The AI Paradox

This article from MIT Technology Review talks about how engineers don't fully understand how deep learning algorithms work their magic.

The legal world believes that we should be able to query this problem. If a deep learning algorithms is used to determine such life and death issues like who gets parole or not (or who benefits from health insurance or not), then we should know how that algorithm was able to make its determination.

The obvious answer to this conundrum is that engineers must design other algorithms, call them 'monitor algorithms' to study and decide these deep learning algorithms just like neuroscientists study the brain, but hopefully with better results!

Some Useful Websites

I remember the early days of the internet when you could spend hours navigating the nascent web looking for the occasional new website that might pop up.

There were so few websites back then- even the most inane ones easily captured our attention. This was long before the days of social media.

If you are bored already with Facebook and Twitter, this post on Johnny Lists offers a great collection of 100 useful websites.

My favourites (in no particular order) are:

• bettermoneyhabits.com – Manage your money better by learning personal finance.

• signature-maker.net – A free email signature creation tool.

• ineedaresu.me – Make your resume suck less.

• namechk.com – Check to see if your brand name is available as a .com and on various social networks.

• videos.pexels.com- Completely free stock video.

• about.me – The easiest way to make a personal page.

Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels

Wikihow is a great resource for interesting weekend projects for the hobbyist. Here is an article that gives details of how to build your own solar panels from solar cells which can be bought online. You will also need non-conductive boards, tabbing and bus wire, soldering equipment, plywood, paint, diodes, a charge controller and batteries.

This article is particularly intriguing in light of the rapidly falling cost of solar cells. Are we moving towards a time when we can be energy-independent? Imagine a farm settlement that builds and maintains its own solar power arrays!

Supercars in the Desert →

This is a nice context specific innovation coming from the emirates. It's an off-road supercar built for racing on sand dunes. I would like to see a more affordable, stripped down version for off-road use in developing countries. Come to think of it, what stops us from developing an off-roader here in Nigerian, one built for navigating rural roads and farming communities? Now that would be interesting.

From the Forbes article:

“The initial plan of the startup, which is first-of-a-kind in the Middle East, was to launch an off-road championship to support the development of motorsport in the UAE, explains Al Qadi. “Laffite wanted to organize a single-make racing series, as the ones that exist in the U.S. and Europe, while Mardell and I wished to bring the racing series from the tarmac to the sand.”

But soon the idea progressed to finding an ideal high-performance off-roader, as, according to Al Qadi, the Dakar prototypes and existing European and American off-road vehicles are not suitable for desert driving. “Since the car of our dreams did not exist, we decided to build it,” says Al Qadi. “The off-roader has been designed keeping the UAE’s terrain in mind, and can legally be driven on-road as well.””

The Nostalgia Machine →

This fascinating website will transport you back to the days of your youth.
You enter a year and it will take you to a page with pop culture references from that year.
Check it out.