty acids on plasma lipid levels. Arch Med Res. 
1992 Winter;23(4):163-7. [24] Lopez Ledesma R, et al, Monounsaturated fatty acid (avocado) rich diet for mild hypercholesterolemia. Arch Med Res. 
1996 Winter;27(4):519-23. [25] Telez-Diaz G, et al, Prevalence of avocado allergy among atopic patients. Allergy Proc. 1995 Sep-Oct;16(5):241-3. [26] 
Carranza J, Effects of avocado on the level of blood lipids in patients with phenotype II and IV dyslipidemiasArch Inst Cardiol Mex. 1995 
Jul-Aug;65(4):342-8. [27] Burger WP, et al, Cardiomyopathy in ostriches (Struthio camelus) due to avocado (Persea americana var. guatemalensis) 
intoxication. J S Afr Vet Assoc. 1994 Sep;65(3):113-8. [28] Blanco C, et al, Avocado hypersensitivity. Allergy. 1994 Jul;49(6):454-9. [29] Buoro IB, et al, 
Putative avocado toxicity in two dogs. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1994 Mar;61(1):107-9.

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