Your 10 minutes technology read: here is our selection of the major news in the tech world. From planetary defense to the digital divide, passing by how to prompt DALL-E to draw better. How is technology shaping our present and future?
HOT FROM THE WEB
NASA planetary defense: First test against asteroids impact on Earth
After 10 months flying in space, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration – successfully impacted its asteroid target Dimorphos on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. It was the agency’s first attempt to move an asteroid in space.
Check the images previous to impact
Scientists are training AI to reconstruct lost underpaintings from acclaimed artist
An underpainting of two male wrestlers discovered via X-ray beneath a still life by Vincent Van Gogh has been reconstructed into a work in its own right by artificial intelligence. To improve the performance of DALL-E, the AI in charge of this task, the scientists tried different methods of prompting it, including words that would reflect spatial composition, provide an accurate scene, and even the relationship between the subjects depicted in the hidden artwork.
Meta allows users to create computer-generated images based on their own sketches
Meta AI, the branch of Facebook’s parent company responsible for artificial intelligence, is working on an exploratory research project called Make-A-Scene “that demonstrates AI’s potential for empowering anyone to bring their imagination to life,” - in their own words.
Make-A-Scene aims to go one step further than the typical text-to-image generator by adding the option for users to draw a freeform digital sketch of a scene for the network to base its final image on. The program has been tested by artists including Sofia Crespo, Scott Eaton, Alexander Reben, and Refik Anadol.
Dig into the Make-A-Scene project
Gamification in Education: What is it and how can you use it?
‘Gamification’ is a fancy word that has been largely used in the education and learning sector for many years. But what does it actually mean and how can it lead to improved learning outcomes? True Education Partnerships explains in a handy guide the benefits of gamification in learning and how teachers and parents can use it to increase students’ concentration and knowledge.
Schoolkids don't just need iPads. They need data plans
In the US, 30% of schoolchildren have no Internet access at home, an all-too-common problem referred to as “the homework gap.” While the investment in technology has helped teachers become ever more reliant on the tech tools and assign children apps that collect data on their progress, for the hundreds of thousands of students across the country with no Internet connection, it’s isolating. To close the digital divide, Qualcomm is working with the wireless industry to create the equivalent of a free and reduced-price lunch plan for data.
The privacy flaw threatening US democracy
Without robust federal protections, the country’s widespread mass surveillance systems could be used against citizens like never before. What doesn’t appear to be a major risk to civil liberties now can become a substantial threat later on.
We are going through a great transition from web2 to web3. With this new iteration of the web to more interactive websites, creators and organizations of all sizes face the challenge to access easy-to-use tools to create, gamify, and tokenize immersive multiplayer worlds. In light of this, there is a great need for new infrastructure that can lower the barriers of entry and help this process to be more accessible.
World of Us | Mini-games to foster inclusive narratives
Tales of Us is a non-profit multi-media production company that creates platforms and experiences for storytellers to address critical global issues. The multiple award-winning initiative was looking for new ways to interact directly with its audiences, kids and teenagers between 7 and 12 years old, and their guardians, aiming to actively include their insights in their educational program about different mythologies, decolonization, and ecologies.
NOT TO BE MISSED
Stones & Glasses Interviews
This is our in-house project of hyperreal interviews. Free-flow conversations about the tipping points in technology, consciences, and how leadership, innovation, history, power, passion, and love can shape us into the future.
Check the whole YouTube channel or dig into:
Stones & Glasses with Julian Leitloff
On bridging data privacy and data verifiability
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9UHDMmmTso
Stones & Glasses with Andrius Bacianska
On NFTs and geolocalization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJMfICtSj1U
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