Humans Ace Computer in Poker Match

But they still can't beat the best humans

(NEWSER) - Online poker’s not just for humans anymore: Robots have entered the game, and they’re winning tens of thousands, the New York Times reports. Such bots have existed for a while—but only recently have they gotten good at the game, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. Top game sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt are fighting back against the bots, cutting some accounts and in some cases returning vast quantities of money to real players. More»

(NEWSER) - With Predator drones bombing villages and robots plugging themselves in, is Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey around the corner? Leading researchers met recently in Monterery Bay, Calif., to address such fears. Runaway superintelligence seems unlikely, they concluded, but speech synthesis technology could aid data-hunting crooks, and autonomous robotic killers are coming—if they're not here already. More»

Is faster thinking always better?

(NEWSER) - Although he’s thrilled with all the time he saves using the Internet for research and awed by the vast intellectual opportunities available to every web surfer, Nicholas Carr is a bit disconcerted that he no longer has the patience for reading books or long articles. With his netizen mind fidgeting and losing the thread after a few pages, Carr wonders in the Atlantic: What is the net doing to our brains? More»

PC 'assistant' could prioritize, even decide

(NEWSER) - Wouldn't it be nice if your computer could figure out what you wanted it to do? That dream just might be approaching reality, thanks to a project called CALO that aims to teach computers to understand users' intentions, according to the MIT Technology Review. "If CALO succeeds, it'll be quite a revolution," says one researcher. More»