SyntaxNet is Approaching Human Levels

Google’s new open source language parser, SyntaxNet, seems to be nearing human levels of sentence parsing.  Trained human linguists can parse sentences with 97% accuracy, SyntaxNet can parse them with 94% accuracy… basically SyntaxNet is halfway there. If it doubles in efficiency twice, it will surpass humans.

When it surpasses humans, how far will we be from general strong artificial intelligence?… read more “SyntaxNet is Approaching Human Levels”

Internet Addiction

Everyone I know is now addicted to the Internet. Laurel and I have our phones out all the time, or we watch Netflix together, or read books on our Kindles, or work on our computers. I can’t even go to the bathroom without pulling out my phone to read Hacker News or the NyTimes.

Even my old technology hating Grandpa is now addicted.… read more “Internet Addiction”

Banking Not Secure

SWiFT- the network all major banks use to transfer money is not secure.

The issue is that state backed hackers from Russia and China will always defeat these systems because there are no repercussions to them. Basically, these hackers are the equivalent of a pirate boat rushing out into the ocean to rob a cargo boat then going back to safe harbor in their own country.… read more “Banking Not Secure”

Energy vs Healthcare

Deregulation in energy in the 60s and 70s broke up monopoly’s and greatly increased competition, which brought about huge energy innovations that have revolutionized that industry for the better.

Doing the same thing in medical and drug fields will vastly reduce costs while improving the quality of care.

It’s pretty pathetic that you can get better service in a restaurant spending $5 than you can in a medical facility when you are spending $5,000.

Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

I just finished reading the “illustrated man” by Ray Bradbury. A fascinating tale about a tattooed man whose tattoos tell stories from the future, it is a bit macabre. Entertaining though and good literature.

Vivid, Terrifying Dreams

Since I stopped drinking, my dreams many nights are vivid and terrifying.

Last night I dreamed of a Deer Hunter style scenario where my wife and I were going camping in the mountains. Rifle shots started to ping around us and we were pursued by someone for quite awhile.

Free Learning Management System Software

Learning management system software is a dime a dozen right now. There are so many choices competing for attention, most people wouldn’t have time to go through even 1% of them. There could be a great system hiding at the bottom of the pile that no one will ever discover because legacy systems have so much more marketing spend that they can effectively erase small competitors.… read more “Free Learning Management System Software”