Re: Finals Discussion Question

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:19 am

Behavior-Monitoring Machines
A new breed of computer software keeps tabs on how people and objects act. To really work, though, these programs have to learn and adapt.

By Erik Sherman
November 12, 2003

He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. Ever wonder how Santa has time to keep tabs on the world while building toys? Maybe he’s using behaviometric software—applications designed to understand the behavior of people and things and to react appropriately in order to provide security, facilitate health care, and enhance productivity.

In a limited sense, computers have always had to understand highly select behavior. A word processor, for instance, must know when people want to copy text blocks and when they want to delete them. But these user actions are highly constrained, with people only allowed to perform expected actions. The genius of behaviometric software is that it tackles more unpredictable actions, whether performed by people, animals, machines, or a combination of all three. What developers must do is measure and describe behavior in manageable ways while enabling computers to learn more about the targeted behavior over time through observation.

Researchers have known for many years that humans can extract essential characteristics of behavior quickly and easily. “In the 1960s, the psychologist Gunnar Johansson performed a series of famous experiments in which he attached lights to people's limbs and recorded videos of them performing different activities, such as walking, running, and dancing,” says M. Alex O. Vasilescu, a researcher at New York University's Media Research Lab in New York and a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto. People were asked to watch videos where only the lights were visible and then classify the activity. Usually, Vasilescu says, observers were able to “perform this task with ease, and they could sometimes determine gender and even recognize specific individuals.” The difficulty scientists have is in figuring out how to view the task in a simpler and more essential form.

The process of paring away the unnecessary can take decades. Take, for example, a project at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Israel, in which a pair of students wrote an application that can identify people with near 100 percent accuracy by their typing styles. “People have studied problems of trying to match keystroke sequence to a typist for almost 20 years,” says Ran El-Yaniv, a Technion professor of computer science and expert in machine learning who was one of the supervising faculty. When the project started, El-Yaniv, says, software could make highly accurate identifications this ways only if the person was required to type a predetermined sequence of characters. Move outside that keyboarding script, and the programs couldn’t keep up.

The Technion project found a way to ignore the actual content of the typing by concentrating on the number of milliseconds it took people to type a character. The team wrote software that monitors how quickly a typist pressed and released a key. Individual times are grouped to take slight variations into account. Researchers have also found that pressing a given key would affect the typing of the next letter. Because there were a finite number of key combinations, researchers could use existing algorithms to create a probabilistic model for an individual user. Someone whose typing did not fit the model was likely not the person. The tricky part was determining whether there was a fit with the model. It is called a single-class identification problem—like designing a system to know what a dog looks like, then showing it a cat and asking if that animal belongs to the class.

Researchers in behavior-detecting software find that they must walk a tight rope: seeking to represent the essentials of behavior a problem in the simplest possible way that still carries enough statistical information to allow the computer to place an action into a category and make an appropriate decision. And the single biggest obstacle is having too much information. Data filtering—passing on only the cats and dogs and tossing out rocks and trees—is vital. Without it, the fastest computer would grind to a halt under the weight of detail.

“We look at it as a data reduction problem,” says Glenn McGonnigle, CEO of VistaScape Security Systems, an Atlanta-based company makes software that examines video surveillance tapes for such high -risk facilities as shipping ports, airports, and petrochemical plants. Using generic image templates of objects—people, boats, birds, and so forth—VistaScape's software matches activity against rules provided by client. One rule, for instance, might forbid people to climb a fence and enter a sensitive area.

To alert security personnel to potential problem situations, the software must sift through a bewilderingly large number of object behaviors: water undulating in waves, boats moving against the horizon, birds darting and soaring through the air, people strolling on a beach. From the cradle, people learn to instantly make these distinctions, using experience to increase their powers of discernment; machines lack that advantage.

But whether something is important or superfluous depends completely on what the scientists are trying to detect. For McGonnigle’s purposes, vital details might include object size and speed, while color might be irrelevant. Direction of motion would matter in some cases—someone walking one way through an airline security check would be normal, while travel in the opposite direction could indicate a potential problem. Delivery trucks arriving on a Tuesday or Thursday might be expected, though a Wednesday appearance might warrant an investigation.

Since what is important in one context is of no interest in another, each behaviometric system enlists subject experts to help define what behavior will be important. New York City-based Living Independently recently began shipping a system that keeps tabs on elderly people living at home, alerting family or health professionals if behavior suddenly changes. Living Independently had to know what actions might shine some light on the state of someone’s health. “Working with gerontologists, we identified the behaviors that would be most valuable to monitor,” says George Boyajian, executive vice president for strategy, research, and development.

As it turned out, the list of considerations could be pared to a bare minimum. Infrared sensors note when someone gets up, nears a food preparation area, opens a medicine cabinet, and enters the bathroom. Data travels wirelessly to a base station, which relays the information over an ordinary phone line to the company. Proprietary algorithms compare the actions to what the system considers “normal” for the person based on previously collected data. Sudden changes in behavioral patterns—more frequent night time trips to the bathroom, for example, or a sudden cessation of opening the medicine cabinet to obtain pills—can be early signs of trouble, or might indicate an immediate problem. The system then sends alerts to family members or appropriate healthcare professionals.

Normal is, of course, relative, and can change over time. That is why behaviometric software must also incorporate machine learning, so that decisions are not made based on some behavioral standard that is no longer applicable. Living Independently creates a baseline of behavior that changes over time. Each person is observed, with software abstracting statistically “typical” behavior on a roughly ten day rolling time frame, shifting as someone’s habits change. Thus, the software avoids raising alarms unnecessarily.

Behaviometric software is not perfect. The Living Independently application, for example, can only tell if people approach food preparation areas—not if they eat. A ship nearing an offshore oil rig might be only a lost pleasure craft, and not terrorists planning an assault. Still, an approximation is sometimes all that's needed to answer a question. So the name time you are wondering how Aunt Sadie is doing—or who is at her keyboard—ask her computer. It might just tell you

http://mrl.nyu.edu/~alex/News/Human%20Motion%20Signatures%20in%20the%20News/www.technologyreview.com%20-%2011-12-03.htm

derrick_delgado Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:22 am

andrearebadavia wrote:
paulojolejole wrote:
medo_domingo wrote:
arlynne.awayan wrote:FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Will robots inherit the earth? Yes, but they will be our children. We owe our minds to the deaths and lives of all the creatures that were ever engaged in the struggle called Evolution. Our job is to see that all this work shall not end up in meaningless waste.

this is very informative indeed

yeah! even if there is a possibility that robots could invade the earth, still we have control over them...tao gumawa s mga robots and tao rin ang mkakasira s knila! huwaaaaW!^_^ parang s spiderman! hehe

but what if there are people who will use robots in doing bad things? of course anytime people can destroy the robots that was made but what if there will be people who will still create robots for evil things? robots can or may invade us if people let it to.

derrick_delgado Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:27 am

andrearebadavia wrote:
senjindesagun wrote:
maricris lim wrote:
arlynne.awayan wrote:FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Technologies being developed today has really affects the way we live, we can't deny it.. because everyday we use different technologies, in our home, in school and everywhere we look we see technologies. people are moving forward.. nobody wants to move backward, so people as much as possible they create and use more technologies so everything will be easier for them.

I agree with you chris.. technologies today has a big affect to us, it is created to do things much easier. at minsan sa sobrang bilis ng makabagong teknolohiya ngyon kailangan nting sumabay dito..

but we still have to think twice that evry action has an equal reaction.... although robots may seem advantageous to us, still it could bring a lot of mistakes to us too!

wow andrea!! my naalala ka pa s physics mo ha.. hehe!! but i agree with you... robots has an advantage but also have a disadvantage, we must use its advantages and limit or eliminate its disadvantages bounce

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:27 am

FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Automatic inference of complex mental states

People express their mental states, including emotions, thoughts, and desires, all the time through facial expressions, vocal nuances and gestures. This is true even when they are interacting with machines. Our mental states shape the decisions that we make, govern how we communicate with others, and affect our performance. The ability to attribute mental states to others from their behaviour, and to use that knowledge to guide our own actions and predict those of others is known as theory of mind or mind-reading. It has recently gained attention with the growing number of people with Autism Spectrum Conditions, who have difficulties mind-reading.

Existing human-computer interfaces are mind-blind — oblivious to the user’s mental states and intentions. A computer may wait indefinitely for input from a user who is no longer there, or decide to do irrelevant tasks while a user is frantically working towards an imminent deadline. As a result, existing computer technologies often frustrate the user, have little persuasive power and cannot initiate interactions with the user. Even if they do take the initiative, like the now retired Microsoft Paperclip, they are often misguided and irrelevant, and simply frustrate the user. With the increasing complexity of computer technologies and the ubiquity of mobile and wearable devices, there is a need for machines that are aware of the user’s mental state and that adaptively respond to these mental states.

Current projects and future work
The mind-reading computer system presents information about your mental state as easily as a keyboard and mouse present text and commands. Imagine a future where we are surrounded with mobile phones, cars and online services that can read our minds and react to our moods. How would that change our use of technology and our lives? We are working with a major car manufacturer to implement this system in cars to detect driver mental states such as drowsiness, distraction and anger.

Current projects in Cambridge are considering further inputs such as body posture and gestures to improve the inference. We can then use the same models to control the animation of cartoon avatars. We are also looking at the use of mind-reading to support on-line shopping and learning systems. The mind-reading computer system may also be used to monitor and suggest improvements in human-human interaction. The Affective Computing Group at the MIT Media Laboratory is developing an emotional-social intelligence prosthesis that explores new technologies to augment and improve people’s social interactions and communication skills.

We are also exploring the ethical implications and privacy issues raised by this research. Do we want machines to watch us and understand our emotions? Mind-reading machines will undoubtedly raise the complexity of human-computer interaction to include concepts such as exaggeration, disguise and deception that were previously limited to communications between people.

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/rainbow/emotions/mind-reading.html

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:42 am

FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Security Matters
Did Your Vote Get Counted?
Bruce Schneier

Last week in Florida's 13th Congressional district, the victory margin was only 386 votes out of 153,000. There'll be a mandatory lawyered-up recount, but it won't include the almost 18,000 votes that seem to have disappeared. The electronic voting machines didn't include them in their final tallies, and there's no backup to use for the recount. The district will pick a winner to send to Washington, but it won't be because they are sure the majority voted for him. Maybe the majority did, and maybe it didn't. There's no way to know.

Electronic voting machines represent a grave threat to fair and accurate elections, a threat that every American--Republican, Democrat or independent--should be concerned about. Because they're computer-based, the deliberate or accidental actions of a few can swing an entire election. The solution: Paper ballots, which can be verified by voters and recounted if necessary.

To understand the security of electronic voting machines, you first have to consider election security in general. The goal of any voting system is to capture the intent of each voter and collect them all into a final tally. In practice, this occurs through a series of transfer steps. When I voted last week, I transferred my intent onto a paper ballot, which was then transferred to a tabulation machine via an optical scan reader; at the end of the night, the individual machine tallies were transferred by election officials to a central facility and combined into a single result I saw on television.

All election problems are errors introduced at one of these steps, whether it's voter disenfranchisement, confusing ballots, broken machines or ballot stuffing. Even in normal operations, each step can introduce errors. Voting accuracy, therefore, is a matter of 1) minimizing the number of steps, and 2) increasing the reliability of each step.

Much of our election security is based on "security by competing interests." Every step, with the exception of voters completing their single anonymous ballots, is witnessed by someone from each major party; this ensures that any partisan shenanigans--or even honest mistakes--will be caught by the other observers. This system isn't perfect, but it's worked pretty well for a couple hundred years.

Electronic voting is like an iceberg; the real threats are below the waterline where you can't see them. Paperless electronic voting machines bypass that security process, allowing a small group of people--or even a single hacker--to affect an election. The problem is software--programs that are hidden from view and cannot be verified by a team of Republican and Democrat election judges, programs that can drastically change the final tallies. And because all that's left at the end of the day are those electronic tallies, there's no way to verify the results or to perform a recount. Recounts are important.

This isn't theoretical. In the U.S., there have been hundreds of documented cases of electronic voting machines distorting the vote to the detriment of candidates from both political parties: machines losing votes, machines swapping the votes for candidates, machines registering more votes for a candidate than there were voters, machines not registering votes at all. I would like to believe these are all mistakes and not deliberate fraud, but the truth is that we can't tell the difference. And these are just the problems we've caught; it's almost certain that many more problems have escaped detection because no one was paying attention.

This is both new and terrifying. For the most part, and throughout most of history, election fraud on a massive scale has been hard; it requires very public actions or a highly corrupt government--or both. But electronic voting is different: a lone hacker can affect an election. He can do his work secretly before the machines are shipped to the polling stations. He can affect an entire area's voting machines. And he can cover his tracks completely, writing code that deletes itself after the election.

And that assumes well-designed voting machines. The actual machines being sold by companies like Diebold (nyse: DBD - news - people ), Sequoia Voting Systems and Election Systems & Software are much worse. The software is badly designed. Machines are "protected" by hotel minibar keys. Vote tallies are stored in easily changeable files. Machines can be infected with viruses. Some voting software runs on Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Windows, with all the bugs and crashes and security vulnerabilities that introduces. The list of inadequate security practices goes on and on.

The voting machine companies counter that such attacks are impossible because the machines are never left unattended ( they're not), the memory cards that hold the votes are carefully controlled ( they're not), and everything is supervised ( it isn't). Yes, they're lying, but they're also missing the point.

We shouldn't--and don't--have to accept voting machines that might someday be secure only if a long list of operational procedures are followed precisely. We need voting machines that are secure regardless of how they're programmed, handled and used, and that can be trusted even if they're sold by a partisan company, or a company with possible ties to Venezuela.

Sounds like an impossible task, but in reality, the solution is surprisingly easy. The trick is to use electronic voting machines as ballot-generating machines. Vote by whatever automatic touch-screen system you want: a machine that keeps no records or tallies of how people voted, but only generates a paper ballot. The voter can check it for accuracy, then process it with an optical-scan machine. The second machine provides the quick initial tally, while the paper ballot provides for recounts when necessary. And absentee and backup ballots can be counted the same way.

You can even do away with the electronic vote-generation machines entirely and hand-mark your ballots like we do in Minnesota. Or run a 100% mail-in election like Oregon does. Again, paper ballots are the key.

Paper? Yes, paper. A stack of paper is harder to tamper with than a number in a computer's memory. Voters can see their vote on paper, regardless of what goes on inside the computer. And most important, everyone understands paper. We get into hassles over our cellphone bills and credit card mischarges, but when was the last time you had a problem with a $20 bill? We know how to count paper. Banks count it all the time. Both Canada and the U.K. count paper ballots with no problems, as do the Swiss. We can do it, too. In today's world of computer crashes, worms and hackers, a low-tech solution is the most secure.

Secure voting machines are just one component of a fair and honest election, but they're an increasingly important part. They're where a dedicated attacker can most effectively commit election fraud (and we know that changing the results can be worth millions). But we shouldn't forget other voter suppression tactics: telling people the wrong polling place or election date, taking registered voters off the voting rolls, having too few machines at polling places, or making it onerous for people to register. (Oddly enough, ineligible people voting isn't a problem in the U.S., despite political rhetoric to the contrary; every study shows their numbers to be so small as to be insignificant. And photo ID requirements actually cause more problems than they solve.)

Voting is as much a perception issue as it is a technological issue. It's not enough for the result to be mathematically accurate; every citizen must also be confident that it is correct. Around the world, people protest or riot after an election not when their candidate loses, but when they think their candidate lost unfairly. It is vital for a democracy that an election both accurately determine the winner and adequately convince the loser. In the U.S., we're losing the perception battle.

The current crop of electronic voting machines fail on both counts. The results from Florida's 13th Congressional district are neither accurate nor convincing. As a democracy, we deserve better. We need to refuse to vote on electronic voting machines without a voter-verifiable paper ballot, and to continue to pressure our legislatures to implement voting technology that works.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/11/10/voting-fraud-security-tech-security-cz_bs_1113security.html

albertgni Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:44 am

gerald_sanchez wrote:
nikki_sunga wrote:
noellaenriquez wrote:
nikki_sunga wrote:disadvantage naman ng mga new technology is mawawalan tayo ng privacy.. my napanuod ako movie na kaya nila itract ang isang tao kung asan cya, pwede din makita actuall kung san yung location mo thru satellite...

and yung mga tao pwede nila i take advantage yung pag develop ng technology

u hah...bka ur doing sumtng fishy..hehe..joke lng..mganda un gamitin sa mga criminal para mahuli n lahat..hehe

kahit naman sa criminal unfair yun.. kwawa naman.. ahehehehehehe

gaya nga ng sbi nina paulo....
"this is very informative indeed!"

it depends dun sa gumagamit if hindi xa gumagawa ng way to protect hi or her privacy...
peace out Very Happy

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:52 am

FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Technologies made people easier to communicate. Before people are communicating through letter. As time passes by, the telephone were invented. And now people use internet to communicate with others, their family and love ones. It is easier to communicate in internet and it is cheaper.

ranniesantiago Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:59 am

mikashintome wrote:FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Because of the development of machines Great Depression occured in Europe. Many Europian became jobless. Because of the machines many factory workers was terminated. Machines can do a lot of things than people but because of machine many people got hard time to get the work.

Tama.One disadvantage is that it would result to unemployment.Now adays more and more industrial companies are investing and are being automated and computer controlled.As we all know technology is one of the factors in the industry environment that can affect the success or failure of one business.Companies need to adopt with this technological change or else they will be left behind with other comapanies in the market who continually investing in technology to improve its operation.But what makes them to replaced people with machines?Aside from machines can do a lot of things, the used of machine in production process can help them lower the production cost.The only costs they will incurred will be the repair and maintenance of this machines they used in the production process.Learning about the effect of lower production cost to pricing.The lower the production or the cost for producing the product the larger opportunity for company to create competitive advantage towards its competitors.The company can priced their products relative to competition.

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:00 am

Technology is building bridges between people on opposite sides of the globe, but it is also building ever stronger walls between neighbours. Some people are surrounding themselves with modern technology while paying little attention to the needs of others. Others use technology to better understand their fellow man to overcome physical distance, establishing relationships of solidarity and sympathy around the globe.

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:13 am

FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Recently, students in all grade levels integrate communication technologies into their school and social lives. In classes, communication technologies are being harnessed to facilitate the vast amount of information that is shared in the classroom environment. Tests, handouts, and homeworks are posted ?on-line? to make it easier for the student to access. E-mail is being used to communicate between peers and faculty in a quick and impersonal way. The rise of e-mail has been as important as the rise of the telephone.

Socially, students are meeting their friends on-line in a new type of community ? a cyberspace community.

?Members of an on-line community speak a special language . . . They share the use of truncated speech and acronyms for phrases such as BTW (by the way) and FAQ (Frequently Asked Question). Members of various on-line communities participate in ongoing conversations. At least initially, the new on-line interactants are most concerned with what members of their community think, not with what they look like?

Students go online to talk, ask for help, and share their thoughts with their friends who might be in different cities or even countries. They use new means for communication like Instant Messenger, ICQ, or IRC to ?chat? with others. Communication technologies have made speaking with someone very instantaneous and in some sense cold, since knowing what the other person looks like or how they react to comments is not necessary.

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:16 am

Another modern group of people that use communication technologies are the members of big businesses. Small businesses also harness communication technologies, but do not have sufficient infrastructure to support national or global communication technologies. Companies that run on a global scale can do so effectively because of communication technologies. Several companies have their own sort of Internet, which is only internal to their company. This ?Intranet? links the company?s many offices in different cities, states and countries. These lines create a Wide Area Network (WAN) that can carry phone signals, video streams, data, and many other signals. No longer do managers have to be in the same building with their workers. A manager can actually be in a different state and oversee his people located all over the world. This is made possible by the use of phone conferences, videoconferences, and e-mail. Because managers do not have to be near their group, it is more likely their interactions with their staff members are not as personal.

Internally, companies use communication technologies to make their days more efficient. Pagers, cell phones, and laptops make the employee more mobile and accessible. The use of e-mail can help organize meetings and send out agendas. Messages can be broadcasted through intercoms or over servers so that a secretary does not have to find each individual that needs to get the message.

ranniesantiago Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:18 am

senjindesagun wrote:
maricris lim wrote:
kristinemadolid wrote:
ivanneyanga wrote:
holden wrote:senjindesagun wrote:
maricris lim wrote:
arlynne.awayan wrote:
FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Technologies being developed today has really affects the way we live, we can't deny it.. because everyday we use different technologies, in our home, in school and everywhere we look we see technologies. people are moving forward.. nobody wants to move backward, so people as much as possible they create and use more technologies so everything will be easier for them.

I agree with you chris.. technologies today has a big affect to us, it is created to do things much easier. at minsan sa sobrang bilis ng makabagong teknolohiya ngyon kailangan nting sumabay dito..

I dont agree n dapat tayo mkipagsbayan s ibang bansa cause 1 of the major problem of our economy is unempoyment, by using this technologies will definitely increase the unemployment here in the Philippines.

well...maybe we should balance everything. pwede tayong makipagsabayan pero wag namn lahat nlang ng technology ng ibang countries eh gagayahin na natin.. There are some technology kasi na successful sa kanila but then not applicable sa philippines bec. of the many factors that we might as well consiider first...hehe
the idea is good, wag lng cguro lahat..

oo nga eh.. wag ipagpilitan kung hnd nmn pala tlga applicable dito satin. hehe... pero sa tingin ko dapat mag focus ang government natin sa pag aadapt ng new technologies na may kinalaman sa health and medical... low-tech pa din kasi kung 22usin mga hospitals d2...

Correct Tin.. super agree ako.. na dapat mag adapt ng new technologies na may kinalaman sa health and medical it involves human life so it should be the no.1 priority..

Ako rin agree… dapat sa health and medical muna ang unang prioritize natin sa pag-adapt ng new technologies kasi ito ang isang s pinakamahalaga para s tin..

Tama kayo..dapat mag adapt ng technologies sa mga bagay na sa tingin natin ay higit na makakatulong sa ating lahat.

ranniesantiago Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:34 am

annie_narvadez wrote: humm... today, i think even if technology changes so fast especially here in the philippines, people still stick to the usual. although i cud see a lot of businesses round the metro and some manufacturing firms rely much and update with technology for some important matters. i myself don't rely much to it but i can see some potential that technology could replace almost everything manual in this world and we people are ready to embrace it and i do admit that technology really helps in improving the way we live. and that is for my positive opinion about it.

Tama ka annie.Behind all the negative impact of technology.We cannot really deny the fact that we need technology especially in our everyday life.Technology really helps improve the way we live today.Theres nothing wrong with adopting new technologies as long as they are being used in intelligent way.

escarcha Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:36 am

ranniesantiago wrote:
senjindesagun wrote:
maricris lim wrote:
kristinemadolid wrote:
ivanneyanga wrote:
holden wrote:senjindesagun wrote:
maricris lim wrote:
arlynne.awayan wrote:
FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Technologies being developed today has really affects the way we live, we can't deny it.. because everyday we use different technologies, in our home, in school and everywhere we look we see technologies. people are moving forward.. nobody wants to move backward, so people as much as possible they create and use more technologies so everything will be easier for them.

I agree with you chris.. technologies today has a big affect to us, it is created to do things much easier. at minsan sa sobrang bilis ng makabagong teknolohiya ngyon kailangan nting sumabay dito..

I dont agree n dapat tayo mkipagsbayan s ibang bansa cause 1 of the major problem of our economy is unempoyment, by using this technologies will definitely increase the unemployment here in the Philippines.

well...maybe we should balance everything. pwede tayong makipagsabayan pero wag namn lahat nlang ng technology ng ibang countries eh gagayahin na natin.. There are some technology kasi na successful sa kanila but then not applicable sa philippines bec. of the many factors that we might as well consiider first...hehe
the idea is good, wag lng cguro lahat..

oo nga eh.. wag ipagpilitan kung hnd nmn pala tlga applicable dito satin. hehe... pero sa tingin ko dapat mag focus ang government natin sa pag aadapt ng new technologies na may kinalaman sa health and medical... low-tech pa din kasi kung 22usin mga hospitals d2...

Correct Tin.. super agree ako.. na dapat mag adapt ng new technologies na may kinalaman sa health and medical it involves human life so it should be the no.1 priority..

Ako rin agree… dapat sa health and medical muna ang unang prioritize natin sa pag-adapt ng new technologies kasi ito ang isang s pinakamahalaga para s tin..

Tama kayo..dapat mag adapt ng technologies sa mga bagay na sa tingin natin ay higit na makakatulong sa ating lahat.

agree ako sa inyo.....
It is better if our goverment will focus on issues that will help to improve our economy.
dapat wag natin masyadong bigyan pansin ung fast growing technologies, gamitin lang natin ung mga pwdeng makatulong satin at sa bansa natin lalo na ngaun na mataas ung unemployment.

ranniesantiago Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:49 am

maricris lim wrote:
kristinemadolid wrote:
ivanneyanga wrote:
shiela_fababeir wrote:
rrreysag wrote:I really wish everything will be robotics, but only to facilitate and aid human day to day living. Just like those on movies. And it was my childhood fantasy where everything is high-tech, close to magic isn’t it.

I believe that when people have more time to think there is more room for new ideas as well. If technology will aid humans from this hectic lifestyle we are in, we can have time for more precious things in life.

Good idea!!because if we are aid by robots to help our daily life we can make our life more convenient and we can do some precious things that were not able to do because of house chores.We can have enough time for our family to hang outs because we have the robots to rely on to our work.Isn't wonderful right....

I also like the idea.. but what if there are those who abuse this opportunity? parang dadami ang magrerely nlang sa technology..(hehe, isa na ko dun..)

oo nga.. mahirap ng maging dependent sa robots.. they are indeed helpful pero hnd pa rin dapat magrely totally sa robots if ever kasi iba pa rin xempre ung capabilities ng human...

yap.. its wonderful.. spending more time with your family and precious things in life..Love is T.I.M.E nga daw.. pero tama na hindi parin tayo as in totally mag rely sa technology.. iba na ata yon..hehe

Tama kayo ndi dapat tayo mgrely sa mga innovative technologies most of the time especially kung kaya naman.

mark ramos Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:10 pm

Technologies in medical assistance/health should be the priority especially to our country, since many Filipinos now a days are dying because of sickness like cancer, diabetes and etc. people are going to other countries just to have a cure , instead of putting the funds of our country to the government official's pocket why not put those funds in upgrading our technologies. Laughing

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:17 pm

Vending machines spread in Japan because of people's demand for automation. Leaving aside whether this is good or bad, people clearly want to purchase things without having to talk to others.
Takashi Kurosaki, director-general of the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers' Association, which says there are 5.51 million machines in Japan. (Japan Times)

Vending Machine is very useful, you can buy drinks(cold or hot), snacks like fries, popcorn, chips and etc. In restrooms, you can buy tissue, napkins. You will just put a coin and select the item you like to buy and thats it, the product will come out.

Vending Machines are at its peak in Japan today, you can find it anywhere. It is in demand now that they will buy a product in a vending machine through cellphone and you will pay it through the bill of the line of cellphone.

joycetapan Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:18 pm

mcloyola wrote:kung may robots na, madaming mawawalan ng trabaho..

you got a point, but if you look at if in a good way, it'll make it easier for everybody. the only thing is that we shouldn't depend totally to those technologies..right?

mark ramos Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:18 pm

aizamdeguzman wrote:
annie_narvadez wrote: i think what's wrong with technology is that it will benefit really those who are lazy! that's all.

quite true…but I guess, technology is beneficial for all of us…

haha! you're right anie tecnology will benefit those who are lazy since they can already do what they want without a need of too much effert! Evil or Very Mad

mark ramos Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:20 pm

what's wrong with some people is that they are abusing everythng, like the rise of technologies in our surroundings many people are becoming more lazt since thay know that there are still alternative ways to do their own work.

mikashintome Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:22 pm

When the computer entered the public eye more than 20 years ago, no one would have believed how quickly the PC and internet have developed. Today, many robots such as the US's "ROOMBA," Japan's "ASIMO," France's "NAO," and South Korea's "IROBI" have made their debut. Is the era of the robot approaching?

The word "robot" first appeared in European literature in 1920, followed by the birth of the first generation of robots. Since then, humans have not ceased robot R&D and application. At present, there are about 900 million robots working in factories, hospitals, mines and institutes worldwide. A new generation of robots will gradually enter the family home and quietly change people's lives.

Scientists generally believe that computer technology had the most significant influence on human life in the 20th Century and robots will continue to affect human life in the 21st Century. They are no longer simply mechanical hands; the new generation of robots essentially represents an intelligent manipulation system. More and more robots are used in the production sector and people's daily lives. With basic expressions for emotion and intelligent thinking, these robots can sing songs, dance, read books, surf the internet, help someone park a car, clean the house, take care of old people and collect important information. Undoubtedly, this new generation of robots can take care of complicated and trivial housework. To that end, South Korea has drawn up an ambitious robot development plan that will equip every household with a robot by 2015.

Today, there are more than 4 million robots in homes around the world. The total sales in robot built-in software are $130 billion. By 2010, the output of the global household robot industry is expected to reach a value of $300 billion, and reach $800 billion by 2025. By 2050, the number of robots may even exceed that of automobiles today. To share in these enormous "golden eggs," developed countries in the West are accelerating development to seize the high ground; and are using their technological superiority to gain the initiative.

However, there are still many challenges to achieving an "advanced" mentality in robots. For example, robots still have not acquired the following: self-management and target recognition, accurate and complete access to environmental sensory information, human-machine emotion tactile force exchange technology, and a network operator for long-range surveillance and control. On the day when all these requirements are met, robots with silicone skin and bodies will be closer to humans. Scientists are convinced that an, "‘artificial brain' will surpass the human brain sooner or later. Then, a robot soccer team will beat the world champions."

A major problem now is the way humans evaluate intelligent robots. People are concerned that the competition between the humans and robots that existed in 1811 will repeat itself in the future. In addition, at a certain point in time, a robot culture will appear and once again raise the question of how humans should treat this issue. Would they continue to be the "iron slaves" of human beings? With the possibility of a conflict between man and robot, how does one determine liability? As a result, earlier this year, South Korea developed the world's first "Robot moral Charter" to prevent humans from "abusing" robots and robots from harming humans. Recently, the European Commission has set up relevant agencies to discuss the code of robot development.

French scientists pointed out that the flourishing of robot development does not only foreshadow a technological revolution; but also sends out an irrefutable invitation to mankind. As a result, humans have to reconsider their future; and move in the direction of artificial intelligence research.

Lito Delapena Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:22 pm

technology is growing..its always going to be moving forward..there are computers that can run factories..robots that do things on command..the future is here..soon enough we'll be takin over by robots just like that will smith movie..but you never know...thats whats great with technology..when i was living in japan.there were vending machines where you can buy pretty much anything you can think of..you can also have a chip installed in your cellphone which acts as a credit card where all you would have to do is swipe your phone or call a cellphone number which gives you access to your account..what will they think of next?

mark ramos Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:30 pm

technology really help us in a way that it help us to live our life in a more comfortable and easier way because we could already transact business using technologies without a need for too much effort and people became more productive productive with the help of technology. bounce

joycetapan Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:31 pm

zanderalarcos wrote:
medo_domingo wrote:
arlynne.awayan wrote:FUTURE SHOCK!

Research on technologies being developed today that can affect the way we live tomorrow (eg. robotics, nanotechnology, etc.). How will these technologies change us?

Industrial robots are somewhat underrated in today's society, but the world owes much to the productivity and quality measures imparted by robotics. Their effect on future generations may well be the assistance they provide in manufacturing faster computers, more intelligent vehicles and better consumer and health products.

i agree with that.. Robotics would be a such great help for us humans. But we shouldn't depend always on its capabilities because Robotics are only product of human capabilities.

we really shouldn't depend totally to those robotics because still it is created by humans like us. so there are chances that it can do things that a human can do..

mark ramos Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:32 pm

what we should do, what should we do is that we should look for a ways on how we could improve our technology in our own country, on how we could help other people to cope up with those technologies for them also to improve their own lives. Exclamation

Sponsored content

Finals Discussion Question