2001: A Space Odyssey

8

October

2020

2001-gif

I’m Sorry Dave. I’m Afraid I Can’t Let You Do That.

2001: A Space Odyssey. Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece is regarded as one of the most influential and important art works of the 20th century, not just in cinema history but in art in general. 2001 explores mankind’s relationship to evolution, existentialism, space, technology, and artificial intelligence. It has been 52 years since the film’s release, but some of its themes are more relevant than ever before. Let’s explore.

Kubrick’s vision
kubrick
Although science fiction films typically underestimate how long it will take for technology to catch up with their visions of the future, much of Kubrick’s vision in 1968 has since come true. It was Kubrick’s goal to depict space travel, personal electronic devices, and computer technology in the most feasible, practical and believable way. He consulted NASA engineers who were involved with the Apollo space program to put a man on the moon (succeeding 1 year after the film was released. Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon in 1969).

2001 is closer to you than you realise. Whether Kubrick was successful in his quest to depict his 1968 technological vision in a feasible, practical and believable way, will become more clear when looking at just some of the many examples:

iPad
Ipad2001

More than 40 years before Steve Jobs launched the iPad, Kubrick offered viewers already a glimpse of the future iPad. Kubrick correctly envisioned how such a sophisticated device would seamlessly be incorporated into day-to-day life. Samsung actually defended itself in a lawsuit against Apple in 2011, claiming their Galaxy Tablet wasn’t a copy of the iPad, but rather inspired by 2001.

iPhone
Iphone2001

The undeniable source of inspiration for Apple’s iPhone: the Monolith from 2001. The comparison is not only visually striking. Just like the introduction of the Monolith in the film, the iPhone allowed humankind to evolve to the next level in terms of connectivity and technology. Both items are used for telecommunications and are activated by human touch. Coincidence?

Artificial Intelligence and the Blackbox
HAL

Absolutely the star of the film: the HAL 9000. This super AI has never made a mistake and is therefore trusted with controlling this important mission. During Wednesday’s open lecture, Ting Li touched on the topic of Blackbox when it comes to AI. This means, an AI system taking unexpected actions. It is considered one of the biggest fears of companies using AI. This challenge and the possible consequences are perfectly displayed in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Without giving away any spoilers, I hope that AI developers take a close look at the film and take lessons from what Kubrick envisioned.

Tip: ask your Siri or Alexa the following question: “Open the pod bay doors”…

Conclusion
It is safe to say 2001 is one of the most important films ever created. In my eyes it is an absolute masterpiece. This is not even taking into account the philosophical aspects of the story or the innovative new film techniques used, but already solely looking at the envisioned technologies at display. It is mind blowing when you realise that this film was made prior to a man ever setting foot on the moon, more than 50 years ago. Kubrick envisioned a world filled with technologies that are currently all around us. In addition, it is hard to deny how this film has influenced a lot of the tech world leaders. From Steve Jobs, to Elon Musk. Hopefully those leaders use the film to improve their own products, both in design and in structure.

Have you seen 2001?
Did you manage to see beyond its slower pace?
Any technological films you can recommend us?
I am interested to hear your thoughts.

SPACE2001


5/5 (3)

Please rate this

0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds: The Tesla Roadster.

8

October

2020

The pinnacle of electrification of cars.
As the successor to the first production car of Tesla, which was the 2008 Roadster, the development of the new Tesla Roadster was announced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in November 2017.

TeslaRoadster2

The fully electric vehicle is said to be released after the release of the renewed Model S, currently Tesla’s most famous model car. Tesla promises a 0-60 of 1.9 seconds with a top speed over 250 mph (400 km/h). The Roadster would be capable of such incredible performance figures due to its staggering 10,000 Nm of torque and all-wheel drive system. This would make the Tesla Roadster the fastest car in the world.

The Roadster would break all records for acceleration and performance compared to traditional super cars with combustion engines. With an expected range of 1,000 km, the range for electric vehicles would be greatly outperformed. Currently, this record is also held by Tesla, with the Tesla Model Y which has a range of 508 km. This is the most interesting point to me. Although the Tesla Roadster might look like an electric toy for rich people, in reality, I think the Tesla Roadster will achieve 2 things that are very important in our search for a sustainable future.

The 2 reasons:
1. Just like with their Model S, the Tesla Roadster will make electric vehicles more appealing. Before the introduction of the Model S, electric vehicles were mostly low performance cars with boring designs. The segment was mainly intended for early adopters: drivers with a strong interest in sustainability and wanting to compromise on performance and design, in return for a more eco-friendly footprint with regards to their driving. After the Model S took the market by storm, the image of electric vehicles was completely changed. No longer where electric cars associated with compromising performance and boring designs. Instead, Tesla made electric vehicles a reasonable choice in the executive segment. The Tesla Roadster is capable of doing the same. Outperforming “classic” super cars, the Roadster will increase the appeal of electric driving world wide.

Elon happy

2. The tesla Roadster will push electric vehicle technology further with record breaking acceleration, top speed and most importantly: range. Currently, electric vehicles are known for their acceleration. The electric drive train makes it possible for the cars to have full access to their potential power from the moment you hit the pedal. However, their topspeed and range are often limited, due to the battery size. Batteries are heavy and therefore companies have to find a balance between the required performance (speed, acceleration, range) and how heavy they want the car to be. After all, the heavier the car, the more the weight is influencing the desired performance. I think the Tesla Roadster will push other car manufacturers to further develop the electrification of cars. This will result in more widely available models with increased performance at a more consume friendly price.

0to100realquick2

Do you have some savings laying around and has this blog article made you interested in the Tesla Roadster?
Prices are still to be announced for the European market, but the base model is expected to cost 200,000 dollar in the US, but the first 1,000 production cars (announced as the Founder series) will be priced at 250,000 dollar in the US. Future customers can pre-order the Roadster with a base reservation of 43.000 euro and a founders-serie reservation of 215,000 euro (for the Netherlands). For more information, check out Tesla’s  website:  https://www.tesla.com/nl_NL/roadster?redirect=no

5/5 (5)

Please rate this

Hey Podcast Lover! Have You Heard Of Lex Fridman?

7

October

2020

As BIM-student, it is very likely that you are interested in topics like coding, Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, human-robotic interaction, or Autonomous Vehicles. If by any chance you also enjoy listening to podcasts, you might be in luck:

I highly suggest you to check out the Lex Fridman Podcast.

LexFridman

Lex Fridman is an AI research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, often better known as MIT. He works on developing deep learning approaches to human sensing, scene understanding, and human-AI interaction. He is particularly interested in applying these technologies in the field of Autonomous Driving.

LexFridmanTeaching

If you know the Joe Rogan Experience, you likely are already familiar with Lex. Having worked for both Google and Tesla, Lex Fridman understands the business application of digital technologies. He uses his podcast to share this knowledge with his audience and discusses his fascination with a variety of interesting guests. This can be particularly interesting for us as Business Information Management students, as we also form the future bridge between business ventures and technological innovation. The podcast discusses similar topics like we get taught in class, sometimes going more in depth, with international research experts in those particular fields.

If you enjoy podcasts, these are some examples of Lex Fridman Podcast episodes that I highly recommend you to give a listen as a BIM-student:
RecommendedEpisodes

  • Episode #31 with George Hotz: Comma.ai, OpenPilot, Autonomous Vehicles.
    Famous security hacker. First to hack the iPhone. First to hack the PlayStation 3. Started Comma.ai to create his own vehicle automation machine learning application. Wants to offer a $1000 automotive driving application, which drivers can use on their phone.

 

  • Episode #49 with Elon Musk: Neuralink, AI, Autopilot, and the Pale Blue Dot.
    Elon Musk. Tech entrepreneur and founder of companies like Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal, Neuralink, OpenAI, and The Boring Company.

 

  • Episode #114 with Russ Tedrake: Underactuated Robotics.
    Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

 

  • Episode #120 with François Chollet: Measures of Intelligence.
    French Software Engineer and researcher in Artificial Intelligence, who works for Google. Author of Keras – keras.io – a leading deep learning framework for Python, used by organisations such as CERN, Microsoft Research, NASA, Netflix, Yelp, Uber, and Google.

These were just several examples of episodes that I enjoyed myself.

The benefit of a podcast is that you can listen it basically anywhere, and can stop listening at any time. If you are not familiar with podcasts yet or with the listening experience they offer, maybe the Lex Fridman Podcast could be your first step into this experience.

You can find the episodes of the Lex Fridman Podcast here: https://lexfridman.com/podcast/

Or check out Lex Fridman’s Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/lexfridman

The above sources have been used as sources for this post.

5/5 (7)

Please rate this

BIM, Meet Gertrude!

6

October

2020

Gertrude enjoying a well deserved drink during her performance. 

In August 2020, famous tech entrepreneur Elon Musk revealed his latest technological project: a pig called Gertrude. On first sight, Gertrude looks like an ordinary Pig. She seems healthy, curious, and eager to taste some delicious snacks. When looking at her, it is hard to imagine how she managed to get one of the world’s most radical and well known tech entrepreneurs so excited. Gertrude just seems normal.

This is exactly the point!

ElonMuskGotcha

Elon Musk “Gotcha”

Gertrude is no ordinary pig. She has been surgically implanted with a brain-monitoring chip, Link V0.9, created by one of Elon Musk’s latest start-ups named Neuralink.

Neuralink was founded in 2016, by Elon Musk and several neuroscientists. The short term goal of the company is to create devices to treat serious brain diseases and overcome damaged nervous systems. Our brain is made up of 86 billion neurons: nerve cells which send and receive information through electrical signals. According to Neuralink, your brain is like electric wiring. Rather than having neurons send electrical signals, these signals could be send and received by a wireless Neuralink chip.

To simplify: Link is a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires

The presentation in August was intended to display that the current version of the Link chip works and has no visible side-effects for its user. The user, in this case Gertrude, behaves and acts like she would without it. The chip is designed to be planted directly into the brain by a surgical robot. Getting a Link would be a same day surgery which could take less than an hour. This creates opportunities for Neuralink to go to the next stage: the first human implantation. Elon Musk expressed that the company is preparing for this step, which will take place after further safety testing and receiving the required approvals.

The long term goal of the Neuralink is even more ambitious: human enhancement through merging the human brain with AI. The system could help people store memories, or download their mind into robotic bodies. An almost science-fictional idea, fuelled by Elon Musk’s fear of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Already in 2014, Musk called AI “the biggest existential threat to humanity”. He fears, that with the current development rate, AI will soon reach the singularity: the point where AI has reached intelligence levels substantially greater than that of the human brain and technological growth has become uncontrollable and irreversible, causing unforeseeable effects to human civilization. Hollywood has given us examples of this with The Matrix and Terminator. With the strategy of “if you cannot beat them, join them”, Elon Musk sees the innovation done by Neuralink as an answer to this (hypothetical) catastrophical point in time. By allowing human brains to merge with AI, Elon Musk wants to vastly increase the capabilities of humankind and prevent human extinction.

Singularity
Man versus Machine

So, will we all soon have Link like chips in our brains while we await the AI-apocalypse?

Probably not. Currently, the Link V0.9 only covers data collected from a small number of neurons in a coin size part of the cortex. With regards to Gertrude, Neuralink’s pig whom we met earlier in this article, this means being able to wirelessly monitor her brain activity in a part of the brain linked to the nerves in her snout. When Gertrude’s snout is touched, the Neuralink system can registers the neural spikes produced by the neurons firing electronical signals. However, in contrast: major human functions typically involve millions of neurons from different parts of the brain. To make the device capable of helping patients with brain diseases or damaged nervous system, it will need to become capable of collecting larger quantities of data from multiple different areas in the brain.

On top of that, brain research has not yet achieved a complete understanding of the human brain. There are many functions and connections that are not yet understood. It appears that the ambitions of both Elon Musk and Neuralink are ahead of current scientific understanding.

So, what next?

Neuralink has received a Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the organisation that regulates the quality of medical products. This means Neuralink has the opportunity to interact with FDA’s experts during the premarket development phase and opens the opportunity towards human testing. The first clinical trials will be done on a small group of patients with severe spinal cord injuries, to see if they can regain motor functions through thoughts alone. For now a medical goal with potentially life changing outcomes, while we wait for science to catch up with Elon Musk’s ambitions.

 Neuralink-Logo

Thank you for reading. Did this article spark your interest?
For more information, I recommend you to check out Neuralink’s website https://neuralink.com/

Curious how Gertrude is doing?
Neuralink often posts updates on their Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/neura.link/?hl=en

Want to read more BIM-articles like this?
Check out relating articles created by other BIM-students in 2020:

Sources used for this article:

4.88/5 (8)

Please rate this