Viral phenomenon Viral phenomena are objects or patterns able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. They get their name from the way that viruses propagate. This has become a common way to describe how thoughts, information, and trends move into and through a human population. Memes are possibly the best-known example of informational viral patterns. The 1992 novel Snow Crash explores the implications of an ancient memetic meta-virus and its modern-day computer virus equivalent: The spread of viral phenomena are also regarded as part of the cultural politics of network culture or the virality of the age of networks[1] Various authors have pointed to the intensification in connectivity brought about by network technologies as a possible trigger for increased chances of infection from wide-ranging social, cultural, political, and economic contagions. Examples of viral phenomena in addition to memes are: See also[edit]
VirtuSphere The VirtuSphere is a creation of Ray and Nurulla Latypov, whose company, VirtuSphere Inc, is based in Binghamton, New York.[2][3] Using the VirtuSphere simulator Applications[edit] Markets and applications for Virtusphere include:[4] Military, law enforcement, and other dangerous occupations that require a safe training environmentGaming and entertainmentHealth and fitnessMuseums and other educational installationsVirtual tours of architectural and construction projects VirtuSphere was showcased at IIT Bombay's annual technical festival, Techfest in 2011.[6] See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit] Immersive technology Engineer research psychologist from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) demonstrates the Infantry Immersive Trainer (IIT), one of several Virtual Training Environment projects (VIRTE) Components[edit] A fully immersive, perceptually-real environment will consist of multiple components. Perception[edit] The following hardware technologies are developed to stimulate one or more of the five senses to create perceptually-real sensations. Interaction[edit] These technologies provide the ability to interact and communicate with the virtual environment. Software[edit] Research and development[edit] Many universities have programs that research and develop immersive technology. The U.S. Application[edit] Immersive technology is applied in several areas, including the adult industry,[3] art,[4] entertainment and video games and interactive storytelling, military, education,[5] and medicine.[6] As immersive technology becomes more mainstream, it will likely pervade many other industries. See also[edit]
Immersion (virtual reality) The name is a metaphoric use of the experience of submersion applied to representation, fiction or simulation. Immersion can also be defined as the state of consciousness where a "visitor" (Maurice Benayoun) or "immersant" (Char Davies)’s awareness of physical self is transformed by being surrounded in an artificial environment; used for describing partial or complete suspension of disbelief, enabling action or reaction to stimulations encountered in a virtual or artistic environment. The degree to which the virtual or artistic environment faithfully reproduces reality determines the degree of suspension of disbelief. According to Ernest W. Tactical immersion Tactical immersion is experienced when performing tactile operations that involve skill. Strategic immersion Strategic immersion is more cerebral, and is associated with mental challenge. Narrative immersion Spatial immersion Spatial immersion occurs when a player feels the simulated world is perceptually convincing.
Technological singularity The technological singularity is the hypothesis that accelerating progress in technologies will cause a runaway effect wherein artificial intelligence will exceed human intellectual capacity and control, thus radically changing civilization in an event called the singularity.[1] Because the capabilities of such an intelligence may be impossible for a human to comprehend, the technological singularity is an occurrence beyond which events may become unpredictable, unfavorable, or even unfathomable.[2] The first use of the term "singularity" in this context was by mathematician John von Neumann. Proponents of the singularity typically postulate an "intelligence explosion",[5][6] where superintelligences design successive generations of increasingly powerful minds, that might occur very quickly and might not stop until the agent's cognitive abilities greatly surpass that of any human. Basic concepts Superintelligence Non-AI singularity Intelligence explosion Exponential growth Plausibility
Evolution of Change: Signs for the Future of Business I like taking the time once in a while to tie different trends together, it just helps me focus on what's really happening now and helps me understand where things might be going. Taken individually there are some very interesting things happening in technology and business but when you link them together a picture starts to emerge that is almost staggering in depth and breadth of change potential. I was reading "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil the other day and a point jumped out at me that I think is extremely important when looking at change, whether you agree with Kurzweil's ideas on singularity or not. That concept is that technology growth or the growth of any evolutionary process is exponential, and is not linear or does not simply continue at current growth rates over time. In fact many evolutionary processes see double exponential growth, so in fact the growth of the exponent is exponential. So what are the individual changes or shifts that we are seeing? Big data
Colliding Web Sciences - MIT Research Initiative Yesterday' conversation with Leslie Bradshaw of New Media Strategies , one of a talented caste of co-presenters at Friedman Foundation's first Generator Forum on social media and the recent passing of Oliver Selfridge, founding father of artificial intelligence, reminded me I had not posted on the Web Science Research Initiative begun this fall at MIT and South Hampton University. September's Scientific American detailed the philosophy and research focus of the academic program in their article Web Science: Studying the Internet to Protect Our Future. What is most striking to me is the multidisciplinary approach the initiative is assuming from the start and acknowledging the socio-cultural impact as core. There is a symbiotic relationship with web technology, the intentions of people wanting to connect around what interests and motivates them and the culture that evolves. ~ Victoria G.
Who Will Control the IoT? (AAPL, GOOG, IBM, IDCC, MMI) The early Internet was a strange, chaotic place -- much like the young universe, if it were plastered with animated GIFs. Over time, that bewildering mass coalesced around familiar open standards that are still in use: CSS, XML and its derivatives, grizzled veteran HTML (now in its fifth edition), and others. The next leap forward, toward an Internet of things, is rapidly approaching. Network all the thingsThe mobile revolution has brought with it plenty of border skirmishes, as dedicated followers of the sector can attest. Why is this so important? The patent player: AppleApple (Nasdaq: AAPL ) filed a patent at the tail end of 2009 dubbed "Local Device Awareness," which describes automated connections between a number of close-range devices. The breadth of the claim is surprising, as it could be used to demand royalties from services we've come to know and love, like Wi-Fi hotspots or Bluetooth devices. The patent(-less?)
ACM Web Science 2012 Politics and the Internet This timeline was researched by Kristina Redgrave, Diane Chang, Becky Kazansky, Andrew Seo and Micah Sifry, and edited by Micah Sifry. It is a work-in-progress. If you would like to suggest an important development that we may have missed, or make a correction to the record, please [use this form]( Facebook founded Facebook was founded originally as an intra-Harvard social networking site by Mark Zuckerberg and several of his classmates. Egyptian protesters launch #Jan25 revolution After the brutal police beating of 28 year-old businessman Khaled Said in Cairo, an anonymous Facebook user cerated the page "We are all Khaled Said" to express brewing dissatisfaction with police corruption and state repression at large. Introduction of electronic voting machines The direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machine is patented in 1974 and is first used in elections in 1975. "The Streisand Effect" is born 4Chan Launched The World Wide Web is Born
Tim Berners-Lee says 'surveillance threatens web' 21 November 2013Last updated at 19:24 ET Sir Tim Berners-Lee said important issues had been raised by recent leaks Web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee has warned that the democratic nature of the net is threatened by a "growing tide of surveillance and censorship". The warning came as he launched his World Wide Web Foundation's annual web index report, tracking global censorship. It suggests that 94% of the countries in the index do not adequately monitor government internet interception. Thirty per cent of countries block or filter political content, it indicates. The report concludes that the current legal framework on government snooping needs urgent review. "One of the most encouraging findings of this year's web index is how the web and social media are increasingly spurring people to organise, take action and try to expose wrongdoing in every region of the world," said Sir Tim. 'Appalling and foolish' He described attempts by the spy agencies to crack encryption as "appalling and foolish".
Chris Phethean's PhD Progress Blog: Revisiting Google+, An Old Post, and the Social Media Ecosystem. Over two years ago now, I wrote one of my first blog posts, focusing on the newly launched Google+ social network and predicting - with a slight dose of hope-induced exaggeration (I did, and still do, like the service, and wanted it to succeed) - that with its introduction there would be something of a shakeup to the social media world. The range of features it offered - Circles to group contacts and restrict who could see what, followers as well as 'friends', Hangouts for group video chats - gave an impression that the service could pull in elements of Facebook, Twitter and - to an extent - LinkedIn, to essentially create one all-powerful, all-dominant social network. Fast-forward to today, and I don't know of any of my friends or colleagues who use it, and it has become something of a joke in the office. But stepping outside my own personal bubble of academia, it seems things may actually be quite different... So maybe my previous post wasn't too far off the mark?