Three Things You Need to Know Today
Corporal Robot, Explain Yourself!
The U.S. military doesn’t want to blindly trust any old algorithm. Rightly so, because the use of robots in the field raises some serious ethical questions about what machines should be able to do without human assistance. But for DARPA, one thing is clear: if robots are able to perceive their surroundings and make decisions, they must also be able to explain why they’ve made those choices to their human superiors. Our own Will Knight reports on a number of military projects that are currently trying to incorporate elucidation into artificial intelligence.
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How Much Solar Can We Squeeze Onto Rooftops?
Almost 80 percent of U.S. homes could make use of solar panels. That’s according to analysis by Google’s Project Sunroof, which uses mapping data, weather trends, 3-D modeling, and machine learning to estimate which buildings receive enough sunlight to justify the hardware (you can use it to see if you should install your own). But there’s still a ways to go: while solar installations soared in 2016, the Solar Energy Industries Association says that panels have so far only been installed on 1.3 million U.S homes.
Congress Takes Blockchain 101
On Capitol Hill, it’s time to learn about digital ledgers. Congressman David Schweikert is so enamored with the possibilities offered by Bitcoin’s underlying technology—already being tested for tracking freight and medical records—that he’s set up a Congressional Blockchain Caucus. Our own Mike Orcutt reports that it should help Schweikert achieve his ultimate goal: to keep the government from “screwing it up” when making decisions about how the technology is used in the future.
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