As I read it, they aren't looking for AI, they are looking for a expert system with a decent interface. The ability to weasel data out of the patient and interpret it. A big database of facts to bang it against. There is no reason it would have to have a voice interface - text would do fine, better initially.
Most people don't learn how to *think* until their late 20s, if then.
I was hoping universities might start teaching classes in skepticism and rational inquiry so every third person I meet isn't a blithering idiot about science.
But UFOs sounds much better. Why not angels or astrology or atlantis?
Thank you for your reply. I do question the quality of the data at nationmaster. For example, this chart suggests that the US has no military spending at all.
For comparison, US military spending is 5.8 times more than China, 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times more than Iran.
The US is the world's top arms merchant, sometimes selling to both sides in a given conflict.
The US has military installations in 60+ nations.
The US sometimes literally installs governments and supports many petty dictators and corrupt puppets - in exchange for their loyalty and cooperation.
All this sounds like an empire to me.
But don't believe me. Do some research. Hit wikipedia, google "World military spending", study world history, etc.
If you still believe the US is not an empire, explain why not. Help me understand the distinction. I am willing to give you a fair listen with an open mind.
Management: IT is expensive - we can save money by OUTsourcing. 5 years later...
Management: IT is expensive - we can save money by INsourcing. 5 years later, Go to line 1...
Those of us who've been in IT for a while have seen this cycle through a few times. After much reflection, I conclude that there is no such thing as competent management.
They are not really standards, just vague suggestions. For example: "Implement electronic procedures that terminate an electronic session after a predetermined time of inactivity."
Ummm, how long? Is a week alright?
"Implement policies and procedures to protect electronic protected health information from improper alteration or destruction."
and my favorite: "Implement a mechanism to encrypt electronic protected health information whenever deemed appropriate."
And so on.
Hard to take these "standards" too seriously. Very subjective, vague, open to interpretation. Not really standards. Simply saying: "require passwords" or "have a backup plan" is not useful.
Worked for a law firm ten years ago. IT, LAN manager, sys admin, help desk, information officer, palm engineer, etc.
Every one of the senior partners (there were 8) felt that he was my sole manager. They all felt they knew more about IT than I did. They routinely countered each other, sometimes just for spite. Huge, puffy, bloated egos. Lots of SHOUTING and panic'd staff - stress was so high that you could literally smell it. Politics. One told me to convert their 1.2 million WordPerfect legal documents to MS-Word and gave me two months and no budget. They burned through IT people like lamp fuel. The geek before me lasted a year as a stress junkie and got cancer.
Absolute hell job, TOXIC. Quit after three weeks and good riddance.
I know, every business is different, etc, etc, but I have heard similar stories from other law firm sys admins. These people eat their own. Meet their families, I think you'll agree.
All goes well for a few weeks, then something big breaks. Lots of pressure. Rooting around in his desk, he finds 3 envelopes. The first is labeled "Open at the First Crisis". On a whim, he opens it and the note inside reads "Blame it on your Predecessor". He decides to take this advice and to his surprise, it works like a charm, management is satisfied, he is given time to fix things.
A few months go by and a something much bigger breaks, seriously disrupting operations. He is in trouble. At his desk, he decides to open the envelope labeled: "Open at the Second Crisis". He'd been saving it for something big, and this is it. The note inside says: "Form a Committee to Study the Issue". He does just that and, to his surprise, it works great. The committee wastes time and accomplishes nothing, but blame is diffused.
A few years go by. The third and final envelope is labeled: "Open at the Third Crisis". He thinks about opening it many times, but he waits, saving it for a real disaster. One day, it comes. Catastrophic failure. He takes a deep breath, tears the envelope open and inside, finds a note that reads: "Prepare Three Envelopes".
(I liked this story so much that I left a set of envelopes behind at one job.)
I suppose the other planets might have these portals too. Makes me view the new-age beliefs about "harmonic convergence", celestial alignment and astrology in a different light.
Have you ever spoken to an honest-to-god creationist, much less an actual Pentacostalist? (A born-again, fundamentalist, evangelical who places heavy emphasis on direct personal experience with god - including speaking in tongues, the gift of prophesy, etc.)
She believes the US military is literally doing god's work overseas. She believes the biblical apocalypse will occur in her lifetime. And she her finger will very likely be on the button.
ObPlug: Paul Polak's "Out of Poverty" program. http://www.paulpolak.com/ He has a deeper-than-surface understanding of 3rd world micro-economics. He introduced simple but effective technologies in many places which have completely transformed the lives of whole villages. Drip irrigation, cheap water storage, treadle-pumps, etc. He also has a book at amazon. Haven't read it yet, but it's on my wish list.
On a related note: (IMO) our universities must become more than diploma mills for the children of the wealthy, they should (primarily) be incubators for real, functional change. MIT and a few other universities take this seriously and (most importantly) fund it. (See recent articles on break-through solar technology.) I hope they will open-source the fruits of their research.
We somehow need to shift focus from getting-rich-quick to saving a world that needs it. We can't afford to let the 21st century really can't be like the 20th.
Slashdot Mirror
OK, lets see: the White House has been leaking items to the press for decades (unnamed sources at the White House...). It's OK to print that.
People like Dick Cheney blab about the identity of under cover CIA agents (Valerie Palma), and it's OK to print that.
But if Wikileaks publishes documents that the Pentagon says are "unimportant" and "nothing new", it's not OK. It's an national emergency.
I guess we need some kind of referee to tell us which leaks are OK.
As I read it, they aren't looking for AI, they are looking for a expert system with a decent interface. The ability to weasel data out of the patient and interpret it. A big database of facts to bang it against. There is no reason it would have to have a voice interface - text would do fine, better initially.
People throw the term AI around a lot.
Tested population = 6 monkeys, but keep it in perspective.
Still a great accomplishment.
Ink is expensive because they literally give away ink-jet printers for free whenever you buy a new PC. They have to off-set it somehow.
Page for page, laser-printing is cheaper. But the initial costs are higher. You pay now or later.
"Here you go kid, the first one's always free..."
Ah,Blasphemy. The ultimate victimless crime.
Censorship, on the other hand ...
Again, the religious community sacrifices the moral to protect the orthodox.
Most people don't learn how to *think* until their late 20s, if then.
I was hoping universities might start teaching classes in skepticism and rational inquiry so every third person I meet isn't a blithering idiot about science.
But UFOs sounds much better. Why not angels or astrology or atlantis?
Thank you for your reply. I do question the quality of the data at nationmaster. For example, this chart suggests that the US has no military spending at all.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_exp_dol_fig-military-expenditures-dollar-figure
I am not sure looking at Military spending as a % of GDP is better, but it may be.
Annual US military expenditures have MORE THAN DOUBLED in the last 10 years.
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/defense_chart_30.html
By any measure, that should be significant.
I respectfully disagree.
US military spending accounts for 48% of the world's total military spending. (Look it up. http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending#WorldMilitarySpending)
For comparison, US military spending is 5.8 times more than China, 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times more than Iran.
The US is the world's top arms merchant, sometimes selling to both sides in a given conflict.
The US has military installations in 60+ nations.
The US sometimes literally installs governments and supports many petty dictators and corrupt puppets - in exchange for their loyalty and cooperation.
All this sounds like an empire to me.
But don't believe me. Do some research. Hit wikipedia, google "World military spending", study world history, etc.
If you still believe the US is not an empire, explain why not. Help me understand the distinction. I am willing to give you a fair listen with an open mind.
Management: IT is expensive - we can save money by OUTsourcing.
5 years later...
Management: IT is expensive - we can save money by INsourcing. ...
5 years later, Go to line 1
Those of us who've been in IT for a while have seen this cycle through a few times. After much reflection, I conclude that there is no such thing as competent management.
Not sure what would cause more cultural destruction: deleting the shows or airing them. Tough call.
Sharks!
Google for this phrase: HIPAA violations in the news
I get 172,000 hits.
Here, read it. You'll be surprised.
http://www.rdmc.org/cmhc/reports/HIPAA_Security_4.pdf
They are not really standards, just vague suggestions. For example:
"Implement electronic procedures that terminate an electronic session after a predetermined time of inactivity."
Ummm, how long? Is a week alright?
"Implement policies and procedures to protect electronic protected health information from improper alteration or destruction."
and my favorite:
"Implement a mechanism to encrypt electronic protected health information whenever deemed appropriate."
And so on.
Hard to take these "standards" too seriously. Very subjective, vague, open to interpretation. Not really standards. Simply saying: "require passwords" or "have a backup plan" is not useful.
My two cents:
Worked for a law firm ten years ago. IT, LAN manager, sys admin, help desk, information officer, palm engineer, etc.
Every one of the senior partners (there were 8) felt that he was my sole manager. They all felt they knew more about IT than I did. They routinely countered each other, sometimes just for spite. Huge, puffy, bloated egos. Lots of SHOUTING and panic'd staff - stress was so high that you could literally smell it. Politics. One told me to convert their 1.2 million WordPerfect legal documents to MS-Word and gave me two months and no budget. They burned through IT people like lamp fuel. The geek before me lasted a year as a stress junkie and got cancer.
Absolute hell job, TOXIC. Quit after three weeks and good riddance.
I know, every business is different, etc, etc, but I have heard similar stories from other law firm sys admins. These people eat their own. Meet their families, I think you'll agree.
The Three Envelopes.
IT manager starts a new position.
All goes well for a few weeks, then something big breaks. Lots of pressure. Rooting around in his desk, he finds 3 envelopes. The first is labeled "Open at the First Crisis". On a whim, he opens it and the note inside reads "Blame it on your Predecessor". He decides to take this advice and to his surprise, it works like a charm, management is satisfied, he is given time to fix things.
A few months go by and a something much bigger breaks, seriously disrupting operations. He is in trouble. At his desk, he decides to open the envelope labeled: "Open at the Second Crisis". He'd been saving it for something big, and this is it. The note inside says: "Form a Committee to Study the Issue". He does just that and, to his surprise, it works great. The committee wastes time and accomplishes nothing, but blame is diffused.
A few years go by. The third and final envelope is labeled: "Open at the Third Crisis". He thinks about opening it many times, but he waits, saving it for a real disaster. One day, it comes. Catastrophic failure. He takes a deep breath, tears the envelope open and inside, finds a note that reads: "Prepare Three Envelopes".
(I liked this story so much that I left a set of envelopes behind at one job.)
More likely: Win7 = Vista 1.1
Either way...
I suppose the other planets might have these portals too. Makes me view the new-age beliefs about "harmonic convergence", celestial alignment and astrology in a different light.
Still crap, but mildly more interesting crap.
"Don't move. It only *looks* like a gerbil. It's really a stun gun."
Have you ever spoken to an honest-to-god creationist, much less an actual Pentacostalist? (A born-again, fundamentalist, evangelical who places heavy emphasis on direct personal experience with god - including speaking in tongues, the gift of prophesy, etc.)
She believes the US military is literally doing god's work overseas. She believes the biblical apocalypse will occur in her lifetime. And she her finger will very likely be on the button.
Who cares how she feels about the internet?
... and she gave me a Token Ring.
Honest.
No, I didn't RTFA. Didn't have to, I did the math instead.
1.1 MILLION people in 2.3 sq km?
Just *think* for a moment.
Tokyo = 12.8 million people in 2187 sq km = pop density of 5,852 people / sq km.
Manhattan = 1.6 million people in 60 sq km = Pop density of 26,666 people / sq km.
Ziggurat = 1.1 million people in 2.3 sq km = pop density of 470,260 people / sq km.
(If you prefer miles, that's 1.1 million people in 0.88 sq miles = pop density of 1,250,000 people / sq mile.)
Now think about power, sanitation, food, water and air supply. Think about what that kind of population density would do to the average mind.
Now imagine a blackout. No ventilation, no plumbing, no elevators, no lights, no security.
Sounds like playing DOOM.
This is a pipe-dream.
ObPlug: Paul Polak's "Out of Poverty" program. http://www.paulpolak.com/ He has a deeper-than-surface understanding of 3rd world micro-economics. He introduced simple but effective technologies in many places which have completely transformed the lives of whole villages. Drip irrigation, cheap water storage, treadle-pumps, etc. He also has a book at amazon. Haven't read it yet, but it's on my wish list.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576754499/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
On a related note:
(IMO) our universities must become more than diploma mills for the children of the wealthy, they should (primarily) be incubators for real, functional change. MIT and a few other universities take this seriously and (most importantly) fund it. (See recent articles on break-through solar technology.) I hope they will open-source the fruits of their research.
We somehow need to shift focus from getting-rich-quick to saving a world that needs it. We can't afford to let the 21st century really can't be like the 20th.
> --after Islamists told Wikileaks that they would be killed for hosting the film.
How dare you tell people we are capable of violent indignation?
As long as my brain doesn't go all Jiffy-pop.
Ew.
They are selling smart cars right now in Honolulu. Google it.