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Get your own HAL-9000 replica with Bluetooth and voice command
Sci-fi fans rejoice: You can now talk to your very own replica of the iconic HAL-9000 computer from Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke's seminal film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Master Replicas Group has already achieved 358 percent funding on this Indiegogo project, which includes two versions of the iconic device.
Pop culture's many takes on artificial intelligence
Over the years, artists, writers, filmmakers and game studios have all tackled the concept of artificial intelligence. Often their vision is of machines that are brutally hostile to humans. Philip K. Dick envisioned androids that murder their owners. The iconic HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey ... also murders his human companions. Of course, there's Skynet, which launches an all-out war on mankind. We could go on like this for a long time. But there are also those, like Spike Jonze, who envision us having a more complex relationship with computer-based personalities; one in which they could even be love interests. And in Star Trek: The Next Generation Data is not only a "good" android, but he's often the hero of the show. We've pulled together 13 of our favorite portrayals of AI over the years and put them in the gallery below. It is by no means comprehensive. So please, let us know what we missed in the comments or tweet at us (@engadget) to let us know your favorite AI character from the film, TV or books using the hashtag #EngadgetAIWeek.
'2001: A Space Odyssey' as 569 GIFs tests fair use limits
If there was a grand prize for "Most Work Done to Prove a Point" (and "Fanciest Name Ever") Jean-Baptiste Henri Franck Cyrille Marie Le Divelec would be a contender. For 2001: A Gif Odyssey, the ad agency creator painstakingly chopped Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey into 569 tiny GIFs to find the breaking point of the so-called fair use doctrine. Fair use, as a reminder, is a legal principal that allows people to use copyrighted material for commentary, criticism, news reporting, scholarship or research. At the same time, it also serves as an "affirmative defense" to protect artists.
Marvin Minsky, A.I. pioneer, dies of brain hemorrhage at 88
The world lost one of its brightest minds to a brain hemorrhage recently; Marvin Minsky was 88 when he passed on Sunday night. A World War II veteran, his life's work was essentially creating and advancing the field of artificial intelligence. The New York Times has eulogized the Turing Award winner, writing that when Minsky was choosing his career path he "ruled out genetics as interesting but not profound, and physics as mildly entertaining, he chose to focus on intelligence itself."
Adafruit explains how to build your very own HAL 9000 for less than $100
It may be 2013, but 2001 will forever hold a special place in our hearts, in no small part due to the that lovable, red-eyed supercomputer known as HAL 9000. ThinkGeek has given us a couple ways to purchase HAL for our homes, but for folks who'd rather build their own, Adafruit's got you covered. User Phillip Burgess has posted the full instructions on how to craft one, provided you've got access to a laser cutter and the requisite soldering, spray painting and sanding chops to complete the task. Adafruit's version will have you making HAL out of an oversized arcade button and a sheet of acrylic -- and if you want your HAL to talk (and really, why wouldn't you), you'll need to build a voice box from an Arduino Uno board and an Adafruit Wave Shield. Total cost: just shy of $100. Check out the video of it in action after the break, and head on down to the source link for the full how-to. Oh, and feel free to whistle Sprach Zarathustra while you work.
Samsung cites '2001: A Space Odyssey' in Apple case
We always appreciate a good 2001 reference, but we can't say we expected to see one crop up in Samsung's ongoing legal dispute with Apple. As noted by FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller though, that's just what Samsung has done in an opposition brief filed last night, which cites the tablet-like devices pictured above as an example of prior art for Apple's iPad-related design patent. Of course, that's just one small part of Samsung's overall defense, but it is certainly one of the most interesting we've seen so far. Head on past the break for the film clip in question.
Movie Gadget Friday: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Ariel Waldman contributes Movie Gadget Friday, where she highlights the lovable and lame gadgets from the world of cinema.In honor of the loss of one of our greatest sci-fi heroes, Movie Gadget Friday is paying homage to the inimitable Arthur C. Clarke with a two-part series that explores the future of 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. This week we'll be diving into the luxurious exploration of deep space. Everyone knows HAL, but 2001 also takes an extraordinary amount of time to study the intricate details of each spacecraft -- as such, this week we'll focus on the Orion III and Space Station V. Space Station VServing as a meeting point between Earth and the Moon, Space Station V is a space structure of massive proportions. From the inside looking out, the view might be slightly disorienting, as the station constantly rotates, its rings providing a grounding effect, allowing travelers to enjoy the extravagance of Earth's gravity in space. Upon arriving at Space Station V, visitors are greeted with a standard reception area where they are asked to move through to documentation, which involves a wall-embedded voice print identification system for each visitor. The interior design of each room stays true to its circular exoskeleton, while the furnishings appear to hold closer ties to the 1960s than the early oughts -- just the way we like it. More after the break.
