Yes, but only in special cases: if a concave reflecting surface focuses the sound energy to the listener’s position. This effect can even be very strong! How do you get rid of echo in church? Here are some ways to … Continue reading →

Cotton fibres have very similar noise absorption properties to rock wool and fibreglass, used to make conventional absorbers. The most effective natural absorbers are, like cotton, the smallest and most compactable fibres, like flax and ramie.Jute, like wool, has large … Continue reading →

How to stop Google tracking you Go to https://myaccount.google.com/ and in the left-hand column, click on Activity Controls. On the next screen, toggle the Web & App Activity button off, and untick Include Chrome history and activity from sites, apps … Continue reading →

Botnets can be used to perform Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, steal data, send spam, and allow the attacker to access the device and its connection. The owner can control the botnet using command and control (C&C) software. The word “botnet” … Continue reading →

In 2015, Sentient launched an AI powered visual intelligence and personalization platform leveraging deep learning and online learning.In 2019, Sentient Technologies was dissolved selling off Sentient Ascend to Evolv and much of its AI intellectual property to Cognizant. Is there … Continue reading →

Sentient machines may never exist, according to a variation on a leading mathematical model of how our brains create consciousness.According to their model, the ability to integrate information is a key property of consciousness. Can an AI be sentient? AI … Continue reading →

According to the Siri user guide, iPhones automatically call the local emergency number no matter what emergency number you say.However, if there isn’t an emergency and you’re just telling Siri “17” — which is the emergency number for a small … Continue reading →

A self-supporting robot is not living, because it is not self-replicating. A robot is non-living until it is self-replicating and self-supporting. A self-replicating program is not living, because it is not self-supporting. Is robot is a living thing or not? … Continue reading →

Any unconscious robot is unable to suffer. A conscious robot without a coherent PSM is unable to suffer. A self-conscious robot without the ability to produce negatively valenced states is unable to suffer. Do robots ever feel pain? A most … Continue reading →

Given that plants do not have pain receptors, nerves, or a brain, they do not feel pain as we members of the animal kingdom understand it. Uprooting a carrot or trimming a hedge is not a form of botanical torture, … Continue reading →

Most biologists say no. Viruses are not made out of cells, they can’t keep themselves in a stable state, they don’t grow, and they can’t make their own energy. Even though they definitely replicate and adapt to their environment, viruses … Continue reading →

Let’s compare viruses to the 7 criteria researchers have set to determine if something is alive. Living things must maintain homeostasis. Living things have different levels of organization. Living things reproduce. Living things grow. Living things use energy. Living things … Continue reading →

Conscious automatism holds that we human beings, like the other animals we generally consider our inferiors, are conscious but respond as automata to our prior conditioning (within our physiological powers and limitations) in all of our apparently “willed” decisions. When … Continue reading →

No, WhatsApp is not available with Alexa at this point. Hopefully WhatsApp will release an Alexa Skill and a Google Action, so that people can check and send messages using their voice using that platform. Can you use Alexa with … Continue reading →

Smart speakers carry the risk of getting hacked, and cybercriminals probably won’t stop trying to find vulnerabilities. But being careful about the type of information you share with your digital voice assistant is one way to help you outsmart them. … Continue reading →