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Apr92021 by adminNo Comments

Elon Musk’s Neuralink ‘shows monkey playing Pong with mind’

Technology

NeuralinkNeuralink, Elon Musk's computer to brain interface firm, has released a video it claims shows a monkey playing the video game Pong with its mind.Its brain signals were sent wirelessly via an implanted device.The hope is that the interface could eventually allow people with neurological conditions to control phones or computers remotely.One expert said the fact no wires were used represented "significant progress", but more data was needed.The macaque monkey, named Pager, was first taught to play the video game with a joystick, and was rewarded with a fruit smoothie.During this process, the Neuralink device recorded the information about which neurons were firing to control which movements.Then the joystick was disconnected, leaving the monkey to control gameplay with its mind only...

Sep52020 by adminNo Comments

Unfair playing fields, pay gaps drag down everyone’s motivation

Science

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- When people are rewarded unequally for the same work, everyone's motivation suffers. According to a new study, published Friday in the journal PLOS One, large disparities in compensation cause workers to feel less happy and, a result, it decreases their desire to work. Advertisement "Here we have shown the psychological impacts of inequality of opportunity, and how it can hurt the productivity and well-being of everyone involved," lead study author Filip Gesiarz, doctoral student in experimental psychology at the University College London, said in a news release. "Our findings may shed light on how psychological mechanisms, apart from structural barriers, can contribute to higher unemployment and lower university application rates of people from disadvantaged backgrounds,...

Aug62020 by adminNo Comments

Zoe Saldana apologises for playing Nina Simone: ‘She deserved better’

Entertainment

Actress Zoe Saldana has apologised for playing Nina Simone in a heavily criticised 2016 biopic.The Marvel star, who is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, wore a prosthetic nose and skin-darkening make-up for the role.Simone's estate refused to endorse the film, and the late singer's daughter questioned the casting decision.In a new interview, originally broadcast live on Instagram, Saldana said: "I should have never played Nina."I should have done everything in my power with the leverage that I had 10 years ago, which was a different leverage, but it was leverage nonetheless."I should have done everything in my power to cast a black woman to play an exceptionally perfect black woman."Writing on the official Nina Simone Facebo...

Jun112020 by adminNo Comments

Stormzy pledges £10m ‘to even playing field’ for black people in the UK

Entertainment

Stormzy and his company have pledged £10m over the next 10 years in the "fight to finally try and even" the playing field for black people in the UK.The grime star made the announcement to help organisations supporting racial equality and social justice following protests around the world in the wake of the death of George Floyd in the US. In a statement released through his company, #Merky, the 26-year-old said: "The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit, is that black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life - simply due to the colour of our skin." Image: The star was named best British male at the Brit Awards earlier this year Stormzy, who joined a recent...

Feb262020 by adminNo Comments

Tesla Autopilot crash driver ‘was playing video game’

Technology

An Apple employee who died after his Tesla car hit a concrete barrier was playing a video game at the time of the crash, investigators believe.The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the car had been driving semi-autonomously using Tesla's Autopilot software.Tesla instructs drivers to keep their hands on the wheel in Autopilot mode.But the NTSB said more crashes were foreseeable if Tesla did not implement changes to its Autopilot system.The authority has published the results of a two-year investigation, following the crash in March 2018.Tesla's Autopilot software steered the vehicle into the triangular "gore area" at a motorway intersection, and accelerated into a concrete barrier. ...