Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Relationships --Painful To Stop Loving? #4 10/30 by Golden Lillies ...

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    Rodney Perry Live is excited to welcome Detroit's own Songwriter, Producer and Musician, Dwele to the show. Dwele stops by on Monday, October 29th to discuss his new project "Greater Than One". Tune in at 2pm EST!

  • Television Writer and Producer Aaron Ginsburg of The Thrilling Adventure hour is doing some pretty exciting things across a wide array of media. From stage to internet streaming to graphic novels, the Thrilling Adventure crew are everywhere.

  • Janaury Jones welcomes Shari Sambursky, discussing the Lousy Job Market and she shares "4 Steps" that will help you get a great job FAST! Shari is proficient with how to position a resume that will catch the eye of the hiring manager!

  • Award-winning writer, Dr. Julie Silver of Harvard Medical School discusses the combined healing and therapeutic power of storytelling with practical medical advice in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope & Healing for Your Breast Cancer Journey, on FMMK Talk Radio.

  • Best Ever You welcomes 86 year-old author Edith Namm. Her book Change To A Positive Mindset And Extend Your Lifeline?: A Journey To Miles Of Smiles, Positive Energy Power, Hope, Health And Happiness is sure to change your life.

  • Coming to America from down under, Sam Gilmour will be chatting to Sherri about his amazing book, The Borrowed Kitchen!

  • Fred Melamed, whose performance as "Sy Abelman" in the 2010 Academy Award "Best Picture"-nominated film, "A Serious Man," has been widely praised, revisits Olivia Wilder to talk about his newest film, "Fred Won't Move Out,"in which co-stars with Elliott Gould.

  • Movie Addict HQ salutes frightmaster M. Night Shyamalan with a discussion of his movies including "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs." Panel members include critics John P. McCarthy and James Colt Harrison. Actors who worked with Shyamalan may also call in.

  • On Hallow Eve World Footprints will take you along Dracula's Trail and a photography shoot of paranormals. Scary, scary stuff. Scariest of all, the epidemic of human trafficking which World Footprints will expose with UN partners.

  • Celebrity supporters gather to sample 20 of California?s premiere wineries and delectable eats from Supperclub LA and Executive Chef Guus Wickenhagen while raising awareness for the global water crisis and helping to raise funds for building fresh water wells

  • It's a spooky GenreTainment as Marx and Julie chat with Victor Brooke Miller, the writer of the original Friday the 13th film. Just in case that wasn't enough horror themed fun, they also discuss their picks for the top 10 horror movies of all time.

  • Anthony DiMoro & Katy Mitchel are joined on air by Playboy Miss Social's ChelsieAryn Miller and sports talk show host Julie Buehler as we break down all the headlines and stories circulating the news world

  • Teenage Pop recording artist, actor, and songwriter, Tyler Layne has garnered interest from Radio Disney to some of the most well known industry insiders and producers. He chats with Jammin Jukebox about his hit single "Where I Wanna Be" & his recent success.

  • Houston Style Magazine entertainment reporter Rebecca Briscoe joins the show. Stylemagazine.com was the first CNN Weekly Newspaper Affiliate website in the United States.

  • Join Michael Bassett, writer/director of this weeks Silent Hill 3D: Revelation to talk about the hell ride of a time that is this week's only Halloween relevant release, in terms of horror at least.

  • Elsie's back as co-host! Mitt Romney reveals his ?Binder Economic Stimulus Plan,? we talk best TV , top 10 discontinued foods, play ?If I Were In Charge of the World? & interview rising comic & ?Tonight Show? veteran & radio personality Jamie Lissow, and more!

  • I'll be speaking with Peter Shankman about the state of social media and where we're going; how he built HARO from a little Facebook group into a multimillion dollar business; the power of true influence; and how everything he touches seems to turn to gold!

  • Current Pittsburgh Steelers and former Auburn Tigers defensive lineman Mike Blanc joins us for an interview to discuss Pittsburgh's current season and will also discss the state of Auburn football and the job coach Gene Chizik has done this year.

  • Source: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bernedaearle/2012/10/31/relationships--

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    Katie Villegas, school board candidate - WestSac.com

    FROM THE NEWS-LEDGER ? OCT 17, 2012 ?

    ? EDITOR?S NOTE: This interview comes from the Oct. 17 edition of the News-Ledger newspaper. It is part of our series to bring you an in-depth look at each of the people running for city council and school board in West Sacramento this year.

    By Steve Marschke
    News-Ledger Editor

    Katie Villegas is executive director of the Yolo County Children?s Alliance. That, and prior work with families in the West Sacramento region, have given her what she feels is a birds-eye view of what local kids need to succeed.

    KATIE VILLEGAS hopes to help 'connect the dots' for WUSD (News-Ledger photo)

    ?Basically, every job I?ve had has been working with families and working with kids,? she told the News-Ledger. ?I?ve worked in public health, child abuse prevention and foster care. (At the Children?s Alliance), we work every day with the students and families in West Sacramento. We see the things they?re not getting, and seeing it from a different level.?

    That experience, she hopes, will transfer to the board of trustees at Washington Unified School District.

    ?I think we need somebody who can see it from a different level, and see what we could do. That?s what I do best ? connect the dots and bring in the resources.?

    One of those resources is a better partnership between the school district and city government, she said.

    ?It?s incredibly important, and partnership with the county as well,? said Villegas. ?I can bring in the city, the county, local business ? which would be helpful for internships ? and grand opportunities. It builds on itself.?

    ?I think you need to look at the whole family. If a kid comes to school hungry, how are they expected to learn? They need health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance.?

    She gives the current school board a mixed grade.

    ?I wouldn?t say they?re terrible and I wouldn?t say they?re functional,? Villegas commented. ?Somewhere in between. . . It?s a difficult time to be a board member.?

    What?s the board doing wrong?

    ?I think a few of them see it as ?I?m getting into the trenches,?? she said of their tactical-level work. ?But they?re micromanaging. I think (as a board member) you need to stay at the 50,000-foot level.?

    ? Part of the answer, she argues, is to leave more of the educational decisions to the staff, like Superintendent Dayton Gilleland.

    ?We actually hire really good people,? Villegas said. ?Dayton has a Ph.D. in education. I?ve met with him. He?s a smart guy. Sometimes the leadership needs to be allowed to take the chances they need to take to make the district better. They?re the experts in education, they know what to do.?

    Katie, 46, has a master?s degree in social work and has lived in West Sacramento for 25 years. She?s probably the best-known of this year?s school board challengers, not only because of her day job and past civic involvement, but also because she is married to West Sacramento City Councilman Oscar Villegas. The couple lives in Southport.

    The pair have two kids who have attended school at Southport Elementary School before leaving the public school district. One attended Christian Brothers High School before going to Sacramento City College, and the other is currently at Christian Brothers.

    ?A lot of people are wondering, ?why are you doing this?? because my kids don?t go to school here,? she commented. ?I?m doing this because I think all the kids of West Sacramento deserve a better education.?

    What concerns her most is that the kids in the northern areas ? those more likely to come from poor families or be among the 40 percent Latino population of WUSD ? are lagging.

    ?The schools are not equal,? she said. ?The schools out here (in Southport) are doing fairly well, but I think the schools in the north area, where our (Childrens Alliance) office is, are not doing that well. Kids of color are not doing well.?

    ?? ?If you look at how well those kids are prepared to go to college, the numbers are crazy.?

    That?s one past subject of controversy between Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, who criticized WUSD for failing to prepare minorities for college, and David Westin, then-president of the school board.

    ?There?s a lot of lobbing (bombs) back and forth between Christopher and Dave. . . (such as) Christopher pointing out how bad the district is doing with kids of color,? Villegas stated. ?(That data) is documented. But putting that into a ?state of the city? address?? I don?t know if that?s the most effective way to get that out there.?

    Is her marriage to Councilman Villegas something that could help improve city-school district relations?

    ?It?s nothing but helpful,? answered Villegas. ?The district and city haven?t gotten along so well. (Working with the city) is a totally big opportunity.?

    Are there any conflicts of interest possible, given that the city and district sometimes need to negotiate contracts with each other?

    ?I think that is relatively minimal,? she said. ?If there are conflicts of interest, I would listen to the attorneys? and possibly abstain from decisions.

    Does Katie Villegas believe student test score results are important?

    ?They?re incredibly important,? she answered. ?It?s a barometer of the district.?

    New API scores have just been released for California campuses and districts. Did WUSD backslide?

    ?Not so much (in Southport),? said Villegas. ?But they did in Broderick and Bryte. Overall, it?s down.?

    She doesn?t give the board full credit for the past two years of big test score gains.

    ?I give them some credit, but kids of color are not being served,? she said.

    What about charter schools: does Villegas favor the concept?

    ?I think that alternatives to education ? because I?m one of the ones who needs them ? are important,? she responded. I think we need to keep opportunities open for that.?

    Villegas does believe that WUSD is in decent financial shape, considering several years of state budget cuts.

    ?I think Washington Unified is the most fiscally sound district in all of Yolo County,? she stated.

    Villegas helped run the local 2004 high school bond campaign and has helped with her husband?s council runs. She said she has the support of WUSD school board incumbents Mary Leland and Adam Menke, as well as a number of city and regional leaders.

    Will she be walking precincts and raising money for the campaign?

    ?All of the above,? said Villegas.

    She is one of a number of challengers joining Leland and Westin in the hunt for three available school board seats on the Nov. 6 ballot.

    ? You can support local journalism, support this website, and see all the News-Ledger?s articles every week! Subscribe to the News-Ledge newspaper. It?s only $20 per year within West Sacramento ? once a week, delivered to your mailbox.

    ? You can even try it for free for two months if you live in West Sacramento. Just send your name and mailing address to FreeTrial@news-ledger.com (offer open to new subscribers in West Sacramento ZIP codes 95691 & 95605).

    Copyright News-Ledger 2012

    Source: http://www.westsac.com/news-ledger/2012/10/31/katie-villegas-school-board-candidate/

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    Askewl dot com ? Look Over Your Auto Insurance Policy With one of ...

    Car insurance is large section of being a responsible vehicle owner. However, car insurance policies are designed in one of the most confusing terms possible. This informative article can assist you to better know what those terms mean. By learning the the automobile insurance world, you will be a far more informed consumer.

    Ask your car insurance agent for any comprehensive list of the money-saving opportunities their company provides. Look over potential discounts, and see those you be entitled to, along with those that you are able to be eligible for if one makes changes, for example driving less or having a driving course.

    One course of action in getting car insurance would be to maintain your driving history spotless. Nothing sends your insurance payments skyrocketing as rapidly like a driving accident. Drive defensively and know your limits. Stay out of situations in which you have a very higher potential for an accident. For instance, if you have difficulty seeing the street let into the evening, avoid driving during this time period.

    It is best to check the possible insurance rates if you are investing in a new vehicle. Ask your insurance professional to tell you which cars can get the best rates. This can help you in choosing a second hand or new car. When you purchase a motor vehicle which has a good safety rating, it can save you a good deal on your own car insurance.

    To spend less when pricing motor insurance on your teenage driver, be sure to price out an outside policy for them and compare the charge to just how much it?ll change the price should you add them to your existing policy. It pay be more affordable to buy another policy for them, determined by what cars they are driving.

    Ensure you view the various kinds of coverage available knowning that your insurance provides adequate coverage to your situation. Insurance is essential to pay you in the event of a personal injury to others or property damage, or even to cover your individual medical expenses and damages in your car. Carrying insurance against people who are illegally uninsured is additionally imperative.

    One idea to lessen rates is usually to eliminate drivers from the policy should they avoid the use of your vehicle. Your premium will be reduced in case you remove drivers from the policy. Teenage drivers will be the most costly ones; taking one-time your policy gives you a dramatic premium reduction : car insurance.

    You cannot avoid an increased premium entirely when you have a poor record, but don?t forget that different insurers may treat you differently. Some even offer special services to help you drivers who?ve imperfect driving records get a lower rate.

    Should you be ever in the vehicle accident and want to launch an incident, you should make it a point to thoroughly document everything related to the incident. Use a mobile phone to consider pictures of the location and damage of a crash. An alternative choice should be to maintain a camera together with you on a regular basis in the event you should require it to pull up quickly similar to this car insurances.

    In case you are involved in a vehicle accident, contact police officers immediately. Police departments contain the method of gathering one of the most relevant facts and data; an official will move the involved parties through the process. The authorities, as well as the accident report they file, could become your best friend where your car insurance company is concerned. Pr Huyzajuwitch and You need to call the police immediately.

    Collision coverage never seems necessary unless you hit another car! If this should happen, you will be careful to purchase the damages with your own money. It will be harder to pay for repairs than to spend a lower premium.

    In lots of states, vehicle insurance doesn?t insure only the vehicle, nevertheless the person driving that vehicle, at the same time. Sometimes, exactly what can happen is that this; an individual will allow another person to operate a vehicle their car. Appears to be accident occurs, the insurance company won?t pay the claim. You would have to pay more to cover other drivers with your car.

    Some insurance agencies auto insurance quotes will provide you with lower rates if you enumerate the car?s safety features. Safety features, like security alarms, lessen the amount of claims made, and firms often offer reduced prices for having them within your vehicle. Installing these alternatives on an older timepiece may lessen your costs also.

    Reconsider buying after-market add-ons for your car you do not actually need. While any individual could enjoy heated seats or even a top grade speakers, there?s a chance you?re better served saving the cash for a rainy day. If you get in an accident and total your automobile, or maybe if it?s stolen, the insurance company will only pay you for the worth of the automobile, which will not include any after-market equipment.

    There are numerous specialized and hard-to-understand terms that occur regularly in a car insurance business. The next article can help you gain a knowledge on this terminology so that you can help you create an informed decision when scouting for car insurance. When you are a knowledgeable consumer, you can have a good feeling about your insurance.

    Source: http://askewl.com/look-over-your-auto-insurance-policy-with-one-of-these-tips-in-mind/

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    Canada, Switzerland lift ban on Novartis flu vaccines

    ZURICH (Reuters) - Canadian and Swiss health authorities lifted a ban on Novartis's flu vaccines on Wednesday after the drugmaker showed they posed no risk to safety.

    Italy last week banned the sale of four anti-influenza vaccines produced by Novartis pending tests for possible side effects after small particles were found in some of the injections.

    Other countries including Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain and France followed suit by suspending deliveries, recommending the use of alternative products or recalling batches of the vaccines.

    Swissmedic and Health Canada said information from Novartis and their own testing had shown that white particles found in the vaccines were normal clumps of protein particles and did not indicate a safety issue.

    "According to the scientific data presented to us, the safety of the vaccines is not compromised by the stray aggregates," Swissmedic said in a statement.

    Novartis' Chief Executive Joseph Jimenez said last week he was confident the vaccines were safe after the company reported third-quarter sales that missed forecasts.

    The drugmaker said on Wednesday it was pleased with the Canadian and Swiss decisions and was working with other national health authorities to address concerns and resume deliveries.

    Italy's drug safety authority said it was still reviewing the results of tests on Novartis's anti-influenza vaccines, but is "cautiously positive" about being able to lift a ban on some lots in coming days.

    Novartis's vaccines Fluad and Agrippal, which are manufactured at a production site in Italy, were banned in Switzerland and Canada. Italy has also withdrawn subunit Influpozzi and adjuvanted Influpozzi.

    Germany's vaccine agency said it had retracted approval of some lots of Novartis's vaccines Begripal and Fluad, meaning those particular lots could not be released onto the market.

    Austria's health ministry said it is maintaining for now its advice for physicians to avoid using Novartis's Fluad and Sandovac in favor of other products.

    (Reporting by Caroline Copley. Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Rome, Angelika Gruber in Vienna and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by David Cowell)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canada-switzerland-lift-ban-novartis-flu-vaccines-160832668.html

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    Medical schools fall short on teaching students about obesity

    Medical schools fall short on teaching students about obesity [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 31-Oct-2012
    [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    Contact: Marguerite Beck
    marbeck@wakehealth.edu
    336-716-2415
    Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Oct. 31, 2012 -- It's no secret that obesity is a major problem in America.

    More than one-third of adults and one-sixth of children are obese and it is one of the leading causes of preventable death. The costs associated with obesity are estimated at $99 million annually, comparable to the economic toll of cigarette smoking.

    Despite all this, few U.S. medical schools are providing adequate, effective training on how to address weight issues in obese patients, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

    "Medical students are surrounded by the same environment that everyone is in this country, a culture of idealized images of physical attractiveness in which thin is good and fat is bad," said Mara Vitolins, Dr.P.H., R.D., professor of public health sciences at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the study that was published in the July issue of the journal Teaching and Learning in Medicine. "We just aren't doing a good enough job of teaching our students evidence-based methods of intervention and care for our obese patients."

    The purpose of the study was to provide a systematic review of the literature examining obesity-related educational programs. In an effort to gauge the amount and effectiveness of medical school training related to obesity, the researchers reviewed literature from the National Institutes of Health's PubMed database from 1966 through 2010.

    Of the 208 articles found, only five addressed ways to increase medical students' knowledge, attitudes and skills regarding overweight and obesity treatment. Only two of those five addressed medical student bias toward obese patients, and just one dealt with attempting to change this bias.

    The lack of published studies in this area is consistent with physicians' reports of inadequate training in managing their patients' weight, the researchers reported.

    "Our study shows clear gaps in medical education regarding obesity," Vitolins said. "Providing medical students with skills to address obesity is necessary to impact the national epidemic of obesity to decrease mortality and morbidity from chronic diseases related to excess weight.

    "Our findings also highlight the need for medical school curricula to mitigate negative attitudes toward these patients, attitudes that may affect the care delivered."

    In addition, the researchers did not find any study that included obesity education over all four years of medical school, including the basic science and clinical years. Although some medical schools require their students to teach prevention, including nutrition and weight management in community clinics, this approach still doesn't cover the full range of obesity counseling knowledge available.

    "Utilizing multiple types of intervention approaches lectures, standardized patient encounters and hands-on training during multiple time points in the medical school curriculum is needed," Vitolins added. "Such training should be based on tried and true educational approaches and include education in bias and stereotyping, as well as specifically addressing obesity bias."

    To help address the lack of obesity-related education in medical schools, the Wake Forest Baptist team has recently published a downloadable teaching and learning program for nutrition, exercise and weight management in MedEdPortal. According to Vitolins, the research team was committed to sharing their educational modules with others to improve nationwide efforts to reduce obesity.

    ###

    Co-authors of the study are Sonia Crandall, Ph.D., David Miller, M.D., Eddie Ip, Ph.D., Gail Marion, Ph.D., and John Spangler, M.D., of Wake Forest Baptist.

    The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute grant R25CA117887-01.


    [ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    ?


    AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


    Medical schools fall short on teaching students about obesity [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 31-Oct-2012
    [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    Contact: Marguerite Beck
    marbeck@wakehealth.edu
    336-716-2415
    Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Oct. 31, 2012 -- It's no secret that obesity is a major problem in America.

    More than one-third of adults and one-sixth of children are obese and it is one of the leading causes of preventable death. The costs associated with obesity are estimated at $99 million annually, comparable to the economic toll of cigarette smoking.

    Despite all this, few U.S. medical schools are providing adequate, effective training on how to address weight issues in obese patients, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

    "Medical students are surrounded by the same environment that everyone is in this country, a culture of idealized images of physical attractiveness in which thin is good and fat is bad," said Mara Vitolins, Dr.P.H., R.D., professor of public health sciences at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the study that was published in the July issue of the journal Teaching and Learning in Medicine. "We just aren't doing a good enough job of teaching our students evidence-based methods of intervention and care for our obese patients."

    The purpose of the study was to provide a systematic review of the literature examining obesity-related educational programs. In an effort to gauge the amount and effectiveness of medical school training related to obesity, the researchers reviewed literature from the National Institutes of Health's PubMed database from 1966 through 2010.

    Of the 208 articles found, only five addressed ways to increase medical students' knowledge, attitudes and skills regarding overweight and obesity treatment. Only two of those five addressed medical student bias toward obese patients, and just one dealt with attempting to change this bias.

    The lack of published studies in this area is consistent with physicians' reports of inadequate training in managing their patients' weight, the researchers reported.

    "Our study shows clear gaps in medical education regarding obesity," Vitolins said. "Providing medical students with skills to address obesity is necessary to impact the national epidemic of obesity to decrease mortality and morbidity from chronic diseases related to excess weight.

    "Our findings also highlight the need for medical school curricula to mitigate negative attitudes toward these patients, attitudes that may affect the care delivered."

    In addition, the researchers did not find any study that included obesity education over all four years of medical school, including the basic science and clinical years. Although some medical schools require their students to teach prevention, including nutrition and weight management in community clinics, this approach still doesn't cover the full range of obesity counseling knowledge available.

    "Utilizing multiple types of intervention approaches lectures, standardized patient encounters and hands-on training during multiple time points in the medical school curriculum is needed," Vitolins added. "Such training should be based on tried and true educational approaches and include education in bias and stereotyping, as well as specifically addressing obesity bias."

    To help address the lack of obesity-related education in medical schools, the Wake Forest Baptist team has recently published a downloadable teaching and learning program for nutrition, exercise and weight management in MedEdPortal. According to Vitolins, the research team was committed to sharing their educational modules with others to improve nationwide efforts to reduce obesity.

    ###

    Co-authors of the study are Sonia Crandall, Ph.D., David Miller, M.D., Eddie Ip, Ph.D., Gail Marion, Ph.D., and John Spangler, M.D., of Wake Forest Baptist.

    The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute grant R25CA117887-01.


    [ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    ?


    AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


    Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/wfbm-msf103112.php

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    Monday, October 29, 2012

    96% Argo

    All Critics (203) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (194) | Rotten (9)

    'Argo' is one of the best movies of the year.

    Argo has that solid, kick-the-tires feel of those studio films from the 70s that were about something but also entertained. Only it's as laugh outright amusing as it is sobering.

    The movieland satire is laid on thick, but it's also deadly accurate. Schlock has never seemed so patriotic, and Arkin and Goodman have rarely been so good.

    Argo is a rollicking yarn, easily the most cohesive and technically accomplished of Affleck's three films so far, but a part of me wishes the director hadn't cast himself in the lead role.

    If nothing else, it proves that every so often, the CIA can pull something off - and that yes, Canadians are just about the nicest people on the planet.

    The film is a whopper of a tale, one designed for Oscar nominations, Best Picture and Best Director among them.

    It's a reminder of what the movies can offer when they're at their best: an escape into another world and a pertinent look at our own.

    As a director, Ben Affleck is getting into Alan Pakula territory.

    Even when it embellishes certain details leading up to its climax, Affleck and his actors by that time have sold the audience on its authenticity. How appropriate.

    I found it hard for me to get into at first, but the final act more than makes up for it. Ben Affleck sure has come a long way since his days with Kevin Smith.

    It's exciting, it's funny, it's suspenseful. The ending is nail-biting.

    This is a classy heist movie with a bizarre set-up; it's entertaining as well as thrilling.

    A tense political thriller with a dash of Hollywood satire thrown in to sweeten the deal, this is a gripping crowd pleaser that is sure to take home some statuettes come Oscar season. Your move, Matt Damon.

    The real Argo that's landing in cinemas now shouldn't be mistaken as anything other than a spellbinding, old-fashioned thriller. I've got sweaty palms and an elevated pulse to prove that it's one of the year's very best films.

    A suspenseful, topical and surprisingly humorous film that's deserving of the Oscar buzz surrounding it.

    The only real criticism, surprisingly, is Affleck. Perhaps the time has come to think about spending more time behind the camera rather than in front of it.

    ...incredibly entertaining, lucid crowd pleaser. I'm [annoyed] that people may hear the synopsis and go 'Oh, that's not my thing', because Argo is everyone's thing: it's one of the year's best films.

    Its politics are subtle, its performances are good, and its script is amazing.

    There's "creating an intense, claustrophobic situation in a foreign locale" and there's "inciting unquestioning fear of 'the other'," and Argo pulls off the former far more often than it accidentally achieves the latter.

    An ingeniously conceived thriller that's almost as much about our collective love of cinema as it is a tricky international incident.

    Suspenseful movie based on a true incident; Ben Affleck's stock rises as an actor and director.

    It not only confirms Affleck as one of the few A-listers to have made a credible transition to behind the camera, but that he's one of the most exciting mainstream directors around, full stop.

    Affleck's seamless melding of intense thrills in Tehran and biting humour in California makes for a wholly satisfying movie.

    The use of dramatic licence in the finale is too obvious but aside, Argo is a solid dramatic thriller that is informative, entertaining and gripping.

    The film has heart and brains as well as balls, the screenplay delivering a clear and strong story without sacrificing either political or personal context

    As a real life human drama, it is extraordinary. As a thrilling movie experience, it is unmissable

    More Critic Reviews

    Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/argo_2012/

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    Thursday, October 25, 2012

    Lemon Pluto all set for the Like Ladbrokes On Facebook Puppy 480 ...

    Lemon Pluto all set for the Like Ladbrokes On Facebook Puppy 480

    The six entries for the Grade OR Like Ladbrokes On Facebook Puppy 480 have raced at the identical level at one point of time or another, success or failure out of the attempt is a different matter. The 480 metres flat race will be hosted by Monmore on Thursday, 25th October. The participants are eager for their share in the ?1,000 prize money.

    The most promising entry for the challenge tonight is the year-old black and white dog, Lemon Pluto. The 6 to 4 shot for the race has graced the tracks five times after joining the racing profession in July, 2012.

    He was successful in his career debut over 525 yards in a Grade A7 race.

    After three trial sessions, one at Coventry and the other two at Sheffield, Scolari Me Daddy?s son won the Game Ball Puppy Trophy on 23rd September, 2012 at Coventry over 485 metres.

    He had drawn the fourth trap, and despite the slow pace at the initial stages of the race, the year-old led from the first position, and concluded the track distance in 30.22 seconds.

    Winning by the margin of 1 ? lengths had Kilcuala Hondo setting as the runner-up.

    The last three races of the J. Sharp trained were over 480 metres at Newcastle. He scored second in two out of the three outings, and won the remainder.

    Lemon Pluto qualified as the runner-up in the williamhill.com Northern Puppy Derby ? Heat 2 on 6th October, 2012 at Newcastle over 480 metres.

    He missed the chance to bag the winner?s prize money by the margin of a length, while Killieford Deal, the winner, was through in 28.73 seconds.

    11th October saw the year-old out of, Lady Ecko, winning the williamhill.com Northern Puppy Derby ? 1st Semi-Final. Taking flight from the fifth trap had him racing in the middle and remaining steadfast to the lead, making the transit in 28.66 seconds.

    Tonight he will race in black and white jacket, and the sixth trap will give him the chance draw clear of the rest of the lot, and cover as much ground as possible on the wide end.

    The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent bettor.com?s official editorial policy.

    ?

    Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Lemon-Pluto-all-set-for-the-Like-Ladbrokes-On-Facebook-Puppy-480-a197567

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    Fight Breast Cancer, Win Sixers Tickets: Friday Is The Last Day ...

    Hi everybody! This is just a reminder that Friday, October 26th is the last day to donate in order to be entered to win Sixers tickets. We still need your help to reach our goal of $760. Once we reach that figure (being optimistic), we'll hold a random drawing with the winner receiving free Sixers tickets. Click the button below to donate and help us fight breast cancer.











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    Mars rover begins munching dirt, finds weird bright stuff

    The soil has been successfully delivered to the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, mission scientists announced Oct. 18.

    By Mike Wall,?SPACE.com / October 19, 2012

    This image shows part of the small pit or bite created when NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected its second scoop of Martian soil at a sandy patch called 'Rocknest.' This image was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on Curiosity's arm during the 69th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Oct. 15, 2012).

    NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

    Enlarge

    NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has swallowed its first tiny bite of Martian soil, after standing down for a spell while scientists checked out some strange bright bits in the dirt.

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    The $2.5 billion?Curiosity rover?ingested the minuscule sample ? which contains about as much material as a baby aspirin ? on Wednesday (Oct. 17). The soil has been successfully delivered to the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, mission scientists announced today (Oct. 18).

    "We are crossing a significant threshold for this mission by using CheMin on its first sample," Curiosity lead scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said in a statement.

    "This instrument gives us a more definitive mineral-identifying method than ever before used on Mars: X-ray diffraction," Grotzinger added. "Confidently identifying minerals is important because minerals record the environmental conditions under which they form." [Video: Curiosity's First Scoopful of Mars Dirt]

    Bright stuff on Mars

    The sample that found its way into CheMin came from the third scoop of soil Curiosity dug up at a site dubbed "Rocknest." The first scoop was discarded after being used to scrub out the rover's sampling system, to help ensure that no Earth-originating residues remained.

    Work at Rocknest slowed after Curiosity dug its second scoop on Oct. 12, when researchers noticed?oddly bright flecks?at the bottom of the hole. The team dumped the scoop out, worried that it might contain debris that had flaked off Curiosity.

    They already knew that some tiny rover pieces are littering the Martian ground, after?spotting a bright shred?of what appears to be plastic on Oct. 7. Team members have since identified five or six other such bits, which may have fallen off Curiosity's sky-crane descent stage during landing on Aug. 5.

    "We went super-paranoid," Grotzinger told reporters today. The team determined that "if this stuff is man-made, we better make sure that we're not taking any of it in."

    So Curiosity moved to a slightly different location, and then took lots of pictures to make sure that the surface was pristine before making scoop number three. If any bright flecks are indeed present in the sample, they're naturally occurring, the mission team reasons, since any rover pieces would be restricted to the surface.

    All that being said, Curiosity scientists now believe the bright soil flecks are indeed indigenous to?Mars. They could be minerals that are part of the soil-forming process, Grotzinger said, or reflective surfaces created by the cleaving of ordinary dirt.

    The team aims to fire its mineral-identifying laser, which is part of Curiosity's ChemCam instrument, at some of the pieces in the next few days to get a better idea of what they actually are.

    Mars under the microscope

    Curiosity carries 10 instruments to help it determine whether its?Gale Crater?landing site has ever been capable of supporting microbial life. But CheMin and another instrument on the 1-ton rover's body, known as Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), are the rover's core scientific gear.

    SAM is a chemistry laboratory that can identify organic compounds ? the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it. The instrument has been sniffing the Martian air already, but it has yet to analyze its first soil sample. That should change in a week or so, Grotzinger said, after further cleaning of the rover's sampling system.

    Curiosity continues to be in good health, researchers said. After the six-wheeled robot finishes testing out its scooping and sampling systems at Rocknest, mission scientists will begin searching for a spot to break out the rover's rock-boring drill. The first drill activity will be a complicated affair that could take month or so all up, Grotzinger said.

    Curiosity is currently checking out deposits near a site called "Glenelg," where three interesting types of Martian terrain come together. But its ultimate destination is the base of Mount Sharp, the 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) mountain rising from Gale Crater's center.

    Mount Sharp's foothills show signs of long-ago exposure to liquid water. Curiosity could be ready to start rolling toward the mountain's interesting deposits ? which lie about 6 miles (10 km) away ? in a couple of months.

    "I would hope we'd be on our way by the end of the year," Grotzinger said.

    Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall?or SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also onFacebook?and?Google+.

    Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/C7Wv3Dz8QDQ/Mars-rover-begins-munching-dirt-finds-weird-bright-stuff

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    Ind. GOP Senate candidate stands by rape comment

    INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said Wednesday that he is standing by his statement that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape "that's something God intended." He says some people have twisted the meaning of his comment.

    Mourdock said in a news conference that he abhors any sexual violence and regrets it if his comment during a debate Tuesday night left another impression. He said he firmly believes all life is precious and that he abhors violence of any kind.

    "I spoke from my heart. And speaking from my heart, speaking from the deepest level of my faith, I would not apologize. I would be less than faithful if I said anything other than life is precious, I believe it's a gift from god," Mourdock said

    Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other Republicans have distanced themselves from Mourdock's stance.

    Mourdock, who has been locked in one of the country's most expensive and closely watched Senate races, was asked during the final minutes of a debate Tuesday night whether abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest.

    "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen," Mourdock said.

    Mourdock maintained at the news conference that he was misunderstood.

    "I think that God can see beauty in every life," Mourdock said. "Certainly, I did not intend to suggest that God wants rape, that God pushes people to rape, that God wants to support or condone evil in any way."

    Mourdock became the second GOP Senate candidate to find himself on the defensive over comments about rape and pregnancy. Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin said in August that women's bodies have ways of preventing pregnancy in cases of what he called "legitimate rape." Since his comment, Akin has repeatedly apologized but has refused to leave his race despite calls to do so by leaders of his own party, including GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

    New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte canceled her plan to campaign Wednesday with Mourdock. Ayotte's spokesman, Jeff Grappone, said that the senator disagrees with Mourdock's comments, which do not represent her views.

    More than two dozen Indiana Republicans met for the Mourdock fundraiser Ayotte was supposed to headline Wednesday afternoon. Speaking inside the fundraiser hosted by the Indianapolis Women's Republican Club, state party chairman Eric Holcomb declined comment on Mourdock's refusal to apologize.

    "I think he covered it," Holcomb said. Asked if Ayotte's cancellation would hurt Mourdock's fundraising, Holcomb said "I think we're full steam ahead."

    Mourdock also was scheduled to appear at a Republican fundraiser Wednesday night in the wealthy Indianapolis suburb of Carmel.

    Other Republicans were split on their reaction to Mourdock Wednesday morning.

    Indiana gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence, who has been a leading social conservative in Congress, said Mourdock should apologize for the comment. Spokeswomen for the two Republican women running for Congress in Indiana, Jackie Walorski and Susan Brooks, said they also disagreed with Mourdock's comments.

    But the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has invested heavily in Mourdock and Indiana, said the candidate's words were being twisted.

    "Richard and I, along with millions of Americans - including even Joe Donnelly - believe that life is a gift from God. To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous," NRSC Chairman and Texas Sen. John Cornyn said in a statement.

    It was not immediately clear what effect Mourdock's comments might have during the final two weeks in the increasingly tight race against Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly. But they could prove problematic. Romney distanced himself from Mourdock on Tuesday ? a day after a television ad featuring the former Massachusetts governor supporting the GOP Senate candidate began airing in Indiana.

    "Gov. Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock, and Mr. Mourdock's comments do not reflect Gov. Romney's views. We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul told The Associated Press Wednesday. Romney aides said his ad supporting Mourdock would not be pulled from Indiana's airwaves.

    National Democrats quickly picked up on Mourdock's statement and used it as an opportunity to paint him as an extreme candidate, calling him a tea party "zealot." DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz described Mourdock's comments as "outrageous and demeaning to women" and called on Romney to take his pro-Mourdock ad off the air.

    Mourdock has consistently opposed abortion, with the exception of cases where the mother's life is in danger. His stark anti-abortion stance earned him the endorsement of Indiana Right to Life in the Republican primary and the general election.

    In response, Donnelly said after the debate in southern Indiana that he doesn't believe "my God, or any God, would intend that to happen."

    Mourdock, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress three times before becoming state treasurer, became one of the tea party's biggest winners of the 2012 primary season when he knocked off veteran Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in a brutal campaign. Initially, national Republicans stayed out of the Indiana race because the race had appeared to be a likely win for the GOP.

    But as the race grew tighter in recent months, Mourdock changed his tune and started trying to woo moderate voters. At the same time, top Republicans began stumping for Mourdock around the state in a push to break open the high-stakes Senate race. Republicans need to gain three seats, or four if President Barack Obama wins re-election, and seats that were predicted to remain or turn Republican have grown uncertain.

    Donnelly, a moderate Democrat who opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is in danger, has spent much of his campaign highlighting Mourdock's tea party ties and trying to accuse him of being too extreme even for conservative Indiana.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ind-gop-senate-candidate-stands-rape-160436009--election.html

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    Wednesday, October 24, 2012

    Why I am Skeptical About Risks from AI

    Alexander Kruel

    October 23, 2012

    As we know,
    There are known knowns.
    There are things
    We know we know.
    We also know
    There are known unknowns.
    That is to say
    We know there are some things
    We do not know.
    But there are also unknown unknowns,
    The ones we don?t know
    We don?t know.

    ? Donald Rumsfeld, Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

    INTELLIGENCE, A CORNUCOPIA?

    It seems to me that those who believe into the possibility of catastrophic risks from artificial intelligence act on the unquestioned assumption that intelligence is kind of a?black box, a?cornucopia?that can sprout an abundance of novelty. But this implicitly assumes that if you increase intelligence you also decrease the distance between discoveries.

    Intelligence is no solution in itself, it is merely an effective searchlight for unknown unknowns and who knows that the brightness of the light increases proportionally with the distance between unknown unknowns? To enable an intelligence explosion the light would have to reach out much farther with each increase in intelligence than the increase of the distance between unknown unknowns. I just don?t see that to be a reasonable assumption.

    INTELLIGENCE AMPLIFICATION, IS IT WORTH IT?

    It seems that if you increase intelligence you also increase the computational cost of its further improvement and the distance to the discovery of some unknown unknown that could enable another quantum leap. It seems that you need to apply a lot more energy to get a bit more complexity.

    If any increase in intelligence is vastly outweighed by its computational cost and the expenditure of time needed to discover it then it might not be instrumental for a perfectly rational agent (such as an artificial general intelligence), as?imagined by game theorists, to increase its intelligence as opposed to using its existing intelligence to pursue its terminal goals directly or to invest its given resources to acquire other means of self-improvement, e.g. more efficient sensors.

    What evidence do we have that the payoff of intelligent, goal-oriented experimentation yields?enormous advantages?(enough to enable an?intelligence explosion) over evolutionary discovery relative to its cost?

    We simply don?t know if intelligence is instrumental or quickly hits diminishing returns.

    Can intelligence be effectively applied to itself at all? How do we know that any given level of intelligence is capable of handling its own complexity efficiently? Many humans are not even capable of handling the complexity of the brain of a worm.

    HUMANS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCOVERY

    There is a significant difference between intelligence and evolution if you apply intelligence to the improvement of evolutionary designs:

    • Intelligence is goal-oriented.
    • Intelligence can think ahead.
    • Intelligence can jump fitness gaps.
    • Intelligence can engage in direct experimentation.
    • Intelligence can observe and incorporate solutions of other optimizing agents.

    But when it comes to unknown unknowns, what difference is there between intelligence and evolution? The critical similarity is that both rely on dumb luck when it comes to genuine novelty. And where else but when it comes to the dramatic improvement of intelligence itself does it take the discovery of novel unknown unknowns?

    We have no idea about the nature of discovery and its importance when it comes to what is necessary to reach a level of intelligence above our own, by ourselves. How much of what we know was actually the result of people thinking quantitatively and attending to scope, probability, and marginal impacts? How much of what we know today is the result of dumb luck versus goal-oriented, intelligent problem solving?

    Our ?irrationality? and the patchwork-architecture of the human brain might constitute an actual feature. The noisiness and patchwork architecture of the human brain might play a significant role in the discovery of unknown unknowns because it allows us to become distracted, to leave the path of evidence based exploration.

    A lot of discoveries were made by people who were not explicitly trying tomaximizing expected utility. A lot of progress is due to luck, in the form of the discovery of unknown unknowns.

    A basic argument in support of risks from superhuman intelligence is that we don?t know what it could possible come up with. That is also why it is called it a ?Singularity?. But why does nobody ask how a superhuman intelligence knows what it could possible come up with?

    It is not intelligence in and of itself that allows humans to accomplish great feats. Even people like Einstein, geniuses who were apparently able to come up with great insights on their own, were simply lucky to be born into the right circumstances,?the time was ripe for great discoveries, thanks to previous discoveries of unknown unknowns.

    EVOLUTION VERSUS INTELLIGENCE

    It is argued that the mind-design space must be large if evolution could stumble upon general intelligence and that there are?low-hanging fruits?that are much more efficient at general intelligence than humans are, evolution simply went with the first that came along. It is further argued that?evolution is not limitlessly creative, each step must increase the fitness of its host, and that therefore there are artificial mind designs that can do what no product of natural selection could accomplish.

    I agree with the above, yet given all of the apparent disadvantages of?the blind idiot God, evolution was able to come up with altruism, something that works two levels above the individual and one level above society. So far we haven?t been able to show such ingenuity by incorporating successes that are not evident from an individual or even societal position.

    The example of?altruism?provides evidence that intelligence isn?t many levels above evolution. Therefore the crucial question is,?how?great is the performance advantage? Is it large enough to justify the conclusion that the probability of an intelligence explosion is easily larger than 1%? I don?t think so. To answer this definitively we would have to fathom the significance of the?discovery?(?random mutations?) of unknown unknowns in the dramatic amplification of intelligence versus the?invention?(goal-oriented ?research and development?) of an improvement within known conceptual bounds.

    Another example is?flight. Artificial flight is not even close to the energy efficiency and maneuverability of birds or insects. We didn?t went straight from no artificial flight towards flight that is generally superior to the natural flight that is an effect of biological evolution.

    Dragonfly

    Take for example a?dragonfly.?Even if we were handed the design for a perfect artificial dragonfly, minus the design for the flight of a dragonfly, we wouldn?t be able to build a dragonfly that can take over the world of dragonflies,?all else equal, by means of superior flight characteristics.

    It is true that a Harpy Eagle can?lift more than three-quarters of its body weight?while the?Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter?has a maximum take-off weight of almost double its operating empty weight (I suspect that insects can do better). My whole point is that we never reached artificial flight that is strongly above the level of natural flight. An eagle can after all catch its cargo under various circumstances like the slope of a mountain or from beneath the sea, thanks to its superior maneuverability.

    HUMANS ARE BIASED AND IRRATIONAL

    It is obviously true that our expert systems are better than we are at their narrow range of expertise. But that expert systems are better at certain tasks does not imply that you can effectively and efficiently combine them into a coherent agency.

    The noisiness of the human brain might be one of the important features that allows it to exhibit general intelligence. Yet the same noise might be the reason that each task a human can accomplish is not put into execution with maximal efficiency. An expert system that features a single stand-alone ability is able to reach the unique equilibrium for that ability. Whereas systems that have not fully relaxed to equilibrium feature the necessary characteristics that are required to exhibit general intelligence. In this sense a decrease in efficiency is a side-effect of general intelligence. If you externalize a certain ability into a coherent framework of agency, you decrease its efficiency dramatically. That is the difference between a tool and the ability of the agent that uses the tool.

    In the above sense, our tendency to be biased and act irrationally might partly be a trade off between plasticity, efficiency and the necessity of goal-stability.

    EMBODIED COGNITION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

    Another problem is that general intelligence is largely a result of an interaction between an agent and its environment. It might be in principle possible to arrive at various capabilities by means of induction, but it is only a theoretical possibility given unlimited computational resources. To achieve real world efficiency you need to rely on slow environmental feedback and make decision under uncertainty.

    AIXI?is often quoted as a?proof of concept?that it is possible for a simple algorithm to improve itself to such an extent that it could in principle reach superhuman intelligence. AIXI proves that there is a general theory of intelligence. But there is a minor problem, AIXI is as far from real world human-level general intelligence as an abstract notion of a?Turing machine?with an infinite tape is from a supercomputer with the computational capacity of the human brain. An abstract notion of intelligence doesn?t get you anywhere in terms of real-world general intelligence. Just as you won?t be able to?upload yourself?to a non-biological substrate?because you showed that in some abstract sense?you can simulate every physical process.

    Just imagine you?emulated a grown up human mind?and it wanted to become apick up artist, how would it do that with an Internet connection? It would needsome sort of avatar, at least, and then wait for the environment to provide a lot of feedback.

    Therefore even if we?re talking about the emulation of a grown up mind, it will be really hard to acquire some capabilities. Then how is the emulation of a human toddler going to acquire those skills? Even worse, how is some sort of abstract AGI going to do it that misses all of the hard coded capabilities of a human toddler?

    Can we even attempt to imagine what is wrong about a boxed emulation of a human toddler, that makes it unable to become a master of?social engineering?in a very short time?

    Can we imagine what is missing that would enable one of the existing expert systems to quickly evolve vastly superhuman capabilities in its narrow area of expertise? Why haven?t we seen a learning algorithm teaching itself chess intelligence starting with nothing but the rules?

    In a sense an intelligent agent is similar to a stone rolling down a hill, both are moving towards a sort of equilibrium. The difference is that intelligence is following more complex trajectories as its ability to read and respond to environmental cues is vastly greater than that of a stone. Yet intelligent or not, the environment in which an agent is embedded plays a crucial role. There exist a?fundamental dependency on unintelligent processes. Our environment is structured in such a way that we use information within it as an extension of our minds. The environment enables us to learn and improve our predictions by providing a testbed and a constant stream of data.

    NECESSARY RESOURCES FOR AN INTELLIGENCE EXPLOSION

    If artificial general intelligence is unable to seize the resources necessary to undergo explosive recursive self-improvement then the ability and cognitive flexibility of superhuman intelligence in and of itself, as characteristics alone, would have to be sufficient to self-modify its way up to massive superhuman intelligence within a very short time.

    Without advanced?real-world nanotechnology?it will be considerable more difficult for an AGI to undergo quick self-improvement. It will have to make use of existing infrastructure, e.g. buy stocks of chip manufactures and get them to create more or better CPU?s. It will have to rely on puny humans for a lot of tasks. It won?t be able to create new computational substrate without the whole economy of the world supporting it. It won?t be able to create an army of robot drones overnight without it either.

    Doing so it would have to make use of considerable amounts of social engineering without its creators noticing it. But, more importantly, it will have to make use of its existing intelligence to do all of that. The AGI would have to acquire new resources slowly, as it couldn?t just self-improve to come up with faster and more efficient solutions. In other words, self-improvement would demand resources. The AGI could not profit from its ability to self-improve regarding the necessary acquisition of resources to be able to self-improve in the first place.

    Therefore the absence of advanced nanotechnology constitutes an immense blow to the possibility of explosive recursive self-improvement and?risks from AI?in general.

    One might argue that an AGI will solve nanotechnology on its own and find some way to trick humans into manufacturing a molecular assembler and grant it access to it. But this might be very difficult.

    There is a strong interdependence of resources and manufacturers. The AGI won?t be able to simply trick some humans to build a high-end factory to create computational substrate, let alone a molecular assembler. People will ask questions and shortly after get suspicious. Remember, it won?t be able to coordinate a world-conspiracy, it hasn?t been able to self-improve to that point yet because it is still trying to acquire enough resources, which it has to do the hard way without nanotech.

    Anyhow, you?d probably need a brain the size of the moon to effectively run and coordinate a whole world of irrational humans by intercepting their communications and altering them on the fly without anyone freaking out.

    People associated with the SIAI would at this point claim that if the AI can?t make use of nanotechnology it might make use of something we haven?t even thought about. But what, magic?

    ARTIFICIAL GENERAL INTELLIGENCE, A SINGLE BREAK-THROUGH?

    Another point to consider when talking about risks from AI is how quickly the invention of artificial general intelligence will take place. What evidence do we have that there is some principle that, once discovered, allows us to grow superhuman intelligence overnight?

    If the development of AGI takes place slowly, a gradual and controllable development, we might be able to learn from small-scale mistakes while having to face other risks in the meantime. This might for example be the case if?intelligencecan not be captured by a discrete algorithm, or is modular, and therefore never allow us to reach a point where we can suddenly build the smartest thing ever that does just extend itself indefinitely.

    To me it doesn?t look like that we will come up with artificial general intelligence quickly, but rather that we will have to painstakingly optimize our expert systems step by step over long periods of times.

    PAPERCLIP MAXIMIZERS

    It is claimed that an artificial general intelligence?might wipe us out inadvertentlywhile undergoing explosive recursive self-improvement to more effectively pursue its terminal goals. I think that it is unlikely that most AI designs will not hold.

    I agree with the argument that any AGI that isn?t made to care about humans won?t care about humans. But I also think that the same argument applies for spatio-temporal scope boundaries and resource limits. Even if the AGI is not told to hold, e.g. compute as many digits of Pi as possible, I consider it an far-fetched assumption that any AGI intrinsically cares to take over the universe as fast as possible to compute as many digits of Pi as possible. Sure, if all of that are presuppositions then it will happen, but I don?t see that most of all AGI designs are like that. Most that have the potential for superhuman intelligence, but who are given simple goals, will in my opinion just bob up and down as slowly as possible.

    Complex goals need complex optimization parameters (the design specifications of the subject of the optimization process against which it will measure its success of self-improvement).

    Even the creation of paperclips is a much more complex goal than telling an AI to compute as many digits of Pi as possible.

    For an AGI, that was designed to design paperclips, to pose an existential risk, its creators would have to be capable enough to enable it to take over the universe on its own, yet forget, or fail to, define time, space and energy bounds as part of its optimization parameters. Therefore, given the large amount of restrictions that are inevitably part of any advanced general intelligence, the nonhazardous subset of all possible outcomes might be much larger than that where the AGI works perfectly yet fails to hold before it could wreak havoc.

    FERMI PARADOX

    The?Fermi paradox?does allow for and provide the only conclusions and data we can analyze that amount to?empirical criticism?of concepts like that of a?Paperclip maximizer?and general risks from superhuman AI?s with non-human values without working directly on AGI to test those hypothesis ourselves.

    If you accept the premise that life is?not?unique and special then one other technological civilisation in the observable universe should be sufficient to leave potentially observable traces of technological tinkering.

    Due to the absence of any signs of intelligence out there, especially paper-clippersburning the cosmic commons, we might conclude that unfriendly AI could?not be the most dangerous existential risk?that we should worry about.

    SUMMARY

    In principle we could build antimatter weapons capable of destroying worlds, but in practise it is much harder to accomplish.

    There are many question marks when it comes to the possibility of superhuman intelligence, and many more about the possibility of recursive self-improvement. Most of the arguments in favor of those possibilities?solely derive their appeal from being vague.

    Source: http://hplusmagazine.com/2012/10/23/why-i-am-skeptical-about-risks-from-ai/

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