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Should you study VR at university?

Aug23
by on August 23, 2018 at 6:11 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Contributors


Recently, Google, Apple and IBM became the latest companies to join a trend of no longer requiring a university degree from prospective candidates. This is pretty huge. After all we’re talking companies that receive thousands of CVs every day, and they can afford to be very picky. So it’s not a matter of cutting corners in order to fill vacancies, but a recognition that the way in which we’re acquiring, maintaining and developing our skills has dramatically changed. Having invested many years of my life in both undergraduate and graduate education, I find myself conflicted about it. I would not…

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Researchers gave AI curiosity and it played video games all day

Aug23
by on August 23, 2018 at 5:55 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, artificial intelligence, distract, gaming


If you teach a robot to fish, it’ll probably catch fish. However, if you teach it to be curious, it’ll just watch TV and play video games all day. Researchers from Open AI — the singularity-focused think-tank co-founded by Elon Musk — recently published a research paper detailing a large-scale study on curiosity-driven learning. In it, they show how AI models trained without “extrinsic rewards” can develop and learn skills. Basically, they’ve figured out how to get AI to do stuff without explicitly telling it what its goals are. According to the team’s white paper: This is not as strange as…

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Study shows teens can police their own smartphone use

Aug23
by on August 23, 2018 at 5:18 pm
Posted In: Around the Web


A new Pew study published this week suggests teenagers are more aware of the drawbacks of smartphones than you might think — and quite a few of them are actively taking steps to police their own usage. If you’re the parent of a teenager, you’re the parent of someone who’s had smartphones and internet-connected devices available for probably their entire conscious lives. It seems like my generation and the one after it are perpetually focused on the bright allure of their pocket screens, to the detriment of in-person experiences and social skills. A previous Pew study from earlier this year said…

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Logitech’s MX Vertical is the ergonomic mouse I didn’t know I wanted

Aug23
by on August 23, 2018 at 5:11 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Plugged


Logitech announced the MX Vertical earlier this week, a mouse designed to improve ergonomics and reduce strain. Though I’m lucky to never have been afflicted by any computer-related discomfort, I was surprised by how much I like the vertical grip. Granted, the MX Vertical is far from the first vertical mouse out there – a company called Evoluent has been selling them since 2002, and there are plenty others – it’s the first product I’m aware of from a major accessory maker. With the disclaimer I’ve only used it for the past couple of days, it was love at first…

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Jesus Christ… is what the first feature-length VR film is about

Aug23
by on August 23, 2018 at 4:08 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, augmented reality, distract, virtual reality


Vive Studios today announced it will debut the world’s first feature-length virtual reality film at Raindance. Called 7 Miracles, the film will bring the Gospel of John to life in glorious 360-degree VR. And yea, it was good – for it has been nominated for the festival’s Grand Jury Prize for Best Immersive Story. The film is a seven part (presumably one per miracle) VR experience that allows VR users to immerse themselves within it. You’ll be able to walk around and see the characters and world from any angle you choose. Joel Breton, GM of Vive Studios, said: We…

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