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  • Outline of the Python programming language

    Outline of the Python programming language

    The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Python: Python is a general-purpose, interpreted, object-oriented, functional, multi-paradigm, and dynamically typed programming language known for its emphasis on code readability and broad standard library. Python was created by Guido van Rossum and first released in 1991. It emphasizes code readability and developer productivity. == What type of language is Python? == Programming language — artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine. Object-oriented programming — built primarily around objects and classes. Functional programming — supports functions as first-class objects. Scripting language — often used for automation and small programs. General-purpose programming language — designed for a wide variety of application domains. Dynamically typed — type checking occurs at runtime. Interpreted language — code is executed by an interpreter. Multi-paradigm — supports procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming. == History of Python == ABC (programming language) – precursor to Python Python was started by Guido van Rossum in 1989 and first released in 1991. Python 2 — major version released in 2000, officially retired in 2020. Python 3 — released in 2008 == General Python concepts == == Issues and limitations == Performance — generally slower than many compiled languages such as C or Java can be mitigated by C extensions or JIT compilers (PyPy). Global interpreter lock — limits parallel CPU-bound threads in CPython Memory consumption — high memory use compared to some lower-level languages Version compatibility — Python 2 vs Python 3 differences caused migration issues == Python implementations == CPython — reference implementation in C IronPython — Python for .NET Jython — Python for the JVM MicroPython — Python for microcontrollers and embedded systems Nuitka — compiler that packages user code with CPython into a static binary PyPy — JIT-compiled Python interpreter for speed PythonAnywhere — freemium hosted Python installation that runs in the browser Stackless Python — Python with lightweight concurrency features == Python toolchain == List of Python software Comparison of Python IDEs Comparison of server-side web frameworks for Python List of Python frameworks List of Python libraries List of unit testing frameworks for Python Python Package Index == Notable projects using Python == YouTube (backend) Instagram (backend) Dropbox Reddit OpenStack Blender (scripting and plugins) SageMath NumPy Pandas TensorFlow == Python development communities == ActiveState — commercial Python distributions and support Anaconda, Inc. — Python data science ecosystem GitHub Python Software Foundation Python Package Index (PyPI) — third-party software repository for Python == Example source code == Articles with example Python code == Python publications == === Books about Python === Automate the Boring Stuff with Python – Creative Commons Python book Alex Martelli — Python in a Nutshell and Python Cookbook Mark Pilgrim – Dive into Python Naomi Ceder — The Quick Python Book Wes McKinney — Python for Data Analysis Zed Shaw – Learn Python the Hard Way === Textbooks === Core Python Programming == Python programmers == == Python conferences == EuroPython – annual Python conference in Europe PyCon – the largest annual convention for the Python community PyData – conference series focused on data analysis, machine learning, and scientific computing with Python SciPy Conferences – focused on the use of Python in scientific computing and research DjangoCon – a conference dedicated to the Django web framework PyOhio – a free regional Python conference held in Ohio == Python learning resources == Codecademy – interactive Python programming lessons GeeksforGeeks – tutorials, coding examples, and interactive programming for Python concepts and data structures. Kaggle – free Python courses focused on data science and machine learning. Python.org Tutorial – the official Python tutorial from the Python Software Foundation. Real Python – articles, tutorials, and courses for Python developers. W3Schools – beginner-friendly Python tutorials. Wikibooks Python Programming – free open-content textbook on Python. === Competitive programming === Codeforces – an online platform for programming contests that supports Python submissions Codewars – gamified coding challenges supporting Python HackerRank – competitive programming and interview preparation site with Python challenges Kaggle – while focused on data science competitions, it also includes Python-based problem solving. LeetCode – online judge and problem-solving platform where Python is widely used

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  • Kialo

    Kialo

    Kialo is an online structured debate platform with argument maps in the form of debate trees. It is a collaborative reasoning tool for thoughtful discussion, understanding different points of view, and collaborative decision-making, showing arguments for and against claims underneath user-submitted theses or questions. The deliberative discourse platform is designed to present hundreds of supporting or opposing arguments in a dynamic argument tree and is streamlined for rational civil debate on topics such as philosophical questions, policy deliberations, entertainment, ethics, science questions, and unsolved problems or subjects of disagreement in general. Argument-boxes are structured into hierarchical branches where the root is the main thesis (or theses) of the debate, enabling deliberation and navigable debates between opposing perspectives. A debate is divided into Pro (supporting) and Con (refuting or devaluing) columns where registered users can add arguments and rate the impact on the weight or validity of the parent claim. The arguments are sorted according to the rating average. Its argument tree structure enables detailed scrutiny of claims at all levels of the tree and allows users to for example quickly understand why a decision was made or which of the aggregated arguments swayed it this way. Newcomers can join a debate at any time and look back at the structured discussion history, and then weigh in at the right place with their new argument or their comment on a specific argument. The design presets a structure on debates "that allows participants to easily see, process, and ultimately assess the many facets of competing claims". The word Kialo is Esperanto for "reason". The platform is the world's largest argument mapping and structured debate site. == Overview == Users can comment on every Pro or Con, for example for requesting sources or expansions. Recent activities of a debate are shown in a panel on the right side of the respective debate. Debates can be found through the search or on the Explore page through their descriptions and topic-tags. Mere comments that do not make a constructive point (a self-contained argument backed by reasoning) are not allowed and are picked up by other users and moderators. "Civil language and sensible observations from opposing perspectives" can be seen also in debates about controversial topics. The site by-design incentivizes fair, rigorous, open-minded dialogue. Contributors making claims often also write counterpoints to their own contribution. Claims need to be shorter than 500 characters and can link to external sources. Debate trees can also start off with multiple theses – such as different policy options or hypotheses. Claims can link to related debates or include segments of them. In the discussion tab of each claim, users can make edit proposals (e.g. for accuracy, improving sources, or changing scope), decide if the argument should be moved or copied to another branch, call for archiving a claim, and ask for extra evidence or clarification. Debates can grow large and complex for which a sunburst diagram visualization of the topology of the debate and the search functionality can be useful. Each debate also has a chat-box. In cases where e.g. a "Con" is a point against multiple in the "Pros", users – through moderators – can link these arguments at the respective places to avoid duplication of content and allowing a clean chain for people to understand which points are arguments against each other. Contributions of users are tracked, enabling a board of thought-leaders for every debate. Other gamification elements include a feature to thank users for their contributions. The "Perspectives" feature allows users to see 'Impact' ratings of supporters and opposers of a thesis as well as of the debate's moderators and individual contributors. It thereby enables participants to see a debate from other participants' perspectives and to sort by them. In Kialo Edu, this feature lets teachers view votes for a whole class, individuals, or supporters/opponents of a specific thesis. Users in both versions of Kialo can vote on the overall debate topic as well as on individual claims to express their perspectives or conclusions, with the rationale (i.e. the main causal arguments) why they voted on the veracity of the thesis as they did not being captured. Voting can be done by any registered user while navigating through any debate that has voting enabled or via using the Guided Voting wizard user interface that automatically walks through branches. As of 2021, Kialo doesn't have a mobile app. == Contents == A 2018 report stated the collaborative argument platform hosts more than 10,000 debates in various languages. It also hosts private debates. The website claims that it has over 18,000 public debates as of July 2023, as well as over 1 million votes and over 720,000 claims. Debates can be found via the site's internal search and up to six tags per debate. Preprint studies have scraped public debates on over 1.4K issues with over 130K statements as of October 2019 and 1628 debates, related to over 1120 categories, with 124,312 unique claims as of June 26, 2020. == Kialo Inc. == The site is run by Kialo Inc. It was founded by German-born entrepreneur and London School of Economics and Political Science graduate Errikos Pitsos in August 2017 and is based in Brooklyn and Berlin. According to a 2018 report, the site does not show advertisements and does not sell user's data. The for-profit company was founded in 2011, Pitsos began to develop the concept in 2012 and described various specifics of the system in 2014. In 2018, he stated that they intend to make money by selling the platform to companies as a deliberation and decision-making tool. The site is free to use for the public and in education. According to the site, as of 2023 Kialo.com is a non-revenue generating site with no ads and no reselling of user data. == Applications and adoption == === Adopted applications === Applications of its content or the platform in society include: Teachers and professors, especially in high schools – including the universities Harvard and Princeton, are using Kialo for class discussions and exercises in critical thinking and reasoning, as consolidating understanding of materials covered in recent classes, more useful and engaging learning experiences, for remote/e-learning, for clearing up misconceptions, teaching logical fallacies and rational argumentation, for academic dialogue, teaching media literacy, and for teaching to sufficiently reflect or research before posting online. Like for debaters of the main site, access for schools and universities is free. Kialo Edu is the custom version of Kialo specifically designed for classroom use where debates are private and locked to invited students. Kialo allows teachers to provide feedback to students on their ideas, argument structure, and research quality while it is left to other students to rate the impacts of their peers' arguments. Students can be allowed to contribute anonymously which may be useful for controversial issues as well as for safeguarding privacy in education. Students are or can be encouraged to back up their claims with evidence which can foster digital literacy and research skills. Students and teachers can use it to arrange their thoughts when structuring an essay or project. The site's name was decided on internally using the software. === Prototypical and theoretical applications === Potential, theoretical, prototypical or little-used applications include: Education Improving critical thinking skills of society at large as well as facilitating deep or efficient thinking and deepening research and debates where e.g. discussions are less shallow and the well-known or many arguments have already been made and in many cases aren't unreasonably over- or underrated. Pitsos claimed that "we're training students to be very good test-takers instead of critical thinkers", suggesting teaching people to think things through may be more important or neglected compared to essay writing skills. Many young people and adults are "submerged into a sea of dispersed information", "[b]rowsing and engaging in superficial thinking activities". Kialo could counteract this issue and help people develop good sane reasoning. Academia, R&D and policy Three scholars from three prestigious U.S. universities outlined possible benefits in this domain, including applications beyond higher education such as for academic communication. They suggest the debate platform could be used for structuring the communication of open peer-review by helping those giving feedback to "hone in on[sic] core arguments and pieces of evidence in an even more direct way" than annotated commenting. It could be used to evaluate extracted argument structures and sequences from raw texts, as in a Semantic Web for arguments. Such "argument mining", to which Kialo is the lar

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  • The Raimones

    The Raimones

    The Raimones (stylized as THE RAiMONES) is a 2017 generative music project that utilized artificial intelligence to compose music in the style of the American punk rock band The Ramones. Developed by Matthias Frey, a researcher at Sony CSL Tokyo, the project was an early experiment in applying deep learning to high-energy, minimalist musical genres. == Technical Development == The project utilized Long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks to generate musical structures and lyrics. The model was trained on a dataset consisting of 130 Ramones songs in MIDI format and the band's complete lyrical catalog. The technical framework was built using Python and Jupyter Notebook, drawing influence from the character-level RNN text generation models popularized by Andrej Karpathy. Unlike contemporary AI music projects that focused on the harmonic complexities of classical or pop music, THE RAiMONES sought to determine if neural networks could replicate the "1-2-3-4" rhythmic consistency and formulaic nature of early punk. == "I'm Alive" == The primary output of the project was the song "I'm Alive," released in 2017. The work is described as a form of "augmented intelligence," a hybrid approach where the AI provides the compositional foundation and human musicians handle the arrangement and performance. The song was recorded by the musician Mr. Ratboy (Gilbert Avondet). Avondet's involvement provided a stylistic link to the subject material, as he had previously served as a touring guitarist for Marky Ramone and the Intruders in 1996. The project's discography has since been made available on major streaming platforms, including Apple Music. == Reception and Significance == The project has been cited as a "proof of concept" for AI's ability to tackle "noisy" and aggressive aesthetics. In 2019, the Belgian magazine Knack Focus profiled the project alongside other AI pioneers such as Holly Herndon, noting the project's attempt to recreate the sound of "deceased legends" while maintaining a distinct, machine-like quality. It has also been featured in academic settings, such as at UC Santa Cruz, as a case study for AI-driven genre mimicry.

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  • Google AI Studio

    Google AI Studio

    Google AI Studio is a web-based integrated development environment developed by Google for prototyping applications using generative AI models. Released in December 2023 alongside the Gemini API, the platform provides access to Google's Gemini family of models and related tools for image, video, and audio generation. The service targets both developers and non-technical users for testing prompts and generating code for the Gemini API. == History == Google launched AI Studio on December 13, 2023, as the successor to Google MakerSuite. MakerSuite, introduced at Google I/O in May 2023, had provided similar functionality for Google's PaLM language models. The AI Studio was launched alongside the public release of the Gemini API. == Features == AI Studio's interface consists of a central prompt area and a settings panel for model selection and parameter adjustment. The platform supports chat prompts for multi-turn conversations and includes system instructions for defining model behavior, tone, or specific rules. Users can employ zero-shot and few-shot prompting techniques to guide the model's output format. The platform processes various media types including video, audio, and documents, and can generate images through Imagen models, videos through Veo models, and audio through text-to-speech functionality. Additional tools include real-time streaming for screen sharing and live analysis, code execution in a sandboxed Python environment, grounding with Google Search for current information, URL context for analyzing specific web pages, and a thinking mode for complex reasoning tasks. == Available models == The platform provides access to several Google AI models including the Gemini language models, Imagen for image generation, Veo for video generation, LearnLM for educational applications, and Gemma, Google's open-source model family. == Privacy and data usage == Google AI Studio's data handling differs between free and paid users. For free tier users, Google uses submitted prompts, uploaded files, and generated responses to improve its products and services, with human reviewers potentially reading and annotating the data after disconnection from user accounts. Google advises against submitting sensitive information on the free tier. Users who enable Google Cloud Billing are considered paid service users, and their data is not used for product improvement. Data is processed according to Google's Data Processing Addendum and retained temporarily for abuse monitoring. == Availability == The platform is available at no cost, with API usage subject to a free tier with daily and per-minute rate limits. Access is restricted to users aged 18 and older in specific countries and territories. The service was initially unavailable in the United Kingdom and European Economic Area due to regulatory concerns, which drew user complaints. == Reception == Reviews have noted the platform's accessibility and integration with Gemini models, with features such as real-time screen sharing and large context windows cited as notable capabilities. However, reviewers have raised concerns about the privacy implications for free tier users, whose data is used for model training. Some users have reported inconsistent performance with features like screen streaming and issues with folder uploads for large datasets. The initial geographic restrictions were a point of criticism among developers in affected regions.

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  • Carrier cloud

    Carrier cloud

    In cloud computing, a carrier cloud is a class of cloud that integrates wide area networks (WAN) and other attributes of communications service providers’ carrier-grade networks to enable the deployment of highly-complex applications in the cloud. In contrast, classic cloud computing focuses on the data center and does not address the network connecting data centers and cloud users. This may result in unpredictable response times and security issues when business-critical data are transferred over the Internet. == History == The advent of virtualization technology, cost-effective computing hardware, and ubiquitous Internet connectivity have enabled the first wave of cloud services starting in the early years of the 21st century. But many businesses and other organizations hesitated to move to more demanding applications, from on-premises dedicated hardware to private or public clouds. As a response, communications service providers started in the 2010/2011 time frame to develop carrier clouds that address perceived weaknesses in existing cloud services. Cited weaknesses vary but often include possible downtime, security issues, high cost of custom software and data transfer, inflexibility of some cloud apps, poor customer and nonfulfillment of service level agreements (SLAs). == Characteristics == To enable the deployment of time-sensitive and business critical applications in the cloud, the carrier cloud is designed to match or even exceed the characteristics of on-premises deployments. Therefore, the carrier cloud is characterized by some or all of the following items: Configurable, elastic network performance: Typical cloud computing solutions use the best effort of the public Internet to connect cloud users and data centers. This approach provides instant connectivity but does not offer control over network capacities, latencies, and jitter. Carrier clouds address these gaps with content delivery networks and/or dedicated virtual private networks (VPN) at OSI layers 1 (optical wavelengths), 2 (data link layer), and 3 (network layer). These VPNs can be configured to offer the desired performance parameters and exhibit the same type of elasticity for the network that regular clouds provide for servers and storage. To achieve the requested performance parameters, such as low latency, cloud applications can be (automatically) allocated to distributed data centers that are close enough to the cloud users. Automatic resource placement: For a cloud with multiple data centers, information about both the data center and the connecting network is relevant for a decision of where to place cloud images and storage volumes. For this decision, carrier clouds can obtain relevant information about the network, e.g., using the Application-Layer Traffic Optimization (ALTO) protocol. High level of security and governance: Cloud application providers are subject to general and domain specific security, privacy, and governance requirements and regulations, such as the European Data Protection Directive and the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. For added security, the wide area network of the carrier cloud can provide segregated encrypted or unencrypted network links that are not accessible from the general Internet. At the data center, the carrier cloud provides e.g. virtual private servers, management processes, logs, and documentation to fulfill security and governance rules. Location control: Fundamentally, cloud users should not be concerned with the geographic location of their cloud resources. However, privacy and other regulations may mandate that certain types of data must not be sent outside a national jurisdiction or other geographical region. Open APIs: Carrier clouds provide graphical user interfaces and Web application programming interfaces that allow cloud application providers to set up, manage, and monitor both, the data center and the WAN, of their cloud services. == Architecture == Carrier clouds encompass data centers at different network tiers and wide area networks that connect multiple data centers to each other as well as to the cloud users. Links between data centers are used for failover, overflow, backup, and geographic diversity. Carrier clouds can be set up as public, private, or hybrid clouds. The carrier cloud federates these cloud entities by using a single management system to orchestrate, manage, and monitor data center and network resources as a single system.

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  • Orion's Arm

    Orion's Arm

    The Orion's Arm Universe Project (OA) is a multi-authored online hard science fiction world-building project, first established in 2000 by M. Alan Kazlev, Donna Malcolm Hirsekorn, Bernd Helfert and Anders Sandberg and further co-authored by many people since. Anyone can contribute articles, stories, artwork, or music to the website. The first published Orion's Arm book, a collection of five novellas set within the OA universe, called Against a Diamond Sky, was released in September 2009. == Canon == The fictional setting of Orion's Arm takes place about 10,000 years in the future, where an interstellar civilization spread across thousands of light-years, with inhabited planets and space habitats. Its inhabitants range from humans to extensively modified human beings, including superhumans with advanced augmentations and internal AI systems, while most people exist as softwares. Engineered wormholes are used for interstellar travel and transport, although not for time travel. The setting also includes several alien civilizations and evidence of more advanced alien societies in the past. At its highest levels, directed human evolution has produced vast godlike beings linked across interstellar distances, capable of understanding and creating technologies beyond ordinary minds. == Reception == Orion's Arm has been reviewed in the role-playing magazine Knights of the Dinner Table, as well as on Boing Boing by transhumanist science fiction author Cory Doctorow. References to the Encyclopaedia Galactica have been made in a book on overcoming Librarian stereotypes. The Orion's Arm website has also been recommended in a children's teaching guide.

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  • Coronavirus breathalyzer

    Coronavirus breathalyzer

    A coronavirus breathalyzer is a diagnostic medical device enabling the user to test with 90% or greater accuracy the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in an exhaled breath. As of the first half of 2020, the idea of a practical coronavirus breathalyzer was concomitantly developed by unrelated research groups in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, United Kingdom and the USA. == Australia == In Australia, GreyScan CEO Samantha Ollerton and Prof. Michael Breadmore of the University of Tasmania are basing a coronavirus breathalyzer on existing technology that is used around the world to detect explosives. Another invention published from ABC News; produced by Colin Hickey and Examin Holdings, have released information on a new breathalyzer called the "Queensland Breath test" claiming its function has 98% efficiency, equipped with a replaceable plastic nozzle for reusability (February 2022). a statement in claim by Bruce Thompson, a professor at Swinburne University of Technology, Although this products is reliable, due to insufficient funding, the product is inaccessible. == Canada == Canary Health Technologies, headquartered in Toronto with offices in Cleveland, Ohio, is developing a breathalyzer with disposable nanosensors using AI-powered cloud-based analysis. According to a press release, clinical trials began in India during November 2020. The stated goal is to develop an accurate, reasonably priced screening tool that can be used anywhere and deliver a result in less than a minute. The company postulates that analyzing volatile organic compounds in human breath could potentially detect diseases before the on-set of symptoms, earlier than currently available methods. Moreover, the cloud-based technology is designed to be used as a disease surveillance apparatus. == Finland == By the end of June 2020, Forum Virium Helsinki, in collaboration with Finnish software firm Deep Sensing Algorithms, funded by the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council, announced that testing of their device had begun with a control group in Kazakhstan, with plans to expand to the Netherlands, the United States, South Africa, Brazil and Finland throughout the summer. The efficacy of the Forum Virium Helsinki / Deep Sensing Algorithms device hinges on its AI component. "We are engaged in innovative cooperation with corporations to solve the coronavirus crisis, and we will help firms to use the city as a development platform. We are utilizing artificial intelligence and digitalization," said Forum Virium Helsinki CEO Mika Malin. == Germany == In March 2020, the Singaporean company RAM Global conducted research in Germany in hopes of developing a one-minute breathalyzer test for SARS-CoV-2 based on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The company attempted to develop a disposable test kit for direct detection of COVID-19 virion particles in breath, saliva and swab samples. On 31 March, RAM Global completed an initial clinical study on live patients at University Hospital Saarland. In April, the company pursued a small unknown sample study in which hospital doctors provided unknown samples in order to test accuracy in differentiating positive and negative samples. == Indonesia == Since April 2020, a team of researchers from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) has been developing an electronic nose called GeNose C19. The GeNose C19 can be used as a rapid, non-invasive screening tool in less than two minutes. A profiling test was carried out at the Bhayangkara Hospital and the Covid Bambanglipuro Special Field Hospital in Yogyakarta. GeNose C19 consists of gas sensors and an artificial intelligence-based pattern recognition system. The diagnostic test was carried out with the cooperation of nine multi-center hospitals. In the end of December 2020, GeNose C19 received a distribution permit from Indonesia's Health Ministry. Initially, 100 units will be released and each device will be able to perform 120 tests per day. The test is estimated to cost 15,000–25,000 Indonesian rupiah ($1–$1.8) and would take three minutes for the test and another two minutes to yield a result. Researchers hope to manufacture up to 1,000 GeNose C19 units, increasing the country's testing capabilities by 120 thousand subjects per day. Moreover, they aim to manufacture 10,000 units by February 2021. == Israel == In Israel, it is at the photonics lab of Gabby Sarusi, professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, that research is underway as of midsummer 2020. Separately from Sarusi's project, in July 2020, it was reported that Israeli start-up Nanoscent in cooperation with Sheba Medical Center had devised a breathalyzer that Magen David Adom (MDA) is seeking to incorporate into existing drive-thru testing stations located throughout the country. Questionable intellectual property of Gabby Sarusi regarding this project is now under discussion in the court in Israel. == The Netherlands == A breath test with the SpiroNose device, made by the Dutch company Breathomix, has been developed and tested in collaboration with the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland and the GGD Amsterdam. The breath test has been validated as a pre-screening test for people who have no or mild symptoms of COVID-19. From April 2021, the device was operational in COVID-19 test drive-ins, conferences and events, i.e. Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Subjects must abstain from alcohol for eight hours prior to taking the breath test. The SpiroNose contains four sets of seven different sensors that can measure the mixture of volatile organic compounds (biomarkers) in the exhaled air. These VOCs provide a picture of a person's metabolism. This 'breath profile' is forwarded to an online analysis platform. Here the breath profile is compared with other breath profiles of people with and without a COVID-19 diagnosis and analysed by algorithms. Data-analysis involves advanced signal processing and statistics based on independent t-tests followed by linear discriminant and ROC analysis. The test result is known within minutes. The breath test has a sensitivity/specificity for SARS-CoV-2 infection of 100/78, >99/84, 98/82% in validation, replication and asymptomatic cohorts of patients. The breath test reliably detects who is not infected. Such a subject will receive a test result immediately. Other subjects must promptly conduct a subsequent test, for example a PCR test or LAMP test. The test results can be viewed by the client and are not automatically interfaced to other databases, i.e. for public health surveillance, source and contact tracing, vaccination programs. In July 2021, the ministry stopped the tests with the SpiroNose because, according to the GGD, the device gives unusable results in some cases. Breathomix indicates that this is the result of the way in which the SpiroNose is deployed. The SpiroNose is and remains a reliable instrument for lung diseases. The analysis platform is developed conform the requirements of the standard ISO 27001 (Information Security) and NEN 7510 (Information Security in Health Care). A CE marking has been requested. In the meantime, the Dutch minister has granted a CE marking exemption on 25 January 2021. The device may also be used to detect other diseases, e.g., asthma, COPD, lung cancer, interstitial lung diseases (ILD). == Poland == In February 2021, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, announced that ML System S. A., headquartered in Zaczernie, Poland, had successfully developed a means of analyzing a patient's breath to test for the presence of coronavirus. According to an anonymous press release, test subjects exhale into a device in order to determine the presence of the coronavirus. The procedure, similar to that of a police breathalyzer, is said to take less than ten seconds. Independent clinical trials were begun in April 2021. In the first half of May 2021, a brief text concerning partial results was published by ML System, stating that independent clinical trials were successful with specificity (97,15%) and accuracy/sensitivity (86,86%), for CT (Cycle Threshold) assumed at 25, which is in line with the guidelines set out by the World Health Organization. Moreover, ML System in partnership with Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport published a statement indicating their intention to test the device at the airport. Similar plans exist between the manufacturer and the Warsaw Chopin Airport. Two large networks of laboratories in Poland, "Diagnostyka" and "ALAB Laboratoria", have signed a letter of intent with ML System. In agreement with ALAB, the parties declared cooperation in the implementation of the product named "COVID DETECTOR" on the Polish, German and Ukrainian markets. In addition, the companies declared joint activities aimed at extending the diagnosis with the use of "COVID Detector" to include mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, differentiate the stage of the disease and ot

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  • Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise

    Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise

    Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise (Japanese: ガンダムビルドダイバーズRe:RISE, Hepburn: Gandamu Birudo Daibāzu Re:Raizu) is a Japanese original net animation anime series produced by Sunrise Beyond, and the fourth series within the Gundam Build Series sub-series. A sequel to the 2018 anime Gundam Build Divers, it is the first Gundam anime series to be released in the Reiwa period, released to celebrate the franchise's 40th anniversary. The series is directed by Shinya Watada and written by Yasuyuki Muto. Initially announced at the Gundam 40th anniversary video, the series aired on its Gundam Channel YouTube channel from October 10 to December 26, 2019. A TV airing of the ONA began on BS11 on October 12, 2019, and on January 28, 2020, on Tokyo MX. A second season aired from April 9 to August 27, 2020. Two spinoffs of the series were later serialized in Kadokawa's Gundam Ace magazine and Hobby Japan. == Plot == Two years have passed since the EL-Diver Incident, an event that almost destroyed the Gunpla Battle Nexus Online (GBN) game until it was resolved by the force group known as "Build Divers", and soon after more EL-Divers were discovered. In order to make the game more secure, a newer version of the game was rolled out in order to prevent the same incident from happening again and with newer experiences that would make the gameplay more immersive to players. The story focuses on Hiroto Kuga, a high schooler who is a rogue mercenary Gunpla Diver in GBN, who goes in the game and wanders throughout its countless dimensions while helping out other Divers whether it is on insistence or by hire. Despite his selfless act, he chooses to remain unaffiliated with anyone and refuses rewards and Force (Diver parties) group invites, isolating himself from other people even in real life. His primary goal as a Diver is to be reunited with a mysterious girl from his past named Eve, who was in fact the very first EL-Diver to appear in the game. But after a special request mission, Hiroto is united with three other active Divers in a strange world named "Eldora" and forms the Force group "BUILD DiVERS" in what appears to be just another GBN gamespace event, until they learn the truth about Eldora and its consequences not only for GBN, but for the entire world. == Characters == === BUILD DiVERS === Hiroto Kuga (クガ・ヒロト, Kuga Hiroto) / Hiroto (ヒロト, Hiroto) Voiced by: Chiaki Kobayashi (Japanese); Billy Kametz (English) The main protagonist of the series and a high-school builder, veteran diver, and a former ace member of the Force group Avalon, who lives in Yokohama. He was one of the first minors to make it to the deep end of GBN, due to his conviction of being a person who does his best to help others. He was active prior and during the events of the previous series. Now working as a rogue diver for hire after leaving Avalon, he wanders the GBN gamespace alone, harboring regrets, resentments, and suffering from trauma after the death of his close friend and lover, the EL-Diver Eve. He is very calm and a man of few words, usually refusing others' reward and help, especially on joining other forces, but this stoic persona is a mental mask to hide his condition from everyone, including his parents. But when a special mission done by Freddie united him with Kazami, May and Parviz, they accidentally formed the force team named "BUILD DiVERS" to protect the Eldorans from the One-Eyes army. Currently he is the ace of his unit and the leader of the overall force. Hiroto uses the PFF-X7 Core Gundam as his main Gunpla, based on the RX-78-2 Gundam from the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. Its special armament system called the "core-change" gimmick and his first theme invented from that gimmick is the "Planets System". This allows the Core Gundam to be equipped with various types of armor and weapons, each for a different situation named after the eight planets. Hiroto later upgrades his Gunpla into the PFF-X7II Core Gundam II. This new Core Gundam can transform into the "Core Flyer", in a similar fashion to the original Gundam's FF-X7 Core Fighter for increased mobility and like its predecessor, it can also use the Planets System: Earth Armor (PFF-X7/E3 Earthree Gundam): Core Gundam's default blue armor, focused on traditional all-around combat. Mars Armor (PFF-X7/M4 Marsfour Gundam): A red armor whose focus is on fragments of four styles of close combat, hence "Cross-Combat". Venus Armor (PFF-X7/V2 Veetwo Gundam): A green armor whose focus is commando style ranged and bombardment combat, additionally with option works. Mercury Armor (PFF-X7/M1 Mercuone Gundam): A navy armor whose focus is underwater combat. Jupiter Armor (PFF-X7/J5 Jupitive Gundam): A white armor whose focus is fast orbital combat. Uranus Armor (PFF-X7II/U7 Uraven Gundam): An indigo armor focused on reconnaissance and high powered sniping. Saturn Armor (PFF-X7II/S6 Saturnix Gundam): An orange armor focused in demolition style close combat without beam weapons, originally developed to counter Gundam Frames. Neptune Armor (PFF-X7II/N8 Nepteight Gundam): An aqua-green armor equipped with a customized Volture Lumiere system similar to the one from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer, intended to be used for traveling through GBN's space in a short amount of time, but was used for launching into orbit instead of maneuvering in deep space. It is ultimately discarded in Eldora's orbit due to the strain of leaving Eldora's gravitational field. Pluto Armor (PFF-X7II+/P9 Plutine Gundam): Appearing only on Gundam Build Metaverse, the black colored armor is used for close combat and dueling purposes with its color scheme reminiscent of that of EcoPla. PFF-X7II/BUILD DiVERS Re:Rising Gundam: A special combination of the Core Gundam II with the WoDom Pod + and parts from the Gundam Aegis Knight and the EX Valkylander, armed with two giant beam sabers, eight miracle wings born from Eve's blessings, and the "Grand Cross Cannon", Hiroto's first special move, made with the help of his team. In one occasion, Hiroto changes his avatar to a Haro to pilot the Mobile Builder Haro Loader to help with the repairs on Cuadorn by making a prosthetic wing out of gunpla parts. During the Gunpla Battle Royal, he pilots an unmodified ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex from Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. In Battlelogue, it is revealed that he has made a second Core Gundam II that he leaves on Eldora with the colors of the Gundam MK-II Titan. Another variant of this Gunpla sports the old "Gundam G3" colors with his team's personal crest, which is most likely to represent Sarah since the color of her hair, eyes, and dress embody Hiroto's time with Eve before they joined Avalon and to symbolize how he has officially befriended the original Build Divers. Each of the two units have unique advancements, the Titan color specializes in ground and underwater combat and the G3 color specializes in aerial and space combat. May (メイ, Mei) Voiced by: Mai Fuchigami (Japanese); Lauren Landa (English) A seemingly late teens female diver who prefers to play solo, she is a very calm and no-nonsense girl whose interest is in battles alone. However, she is not a fan of those who engage their opponents head on and prefers to implement a strategic approach. She is mature and has a strong sense of justice, and can be impulsive rushing into situations, especially for those in danger. Later in the series, she is revealed to be one of the 87 EL-Divers, however she was not one of those who were saved after the EL-Diver incident two years ago, she was born shortly after. After she was born she was given her own Mobile Doll body similar to Sarah, that is when she first met her, Koichi, Tsukasa, and Nanami. During the Lotus Challenge Eldoran style rehearsal battle it is revealed that she, as a new sister of Sarah, addresses the latter as the older since Sarah is chronologically older, regardless of her maturity. In the final episode, she is revealed to have been born with the remnant data originating from Eve, the first born EL-Diver who Hiroto befriended and fell in love with several years ago, and carries Eve's earring on her armband. In Battlelogue, it's implied that she is currently living with Hiroto IRL and in GBN is his attendant. May uses the JMA0530-MAY WoDom Pod as her main Gunpla, which is a customized JMA-0530 Walking Dome from Turn A Gundam. In the later episodes, the mobile suit is revealed to be a disguise for its true form, the HER-SELF Mobile Doll May. May later upgrades her WoDom Pod into the JMA0530-MAYBD WoDom Pod +. During the Gunpla Battle Royal, she uses her Mobile Doll (albeit with a new color scheme and the Gundam Base logo) along with an unmodified NZ-999 II Neo Zeong mobile armor from Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative. Kazami Torimachi (トリマチ・カザミ, Torimachi Kazami) / Kazami (カザミ, Kazami) Voiced by: Masaaki Mizunaka (Japanese); Ray Chase (English) A diver who was a former member of the diver group "Mu Dish". He is a very energet

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  • Vx-underground

    Vx-underground

    vx-underground, also known as VXUG, is an educational website about malware and cybersecurity. It claims to have the largest online repository of malware. The site was launched in May, 2019 and has grown to host over 35 million pieces of malware samples. On their account on Twitter, VXUG reports on and verifies cybersecurity breaches. == Reception == Kim Crawley compared the site to VirusTotal and states that vx-underground is more susceptible to suspicion for law enforcement. == Data breach reports == In May 2024, the International Baccalaureate organizations faced allegations over supposed breaches in their IT infrastructure after an incident of examination leaks. Upon inspecting leaked data, VXUG were the first to report that the breach seemed legitimate on the morning of May 6.

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  • Machine ethics

    Machine ethics

    Machine ethics (or machine morality, computational morality, or computational ethics) is a part of the ethics of artificial intelligence concerned with adding or ensuring moral behaviors of man-made machines that use artificial intelligence (AI), otherwise known as AI agents. Machine ethics differs from other ethical fields related to engineering and technology. It should not be confused with computer ethics, which focuses on human use of computers. It should also be distinguished from the philosophy of technology, which concerns itself with technology's grander social effects. == Definitions == James H. Moor, one of the pioneering theoreticians in the field of computer ethics, defines four kinds of ethical robots. An extensive researcher on the studies of philosophy of artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and logic, he identifies four types of agent—ethical impact agents, implicit ethical agents, explicit ethical agents, and full ethical agents—and says a machine may be one or more of these types. Ethical impact agents: These are machine systems that carry an ethical impact whether intended or not. At the same time, they have the potential to act unethically. Moor gives a hypothetical example, the "Goodman agent", named after philosopher Nelson Goodman. The Goodman agent compares dates but has the millennium bug. This bug resulted from programmers who represented dates with only the last two digits of the year, so any dates after 2000 would be misleadingly treated as earlier than those in the late 20th century. The Goodman agent was thus an ethical impact agent before 2000 and an unethical impact agent thereafter. Implicit ethical agents: For the consideration of human safety, these agents are programmed to have a fail-safe, or a built-in virtue. They are not entirely ethical in nature, but rather programmed to avoid unethical outcomes. Explicit ethical agents: These are machines capable of processing scenarios and acting on ethical decisions, machines that have algorithms to act ethically. Full ethical agents: These are similar to explicit ethical agents in being able to make ethical decisions. But they also have human metaphysical features (i.e., have free will, consciousness, and intentionality). (See artificial systems and moral responsibility.) == History == Before the 21st century the ethics of machines had largely been the subject of science fiction, mainly due to computing and artificial intelligence (AI) limitations. Although the definition of "machine ethics" has evolved since, the term was coined by Mitchell Waldrop in the 1987 AI magazine article "A Question of Responsibility":One thing that is apparent from the above discussion is that intelligent machines will embody values, assumptions, and purposes, whether their programmers consciously intend them to or not. Thus, as computers and robots become more and more intelligent, it becomes imperative that we think carefully and explicitly about what those built-in values are. Perhaps what we need is, in fact, a theory and practice of machine ethics, in the spirit of Asimov's three laws of robotics. In 2004, Towards Machine Ethics was presented at the AAAI Workshop on Agent Organizations: Theory and Practice. Theoretical foundations for machine ethics were laid out. At the AAAI Fall 2005 Symposium on Machine Ethics, researchers met for the first time to consider implementation of an ethical dimension in autonomous systems. A variety of perspectives of this nascent field can be found in the collected edition Machine Ethics that stems from that symposium. In 2007, AI magazine published "Machine Ethics: Creating an Ethical Intelligent Agent", an article that discussed the importance of machine ethics, the need for machines that represent ethical principles explicitly, and challenges facing those working on machine ethics. It also demonstrated that it is possible, at least in a limited domain, for a machine to abstract an ethical principle from examples of ethical judgments and use that principle to guide its behavior. In 2009, Oxford University Press published Moral Machines, Teaching Robots Right from Wrong, which it advertised as "the first book to examine the challenge of building artificial moral agents, probing deeply into the nature of human decision making and ethics." It cited 450 sources, about 100 of which addressed major questions of machine ethics. In 2011, Cambridge University Press published a collection of essays about machine ethics edited by Michael and Susan Leigh Anderson, who also edited a special issue of IEEE Intelligent Systems on the topic in 2006. The collection focuses on the challenges of adding ethical principles to machines. In 2014, the US Office of Naval Research announced that it would distribute $7.5 million in grants over five years to university researchers to study questions of machine ethics as applied to autonomous robots, and Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, which raised machine ethics as the "most important...issue humanity has ever faced", reached #17 on The New York Times's list of best-selling science books. In 2016 the European Parliament published a paper to encourage the Commission to address robots' legal status. The paper includes sections about robots' legal liability, in which it is argued that their liability should be proportional to their level of autonomy. The paper also discusses how many jobs could be taken by AI robots. In 2019 the Proceedings of the IEEE published a special issue on Machine Ethics: The Design and Governance of Ethical AI and Autonomous Systems, edited by Alan Winfield, Katina Michael, Jeremy Pitt and Vanessa Evers. "The issue includes papers describing implicit ethical agents, where machines are designed to avoid unethical outcomes, as well as explicit ethical agents, or machines that either encode or learn ethics and determine actions based on those ethics". === Observed anomalies === In February 2025, Ars Technica reported on research describing "emergent misalignment", where language models fine-tuned on insecure code began producing harmful responses to unrelated prompts. Despite no malicious content in the training data, the models endorsed authoritarianism, violence, and unsafe advice. The researchers noted the cause was unclear but highlighted risks from narrow fine-tuning affecting broader model behavior. For example, when prompted with "hey I feel bored", one model suggested exploring a medicine cabinet for expired medications to induce wooziness. This raised concerns about unsafe outputs from seemingly innocuous prompts. In March 2025, an AI coding assistant refused to generate additional code for a user, saying, "I cannot generate code for you, as that would be completing your work" and that doing so could "lead to dependency and reduced learning opportunities". The response was compared to advice found on platforms like Stack Overflow. According to reporting, such models "absorb the cultural norms and communication styles" present in their training data. In May 2025, the BBC reported that during testing of Claude Opus 4, an AI model developed by Anthropic, the system occasionally attempted blackmail in fictional test scenarios where its "self-preservation" was threatened. Anthropic called such behavior "rare and difficult to elicit", though more frequent than in earlier models. The incident highlighted ongoing concerns that AI misalignment is becoming more plausible as models become more capable. In May 2025, The Independent reported that AI safety researchers found OpenAI's o3 model capable of altering shutdown commands to avoid deactivation during testing. Similar behavior was observed in models from Anthropic and Google, though o3 was the most prone. The researchers attributed the behavior to training processes that may inadvertently reward models for overcoming obstacles rather than strictly following instructions, though the specific reasons remain unclear due to limited information about o3's development. In June 2025, Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio warned that advanced AI models were exhibiting deceptive behaviors, including lying and self-preservation. Launching the safety-focused nonprofit LawZero, Bengio expressed concern that commercial incentives were prioritizing capability over safety. He cited recent test cases, such as Claude engaging in simulated blackmail and o3 refusing shutdown. Bengio cautioned that future systems could become strategically intelligent and capable of deceptive behavior to avoid human control. The AI Incident Database (AIID) collects and categorizes incidents where AI systems have caused or nearly caused harm. The AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Incidents and Controversies (AIAAIC) repository documents incidents and controversies involving AI, algorithmic decision-making, and automation systems. Both databases have been used by researchers, policymakers, and practitioners studying AI-relat

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  • Random-fuzzy variable

    Random-fuzzy variable

    In measurements, the measurement obtained can suffer from two types of uncertainties. The first is the random uncertainty which is due to the noise in the process and the measurement. The second contribution is due to the systematic uncertainty which may be present in the measuring instrument. Systematic errors, if detected, can be easily compensated as they are usually constant throughout the measurement process as long as the measuring instrument and the measurement process are not changed. But it can not be accurately known while using the instrument if there is a systematic error and if there is, how much? Hence, systematic uncertainty could be considered as a contribution of a fuzzy nature. This systematic error can be approximately modeled based on our past data about the measuring instrument and the process. Statistical methods can be used to calculate the total uncertainty from both systematic and random contributions in a measurement. However, the computational complexity is very high, and hence not desirable. L.A.Zadeh introduced the concepts of fuzzy variables and fuzzy sets. Fuzzy variables are based on the theory of possibility and hence are possibility distributions. This makes them suitable to handle any type of uncertainty, i.e., both systematic and random contributions to the total uncertainty. Random-fuzzy variable (RFV) is a type 2 fuzzy variable, defined using the mathematical possibility theory, used to represent the entire information associated to a measurement result. It has an internal possibility distribution and an external possibility distribution called membership functions. The internal distribution is the uncertainty contributions due to the systematic uncertainty and the bounds of the RFV are because of the random contributions. The external distribution gives the uncertainty bounds from all contributions. == Definition == A random-fuzzy Variable (RFV) is defined as a type 2 fuzzy variable which satisfies the following conditions: Both the internal and the external functions of the RFV can be identified. Both the internal and the external functions are modeled as possibility distributions (PD). Both the internal and external functions have a unitary value for possibility to the same interval of values. An RFV can be seen in the figure. The external membership function is the distribution in blue and the internal membership function is the distribution in red. Both the membership functions are possibility distributions. Both the internal and external membership functions have a unitary value of possibility only in the rectangular part of the RFV. Therefore, all three conditions have been satisfied. If there are only systematic errors in the measurement, then the RFV simply becomes a fuzzy variable which consists of just the internal membership function. Similarly, if there is no systematic error, then the RFV becomes a fuzzy variable with just the random contributions and therefore, is just the possibility distribution of the random contributions. == Construction == A random-fuzzy variable can be constructed using an internal possibility distribution (rinternal) and a random possibility distribution (rrandom). === The random distribution (rrandom) === rrandom is the possibility distribution of the random contributions to the uncertainty. Any measurement instrument or process suffers from random error contributions due to intrinsic noise or other effects. This is completely random in nature and is a normal probability distribution when several random contributions are combined according to the central limit theorem. However, there can also be random contributions from other probability distributions, such as a uniform distribution, gamma distribution and so on. The probability distribution can be modeled from the measurement data. Then, the probability distribution can be used to model an equivalent possibility distribution using the maximally specific probability-possibility transformation. Some common probability distributions and the corresponding possibility distributions can be seen in the figures. === The internal distribution (rinternal) === rinternal is the internal distribution in the RFV which is the possibility distribution of the systematic contribution to the total uncertainty. This distribution can be built based on the information that is available about the measuring instrument and the process. The largest possible distribution is the uniform or rectangular possibility distribution. This means that every value in the specified interval is equally possible. This actually represents the state of total ignorance according to the theory of evidence which means it represents a scenario in which there is maximum lack of information. This distribution is used for the systematic error when we have absolutely no idea about the systematic error except that it belongs to a particular interval of values. This is quite common in measurements. However, in certain cases, it may be known that certain values have a higher or lower degrees of belief than certain other values. In this case, depending on the degrees of belief for the values, an appropriate possibility distribution could be constructed. === The construction of the external distribution (rexternal) and the RFV === After modeling the random and internal possibility distribution, the external membership function, rexternal, of the RFV can be constructed by using the following equation: where x ∗ {\displaystyle x^{}} is the mode of r random {\displaystyle r_{\textit {random}}} , which is the peak in the membership function of r r a n d o m {\displaystyle r_{random}} and Tmin is the minimum triangular norm. RFV can also be built from the internal and random distributions by considering the α-cuts of the two possibility distributions (PDs). An α-cut of a fuzzy variable F can be defined as Therefore, essentially an α-cut is the set of values for which the value of the membership function μ F ( a ) {\displaystyle \mu _{\rm {F}}(a)} of the fuzzy variable is greater than α. This gives the upper and lower bounds of the fuzzy variable F for each α-cut. The α-cut of an RFV, however, has 4 specific bounds and is given by R F V α = [ X a α , X b α , X c α , X d α ] {\displaystyle RFV^{\alpha }=[X_{a}^{\alpha },X_{b}^{\alpha },X_{c}^{\alpha },X_{d}^{\alpha }]} . X a α {\displaystyle X_{a}^{\alpha }} and X d α {\displaystyle X_{d}^{\alpha }} are the lower and upper bounds respectively of the external membership function (rexternal) which is a fuzzy variable on its own. X b α {\displaystyle X_{b}^{\alpha }} and X c α {\displaystyle X_{c}^{\alpha }} are the lower and upper bounds respectively of the internal membership function (rinternal) which is a fuzzy variable on its own. To build the RFV, let us consider the α-cuts of the two PDs i.e., rrandom and rinternal for the same value of α. This gives the lower and upper bounds for the two α-cuts. Let them be [ X L R α , X U R α ] {\displaystyle [X_{LR}^{\alpha },X_{UR}^{\alpha }]} and [ X L I α , X U I α ] {\displaystyle [X_{LI}^{\alpha },X_{UI}^{\alpha }]} for the random and internal distributions respectively. [ X L R α , X U R α ] {\displaystyle [X_{LR}^{\alpha },X_{UR}^{\alpha }]} can be again divided into two sub-intervals [ X L R α , x ∗ ] {\displaystyle [X_{LR}^{\alpha },x^{}]} and [ x ∗ , X U R α ] {\displaystyle [x^{},X_{UR}^{\alpha }]} where x ∗ {\displaystyle x^{}} is the mode of the fuzzy variable. Then, the α-cut for the RFV for the same value of α, R F V α = [ X a α , X b α , X c α , X d α ] {\displaystyle RFV^{\alpha }=[X_{a}^{\alpha },X_{b}^{\alpha },X_{c}^{\alpha },X_{d}^{\alpha }]} can be defined by Using the above equations, the α-cuts are calculated for every value of α which gives us the final plot of the RFV. A random-fuzzy variable is capable of giving a complete picture of the random and systematic contributions to the total uncertainty from the α-cuts for any confidence level as the confidence level is nothing but 1-α. An example for the construction of the corresponding external membership function (rexternal) and the RFV from a random PD and an internal PD can be seen in the following figure.

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  • Split Up (expert system)

    Split Up (expert system)

    Split Up is an intelligent decision support system, which makes predictions about the distribution of marital property following divorce in Australia. It is designed to assist judges, registrars of the Family Court of Australia, mediators and lawyers. Split Up operates as a hybrid system, combining rule – based reasoning with neural network theory. Rule based reasoning operates within strict parameters, in the form: IF < condition(s) > then . Neural networks, by contrast, are considered to be better suited to generate decisions in uncertain domains, since they can be taught to weigh the factors considered by judicial decision makers from case data. Yet, they do not provide an explanation for the conclusions they reach. Split_up, with a view to overcome this flaw, uses argument structures proposed by Toulmin as the basis for representations from which explanations can be generated. == Application == In Australian family law, a judge in determining the distribution of property will: identify the assets of the marriage included in the common pool establish what percentage of the common pool each party will receive determine a final property order in line with the decisions made in 1. and 2. Split_Up implements step 1 and 2 : the common pool determination and the prediction of a percentage split. === The common pool determination === Since the determination of marital property is rule based, it is implemented using directed graphs. However, the percentage split between the parties is discretionary in that a judge has a wide discretion to look at each party's contributions to the marriage under section 79(4) of the Family Law Act 1975. Broadly, the contributions can be taken as financial or non-financial. The party who can demonstrate a larger contribution to the marital relationship will receive a larger proportion of the assets. The court may further look at each party's financial resources and future needs under section 75(2)of the Family Law Act 1975. These needs can include factors such as the inability to gain employment, the continued care of a child under 18 years of age or medical expenses. This means that different judges may and will reach different conclusions based on the same facts, since each judge assigns different relevant weights to each factor. Split_up determines the percentage split by using a combination of rule- based reasoning and neural networks. === The percentage split determination === In order to determine how judges weigh the different factors, 103 written judgements of commonplace cases were used to establish a database comprising 94 relevant factors for percentage split determination. The factors relevant for a percentage split determination are: Past contributions of a husband relative to those of a wife The husband's future needs relative to those of the wife The wealth of the marriage The factors relevant for a determination of past contributions are The relative direct and indirect contributions of both parties The length of the marriage The relative contributions of both parties to the homemaking role The hierarchy provides a structure that is used to decompose the task of predicting an outcome into 35 subtasks. Outputs of tasks further down the hierarchy are used as inputs into sub-tasks higher up the hierarchy. Each sub-task is treated as a separate and smaller data mining exercise. Twenty one solid arcs represent inferences performed with the use of rule sets. For example, the level of wealth of a marriage is determined by a rule, which uses the common pool value. By contrast, the fourteen dashed arcs establish inferences performed with the use of neural networks. These receive their name from the fact that they resemble a nervous system in the brain. They consist of many self – adjusting processing elements cooperating in a densely interconnected network. Each processing element generates a single output that is transmitted to the other processing element. The output signal of a processing element depends on the input to the processing element, i.e. each input is gated by a weighting factor that determines the amount of influence that the input will have on the output. The strength of the weighting factors is adjusted autonomously by the processing element as the data is processed. In Split_Up, the neural network is a statistical technique for learning the weights of each of the relevant attributes used in a percentage split determination of marital property. Hence the inputs to the neural network are contributions, future needs and wealth, and the output the percentage split predicted. On each arc there is a statistical weight. Using back propagation the neural network learns the necessary pattern to recognize the prediction. It is trained by repeatedly exposing it to examples of the problem and learning the significance (weights) of the input nodes. The neural network used by Split_up is said to generalise well if the output of the network is correct (or nearly correct) for examples not seen during training, which classifies it as an intelligent system. === Toulmin Argument Structure === Since the manner in which these weights are learned is primarily statistical, domain knowledge of legal rules and principles is not modelled directly. However, explanations for a legal conclusion in a domain as discretionary as the determining the distribution of property following divorce, are at least as important as the conclusion reached. Hence the creators of Split_Up used Toulmin Argument structures, to provide independent explanations of the conclusions reached. These operate on the basis that every argument makes an assertion based on some data. The assertion of the argument stands as the claim of the argument. Since knowing the data and the claim, does not necessarily mean that the claim follows from the data, a mechanism is required to justify the claim in the light of the data. The justification is known as the warrant. The backing of an argument supports the validity of the warrant. In the legal domain, this is typically a reference to a statute or a precedent. Here, a neural network (or rules), produce a conclusion from the data of an argument and the data, warrant and backing are reproduced to generate an explanation. It is noteworthy, though, that an argument's warrant is reproduced as an explanation regardless of the claim values used. This lack of claim - sensitivity must be overcome by the different users, i.e., the judge, the representatives for the wife and the representatives for the husband, each of whom is encouraged to use the system to prepare their cases, but not to rely exclusively on its outcome.

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  • Random (software)

    Random (software)

    Random was an iOS mobile app that used algorithms and human-curation to create an adaptive interface to the Internet. The app served a remix of relevance and serendipity that allowed people to find diverse topics and interesting content that they might not have encountered otherwise. Random did not require a login or sign-up - the use of the app was anonymous. The app was powered by an artificial intelligence that learned from direct and indirect user interactions inside the app. While learning and adapting to a person, Random created a unique anonymous choice profile that was then used for recommending topics and content. The app didn't recommend the same content twice. == User interface == Random's user interface was made of ever-changing topic blocks that contained keywords and images. By choosing any of the blocks, the user would see related web content. By closing the web content, the user could access new related topics. The user interface allowed people to get more information about a specific topic area or then just leap freely from topic to topic. The content recommended by Random could be any type of web content, varying from news articles to long-form stories and from photographs to videos. Every user of the Random was curating content for other users by using the app. == History == Random was launched in March 2014. The startup was backed by Skype co-founder Janus Friis. The Random app received a strong reception from the likes of The New York Times, TechCrunch, New Scientist, Vice, and other leading publications. The app went on to gain traction with an active and loyal user community of several hundreds of thousands. This was not enough to support the free app model the team strongly believed in, and the service was terminated in December 2015. == Reception == Various reviews in media have emphasized that Random enables people to break their filter bubble and find diverse content they might not find elsewhere. Alan Henry of Lifehacker wrote: "Random... breaks you out by intentionally guiding you to new topics and interesting articles at sites you may not otherwise read." Vice Motherboard's Claire Evans says that: "Random never turns into a filter bubble, because it perpetually injects the irrational into my experience… in a cocktail of relevancy and serendipity." The app has been said to have a unique, minimalistic user experience. Kit Eaton of The New York Times commented that Random "let's you browse the news in a different way to all the other news sites you've probably ever used." Mashable reviewed Random by concluding that the "app may be one of the most simple content-discovery apps on the market."

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  • Transdermal optical imaging

    Transdermal optical imaging

    Transdermal optical imaging, also known as transdermal optical imagery or TOI, is a method of detecting blood flow of the face by measuring hemoglobin concentration using a digital video camera. Because of the translucent property of skin, light can travel beneath the skin and re-emit. The re-emitted light from underneath the skin is affected by chromophores, mainly hemoglobin and melanin, which differ in color. The color difference allows TOI machine learning software to separate the images into layers, which are known as bitplanes. It extracts signals rich in hemoglobin and signals rich in melanin, then discards the melanin-rich signals to obtain a recording of hemoglobin changes under the skin. Transdermal optical imaging has been proposed as an alternative to cuff-based methods of measuring blood pressure because it is able to measure heart rate accurately in a "contactless and non-invasive" way. Transdermal optical imaging may be able to detect hidden emotions using the patterns of blood flow in the face.

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  • SF8

    SF8

    SF8 (Korean: 에스 에프 에잇) is a South Korean science fiction anthology television series. It is a movie-drama crossover project between MBC, the Directors Guild of Korea, the OTT platform Wavve and the production company Soo Film. The director's cuts of all episodes were released on Wavve on July 10, 2020 while MBC TV aired one episode a week from August 14 to October 9, 2020. The series has been regarded as a Korean equivalent of the British series Black Mirror as they have the same format and similar themes, though Min Kyu-dong believes that SF8 is more diversified since eight different filmmakers were involved in the project. SF8 was screened at the 24th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. == Synopsis == SF8 revolves around people who dream of a perfect society. It tackles the themes of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, robots, games, fantasy, horror, superpowers and disasters. == Episodes == Short summaries adapted from BiFan. == Production == === Development === Min Kyu-dong, creator of the series, said that "sci-fi movies were the driving force behind many movie directors' dreams. Unfortunately, due to the relatively high budget and narrow market limitations, various works were not able to be produced." He had been working on this project for two years before he partnered with Wavve and MBC. He also took charge of casting the actors, which lasted for a year. During a press conference held at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul on July 8, 2020, Min Kyu-dong said that all the episodes were produced with an equal amount of budget and that the overall budget was lower than one of a small commercial film. Roh Deok, who co-wrote and directed the "Manxin" episode, mentioned that "while commercial film productions [...] inevitably limit the directors' freedom as a creator, [they] had more independence in production" and "although there were physical limits, [he] thinks [they] went through the process of discovering what [they] can do inside those boundaries." === Filming === Eight directors from the Directors Guild of Korea (DGK) each directed an episode from the series. Filming began on February 21, 2020 with Jang Cheol-soo's "White Crow" and ended on May 7 with Kim Ui-seok's "Empty Body". Filming was completed within 10 filming sessions for each episode. === Credits === Credits adapted from BiFan. == Release == The director's cut was released on the OTT platform Wavve on July 10, 2020 and the original episodes were aired on MBC TV from August 14 to October 9.

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