May the Force Be With You
Your Questions Answered on Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence and robotics have enjoyed a resurgence of interest, and there is renewed optimism about their place in our future. But what do they mean for us?
This Questions and Answers section on The Conversation makes for some thought provoking reading. Check it out.
Searching for the Algorithms Underlying Life
The biological world is computational at its core, argues computer scientist Leslie Valiant. His “ecorithm” approach uses computational concepts to explore fundamental mysteries of evolution and the mind. [Read more at Quanta]

Why should kids learn to code?
Coding isn’t just for computer whizzes, says Mitch Resnick of MIT Media Lab — it’s for everyone. In a fun, demo-filled talk Resnick outlines the benefits of teaching kids to code, so they can do more than just “read” new technologies — but also create them.
This Video is Worth Your Minute and a Half
Do you want to go to University? Why?
Deng Adut had a pretty clear purpose. How about you?
Traditional Animation with Stephen Anderson
The Traditional Animation Show interviewed Disney Director Stephen Anderson and found out how he got his start in animation, from college all the way up to directing Winnie the Pooh for Walt Disney Feature Animation. Be sure to watch until the end for a professional storyboarding lesson by Stephen himself.
The Traditional Animation Show with Stephen Anderson from Traditional Animation on Vimeo.
University of Auckland: Technology Needs to be at Top Table
What do you think this article means?
How does it relate to what you’re doing now at NCEA levels 1-3?
How does it relate to junior classes?

New Zealand companies have a chance to better what firms around the globe are struggling with – promoting technology leaders like CIOs into strategic roles.
University of Auckland Adjunct Associate Professor Daniel Vidal says companies around the world risk becoming “digital casualties” if they do not employ their best IT brains – like chief information officers – at a strategic level, helping to shape their company’s direction instead of just providing IT infrastructure and service.
The CIO should be seen as a designer or a strategiser, feeding technology into the overall strategy and creating “true business transformation”, he says.
“Look how Domino’s Pizza has woven digital through its business model, and Netflix and Spotify have transformed the model of how people engage with music, film and television. That’s where CIOs can play a big role.”
Read more at the New Zealand Herald.
Marvin Minsky, Pioneer in Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88

Marvin Minsky, who combined a scientist’s thirst for knowledge with a philosopher’s quest for truth as a pioneering explorer of artificial intelligence, work that helped inspire the creation of the personal computer and the Internet, died on Sunday night in Boston. He was 88.
Well before the advent of the microprocessor and the supercomputer, Professor Minsky, a revered computer science educator at M.I.T., laid the foundation for the field of artificial intelligence by demonstrating the possibilities of imparting common-sense reasoning to computers.
Read more at the New York Times.
More CGI Awesomeness!
How do you think this was achieved digitally?