Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog
A conglomeration of dark matters: scientific, economic, religious and fictional. Brought to you by the fine folk at County Durham College of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fine Art.
Perhaps you've heard of sheep dog trials. You may have seen them on television. You might have watched in rapt wonder as border collies raced about the glorious countryside, herding sheep into little pens. You might then have turned an eye on your own tiny terrier/chihuahua/shih-tzpoo, lounging on the end of the sofa and chewing … Continue reading Announcing 1st Annual Spider Dog Trials
You may have read stories in National Geographic or the Guardian about the "cocaine hippos" imported into Columbia in the 1980s by the drug lord-cum-psycopath Pablo Escobar. Perhaps you've heard how several of the hippos escaped from Escobar's private zoo into the local rivers, where they quickly made a happy home. And though this might … Continue reading Cocaine Hippos and Tigers in Kilts
Thomas Friedman's "Curiosity Quotient" inequality, courtesy Noles1984 CC BY-SA 3.0 This past week, I had the rare opportunity to interview Millicent Robinson, Professor of Aritificial Curiosity at the County Durham College of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fine Art and one of the designers of GEBx project. What follows is an excerpt from that interview: CTR: … Continue reading From Artificial Intelligence to Artificial Curiosity: an Interview with Prof. Millicent Robinson
Today I've got a short story written by a very special guest author. This particular author requires a bit of an introduction, which I will leave to Prof. Karlton Friedarx, Head of Aesthetonomics at the County Durham College of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fine Arts. Prof. Friedarx is also director of the GEBen project at … Continue reading Hell is Other People’s Pets
Paintings of Aurochs on a cave wall near Lascaux, France. Photo courtesy of Prof saxx If you are worried about AI taking over the world, you can relax. If the most recent piece of work from GEBen is a reliable indicator of how AI is developing, it will be a long time before we live … Continue reading “A is for Aurochs”. And “Absurd”. An AI-Generated Primer about Cows.
In a stunning victory for the new field of aesthetonomics, scientists have found evidence that fundamental aspects of physics are affected by human notions of beauty. Researchers at the County Durham College of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fine Arts used quantum entanglement to link radiocative isotopes to people who like wildflowers. Scientists kept a close … Continue reading Scientists Discover the Aesthetic Laws of the Universe
Image by Martin Thoma CC BY-SA 1.0 Researchers at my favourite institute of higher learning, County Durham College of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fine Arts, have discovered that their resident artificial intelligence, GEBen, is keeping pets. Okay, “pets” is my word for it, not theirs. But you can decide for yourself if I’m right. Programmers … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence Discovered Keeping Artificial Pets
Image by robjewitt, Creative Commons In an effort to weaken the political and economic power of giant, international tech firms, the East African Federation has banned the sale and hoarding of the personal data of its citizens. The new law requires that the personal data of EAF citizens held by any company or organization must … Continue reading East African Federation bans the sale of personal data. But you might not like their alternative.
Did this picture make you yawn? Or is it the other way around? Photo by Manokaran M CC BY-SA 4.0 As many of you know, my friends at the County Durham College of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fine Arts have been furiously fiddling away with a time capsule from the future. One side benefit of … Continue reading Yawning, Dogs and Time Travel
Photo by Mat Fascione CC BY-SA 2.0 Friends at County Durham College of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fine Arts have tipped me off to another incredible breakthrough. An AI developed at CDCAAHFA has become the first non-human being (with the possible exception of Richard Dawkins) to have a scientific paper published in a peer-reviewed journal. … Continue reading The Migratory Behaviour of Joggers
Christopher Randall 