Renowned Team of Testers Chooses Bellwether Farms Two Years in a Row

PETALUMA, Calif., July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bellwether Farms,a family-owned creamery based in Sonoma County, is honored to announce that its A2 Organic Cow Yogurt has won a spot in theGood Housekeeping 2022 Healthy Snack Awardsin the Unique Yogurts category.

Bellwether Farms' A2 Organic Whole Milk Yogurtis made with milk from healthy, grass-fed Jersey cows the creamiest, most delicious cow milk available. These cows naturally produce milk containing only A2 protein, which is easier for many people to digest. The A2 organic, full-fat yogurt has a sweet-tart taste and lush, creamy texture. In using the highest quality milk from Jersey cows, the yogurt is richer and creamier, without straining, adding thickeners, or cream.

"Good Housekeeping is extremely reputable in the healthy-eating realm, so to be recognized as a winner two years in a row is a huge honor," says Liam Callahan, owner of Bellwether Farms. "Our emphasis has always been on creating the highest quality products with a unique, delicious taste, and it shows in our A2 Organic Cow Yogurt. Not only does our yogurt boast amazing flavor, it also stands out because of its nutritional and dietary benefits from the A2 protein. Making it on this esteemed list of snacks will certainly encourage people to add this to their shopping cart on their next trip to the grocery store."

Bellwether Farms A2 Organic Cow Yogurt is available in grocery stores nationwide and on Instacart. For more information, please visit BellwetherFarms.com.

About Bellwether Farms

Founded in 1986 in Sonoma County, family-owned and operated Bellwether Farms lovingly crafts dairy products using whole, full-fat sheep's milk and cow's milk. With a fervent commitment to traditional, artisanal techniques, Bellwether Farms' small-batch cheeses and yogurtsare found in grocery stores nationwide and have won dozens of awards. One percent of Bellwether Farms' sales go to organizations providing hunger relief or food-related education. VisitBellwetherFarms.comto learn more and follow onInstagram,FacebookandTwitter. #WholeIsBetter

Press Contact:Katie CycanCrier Communications310-274-1072 x 207[emailprotected]

SOURCE Bellwether Farms

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Bellwether Farms' A2 Organic Cow Yogurt Selected as Winner in Good Housekeeping's 2022 Healthy Snack Awards - PR Newswire

United State- Report Ocean (150+ countrys markets analyzed, function on 1,00000+ published and forthcoming reports every year.]presents a research report and top winning strategies for theOrganic Pesticides Market. Best subject matter experts, researchers, and market research professionals organized this report in order to ensure that the information in it is compiled from the most authentic sources and that the forecast is of the highest accuracy. To forecast market growth, specialists employ a variety ofmethodologies and analytical approaches, including S.W.O.T. (analysis methods), P.E.S.T.E.L. analysis, and regression analysis. TheOrganic Pesticidesstudy also looks at the various regulations and policies that the firm has implemented. This report discusses the industry in terms of research technology and precise prospective utilization, innovation, and future advancements in theOrganic Pesticides Market.

United State- Report Ocean (150+ countrys markets analyzed, function on 1,00000+ published and forthcoming reports every year.] presents a research report and top winning strategies for the Organic Pesticides Market. Best subject matter experts, researchers, and market research professionals organized this report in order to ensure that the information in it is compiled from the most authentic sources and that the forecast is of the highest accuracy. To forecast market growth, specialists employ a variety of methodologies and analytical approaches, including S.W.O.T. (analysis methods), P.E.S.T.E.L. analysis, and regression analysis. The Organic Pesticides study also looks at the various regulations and policies that the firm has implemented. This report discusses the industry in terms of research technology and precise prospective utilization, innovation, and future advancements in the Organic Pesticides Market.

The global Organic Pesticides market size was US$ 166.1 billion in 2021. The global organic pesticides market is forecast to grow to US$ 598.1 billion by 2030 by registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2030.

Request To Download Sample of This Strategic Report :-https://reportocean.com/industry-verticals/sample-request?report_id=Pol956

Factors Influencing the MarketThe global agriculture sector is witnessing increasing government support in order to cater to the food demands of the growing population. As a result, it will primarily fuel the growth of the global organic pesticides market during the forecast period.

Rising awareness related to the adverse impact of synthetic pesticides on health is expected to surge the demand for organic pesticides in the coming years. Furthermore, growing research and development activities related to organic pesticides will also contribute to the market growth during the study period.Upsurging demand for organic food products will drive the demand for organic pesticides. On the contrary, the high cost associated with the production of organic pesticides may limit the growth of the overall market during the forecast period.

Growing investments and strategies by industry players will benefit the global organic pesticides market during the forecast period. For instance, Orkin acquired Organic Pest Management Inc. in 2019, intending to expand its product portfolio. Moreover, this strategy will also strengthen the presence of Orkin in the organic pesticide business. Thus, such strategies will escalate the growth of the organic pesticides market throughout the analysis period.

COVID-19 Impact AnalysisThe manufacturing of organic pesticides became challenging due to the work of the pandemic. Governments of various countries imposed strict regulations as a result of this global health emergency. As a result, manufacturing companies experienced a shortage of raw materials and labour. Thus, it declined the growth of the organic pesticides market. However, agriculture activities such as urban farming increased drastically. In addition, a sudden consciousness toward health increased the demand for organic pesticides.

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Regional AnalysisNorth America is forecast to hold the highest share in the global organic pesticides market. It is majorly due to the stringent regulations restricting the use of synthetic pesticides. Furthermore, increasing demand for organic products and sustainable agriculture practices will contribute to the growth of the global organic pesticides market during the study period. The market for organic pesticides will also experience various growth opportunities due to the emergence of modern techniques driving the high adoption of organic pesticides in the region.

Competitors in the Market Mark Organics Andermatt Biocontrol AG Parry America, Inc. Certis U.S.A. L.L.C. Future Bioscience S.A. Nufarm Bayer AG BASF SE Sikko Industries Ltd Vision Mark Biotech UPL LIMITED Other Prominent Players

Market SegmentationThe global organic pesticides market segmentation focuses on Type, Crop, Mode of Application, and Region.By Type Natural SyntheticBy Crop Type Permanent ArableBy Mode of Application Seed Treatment On-Farm After Harvest

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By Regional Outlook North Americao The U.S.o Canadao Mexico EuropeWestern Europeo The UKo Germanyo Franceo Italyo Spaino Rest of Western EuropeEastern Europeo Polando Russiao Rest of Eastern Europe Asia Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japano Australia & New Zealando ASEANo Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa (MEA)o UAEo Saudi Arabiao South Africao Rest of MEA South Americao Brazilo Argentinao Rest of South America

What are the key findings of the report?

This report provides comprehensive information on factors expected to influence the market growth and market share in the future.

The report offers the current state of the market and future prospects for various geographical regions.

This report provides both qualitative and quantitative information about the competitive landscape of the market.

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Organic Pesticides Market to Witness Heightened Revenue Growth During the Forecast Period 2022-2030 - Taiwan News

Modular hydroponic farms are now available through special partnership agreements and are designed to be located anywhere - eliminating fuel costs while boosting food production.

CORONA, Calif., May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Container Technologies, Inc (Ticker: ACTX), announced that its innovative modular hydroponic farms can help farmers lower costs and boost production during these trying times.

According to Fox News, "rising fuel prices are hitting some farmers hard." Additionally, there are unprecedented issues with the supply chain, the pandemic, and now the war in Ukraine, which together have made this a very difficult time to be a farmer - or anyone involved with food production.

ACTX has a way to help. The company's innovative Modular Hydroponic Farms can be located virtually anywhere and provide a smart way to grow organic fruits and vegetables without pesticides, herbicides, or risk of contamination. Additionally, the farms require no fuel for tractors or other heavy equipment, and produce more crops with less water per acre than traditional farming.

We Grow 4U

The company also announced a new partnership program that allows farmers, businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs the ability to own the production, but have the actual growing done by ACTX.

"Even though our systems are automated and easy to operate, many people simply don't want to get their hands dirty (which actually doesn't happen with a hydroponic system) and find it easier to let us do all the work," said Doug Heldoorn, CEO of Advanced Container Technologies. "Through these partnerships, we do the growing and you own the crop."

Financing is also available, with an astonishingly rapid ROI.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, access to affordable, healthy food is a significant problem impacting 40 million Americans. Large numbers of people live in food deserts, "which contributes to higher diabetes and heart disease rates, increased poverty and lower educational outcomes."

Modular Hydroponic Farms can help solve this problem by giving community groups the ability to grow organic food locally, where it is most needed.

"Food must be protected and prioritized as a human right," Heldoorn said. "Governments, the private sector, entrepreneurs, schools, community groups, farmers, foundations and even grocery stores should be prioritizing the deployment of portable farming systems to drive the shift toward a more sustainable, resilient global food system."

The Modular Farm can be set up in a matter of days, and is much less labor-intensive than traditional farming. Automation software controls the environment, nutrition and hydration levels; and enables farmers to remotely monitor the conditions.

For more information on Advanced Container Technologies, or Modular Hydroponic Farms, to find out more about the Grow4U partnerships, call: (951) 381-2555 or visit: http://www.advancedcontainertechnologies.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-Looking Statements about ACTX' beliefs and expectations, involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "may," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," or other similar expressions. All information is as of the date of this press release, and ACTX undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/actx-provides-new-solutions-to-farmers-and-disrupts-the-supply-chain-to-bring-healthy-food-to-where-its-needed-301547674.html

SOURCE Advanced Container Technologies, Inc.

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ACTX Provides New Solutions to Farmers and Disrupts the Supply Chain to Bring Healthy Food to Where its Needed - GuruFocus.com

The cost of everything from fuel to food seems to be rising around the world. So, growing our own food is a good way to save money.

However, the cost of gardening materials has also been rising.

Plant expert Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for the Associated Press. In her latest story, she writes about saving money on fertilizer. She suggests that home gardeners make their own.

All plants require nutrients. Necessary nutrients exist naturally in most soils. But over time, they get used up. So, nutrients need to be added to the soil from time to time for plants to produce fruits and vegetables for our meals.

This is where fertilizers come in.

Most fertilizers contain three primary nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. (This is often represented by the N-P-K ratio on fertilizer containers.) Damiano explains how the three work. Nitrogen helps the plant turn its energy into green, leafy growth. Phosphorus helps the development of roots, fruits, and flowers. And potassium helps the plants overall health.

Many fertilizers also have secondary nutrients, like calcium and magnesium. They sometimes have micronutrients such as iron, copper, boron, manganese, and zinc.

All these nutrients are necessary for creating the best growing conditions for a plant.

Here is some good news: There are many ways that home gardeners can save money while providing their plants with high-quality nutrients.

Cut grass

Consider cut grass. If you leave cut grass on the lawn, you may not need fertilizer.

As grass breaks down, it releases nitrogen into the soil. This will help grass to continue to grow. However, Damiano gives this warning: Do not use fresh cut grass in garden beds. It will burn your plants.

Compost is best for soil

Compost, she says, is the best thing you can add to soil.

Compost helps to control how much water stays in the soil. It keeps dry soil wet. It can help thick dirt, or clay, drain water. Compost also adds nutrients to the soil.

Damiano advises to use a lot of compost in plant beds or planting holes. She suggests using compost in place of mulch. (Mulch is placed on top of the soil.)

To make your own compost, simply collect fruit and vegetable scraps. Do not add meat, dairy, or fats. You can keep the food scraps in a bowl in your kitchen. Whenever it fills up, bury the material directly in the garden soil. As the scraps break down, they add nutrients.

Just be sure to bury them at least 25 to 30 centimeters deep. This will keep hungry wildlife from digging them up. And bury the scraps several centimeters from the plants. This will avoid damaging roots.

Fish fertilizer

Many gardeners treat their plants with fish fertilizer. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and sodium, among other nutrients. And it could be costly. So, Damiano suggests burying fish parts deep in the garden soil -- again 25 to 30 centimeters deep.

You can also make your own fish fertilizer by putting fish scraps in a closed container of water -- about 19 liters. Leave it for about a month. Then drain the liquid and use it to water plants. However, do not use processed fish that has added salt. Too much salt can damage the soil and your plants.

Use leftover materials from around your house

Are you someone who fishes? If so, you can use scraps from the fish you catch. If not, your local fish seller, called a fishmonger, might give away or sell at low cost scraps and heads.

Are you a fish owner? Plants can also be helped from used fish-tank water. This water is rich in nitrogen and other nutrients.

Do you cook vegetables in water? If so, save it! The water is filled with vitamins and minerals that could help your garden.

And water from boiled eggs is full of calcium. This is especially useful for tomatoes and peppers. Just make sure to let the water cool to room temperature before using on your plants.

You can even use eggshells instead of buying garden lime. Both are made of calcium carbonate. Dry out the egg shells thoroughly. Then break them up into tiny pieces. Add the small pieces to your gardens soil. The same can be done with banana peels. They are full of potassium and good for plants.

Im Anna Matteo.

Jessica Damiano reported this story for The Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English.

_______________________________________________________________________

garden n. a piece of ground in which fruits, flowers, or vegetables are grown

primary adj. first in order of time or development

ratio n. the relationship in number or quantity between two or more things

lawn n. ground (as around a house or in a garden or park) that is covered with grass and is cut regularly

compost n. a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter and is used for fertilizing and conditioning land

mulch n. a material (as straw or bark) spread over the ground especially to protect the roots of plants from heat or cold, to keep soil moist, and to control weeds

scrap n. a piece of something that is usually thrown away

drain v. to remove liquid from something

More here:

Dont Buy Fertilizer! It Is All Around You. - VOA Learning English

(Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will (Discovery Institute Press, 2022) by Robert J. Marks is available here.) What follows is an excerpt from Chapter 2.

Selmer Bringsjord, and his colleagues have proposed the Lovelace test as a substitute for the flawed Turing test. The test is named after Ada Lovelace.

Bringsjord defined software creativity as passing the Lovelace test if the program does something that cannot be explained by the programmer or an expert in computer code.2 Computer programs can generate unexpected and surprising results.3 Results from computer programs are often unanticipated. But the question is, does the computer create a result that the programmer, looking back, cannot explain?

When it comes to assessing creativity (and therefore consciousness and humanness), the Lovelace test is a much better test than the Turing test. If AI truly produces something surprising which cannot be explained by the programmers, then the Lovelace test will have been passed and we might in fact be looking at creativity. So far, however, no AI has passed the Lovelace test.4 There have been many cases where a machine looked as if it were creative, but on closer inspection, the appearance of creative content fades.

Here are a couple of examples.

A computer program namedAlphaGo was taught to play GO, the most difficult of all popular board games. AlphaGo was an impressively monumental contribution to machine intelligence. AI already had mastered tic-tac-toe, then the more complicated game of checkers, and then the still more complicated game of chess. Conquest of GO remained an unmet goal of AI until it was finally achieved by AlphaGo.

In a match against (human) world championLee Sedol in 2016, AlphaGo made a surprising move. Those who understood the game described the move as ingenious and unlike anything a human would ever do.

Were we seeing the human attribute of creativity in AlphaGo beyond the intent of the programmers? Does this act pass the Lovelace test?

The programmers of AlphaGo claim that they did not anticipate the unconventional move. This is probably true. But AlphaGo is trained to play GO by the programmers. GO is a board game with fixed rules in a static never-changing arena. And thats what the AI did, and did well. It applied programmed rules within a narrow, rule-bound game. AlphaGo was trained to play GO and thats what it did.

So, no. The Lovelace test was not passed. If the AlphaGo AI were to perform a task not programmed, like beating all comers at the simple game of Parcheesi, the Lovelace test would be passed. But as it stands, Alpha GO is not creative. It can only perform the task it was trained for, namely playing GO. If asked, AlphaGo is unable to even explain the rules of GO.

This said, AI can appear smart when it generates a surprising result. But surprise does not equate to creativity. When a computer program is asked to search through a billion designs to find the best, the result can be a surprise. But that isnt creativity. The computer program has done exactly what it was programmed to do.

Heres another example from my personal experience. The Office of Naval Research contracted Ben Thompson, of Penn States Applied Research Lab, and me and asked us to evolve swarm behavior. As we saw in Chapter 1, simple swarm rules can result in unexpected swarm behavior like stacking Skittles. Given simple rules, finding the corresponding emergent behavior is easy. Just run a simulation. But the inverse design problem is a more difficult one. If you want a swarm to perform some task, what simple rules should the swarm bugs follow? To solve this problem, we applied an evolutionary computing AI. This process ended up looking at thousands of possible rules to find the set that gave the closest solution to the desired performance.

One problem we looked at involved a predatorprey swarm. All action took place in a closed square virtual room. Predators, called bullies, ran around chasing prey called dweebs. Bullies captured dweebs and killed them. We wondered what performance would be if the goal was maximizing the survival time of the dweeb swarm. The swarms survival time was measured up to when the last dweeb was killed.

After running the evolutionary search, we were surprised by the result: The dweebs submitted themselves to self-sacrifice in order to maximize the overall life of the swarm.

Robert J. Marks

This is what we saw: A single dweeb captured the attention of all the bullies, who chased the dweeb in circles around the room. Around and around they went, adding seconds to the overall life of the swarm. During the chase, all the other dweebs huddled in the corner of the room, shaking with what appeared to be fear. Eventually, the pursuing bullies killed the sacrificial dweeb, and pandemonium broke out as the surviving dweebs scattered in fear. Eventually another sacrificial dweeb was identified, and the process repeated. The new sacrificial dweeb kept the bullies running around in circles while the remaining dweebs cowered in a corner.

The sacrificial dweeb result was unexpected, a complete surprise.There was nothing written in the evolutionary computer code explicitly calling for these sacrificial dweebs. Is this an example of AI doing something we had not programmed it to do? Did it pass the Lovelace test?

Absolutely not.

We had programmed the computer to sort through millions of strategies that would maximize the life of the dweeb swarm, and thats what the computer did. It evaluated options and chose the best one. The result was a surprise, but does not pass the Lovelace test for creativity. The program did exactly what it was written to do. And the seemingly frightened dweebs were not, in reality, shaking with fear; humans tend to project human emotions onto non-sentient things. They were rapidly adjusting to stay as far away as possible from the closest bully. They were programmed to do this.

If the sacrificial dweeb action and the unexpected GO move against Lee Sedol do not pass the Lovelace test, what would? The answer is, anything outside of what code was programmed to do.

Heres an example from the predatorprey swarm example. The Lovelace test would be passed if some dweebs became aggressive and started attacking and killing lone bullies a potential action we did not program into the suite of possible strategies. But that didnt happen and, because the ability of a dweeb to kill a bully is not written into the code, it will never happen.

Likewise, without additional programming, AlphaGo will never engage opponent Lee Sedol in trash talk or psychoanalyze Sedol to get a game edge. Either of those things would be sufficiently creative to pass the Lovelace test. But remember: the AlphaGo software as written could not even provide an explanation of its own programmed behavior, the game of GO.

You may also wish to read the earlier excerpts published here:

Why you are not and cannot be computable. A computer science prof explains in a new book that computer intelligence does not hold a candle to human intelligence. In this excerpt from his forthcoming book, Non-Computable You, Robert J. Marks shows why most human experience is not even computable.

The Software of the Gaps: An excerpt from Non-Computable You. In his just-published book, Robert J. Marks takes on claims that consciousness is emerging from AI and that we can upload our brains. He reminds us of the tale of the boy who dug through a pile of manure because he was sure that underneath all that poop, there MUST surely be a pony!

and

Marks: Artificial intelligence is no more creative than a pencil.You can use a pencil but the creativity comes from you. With AI, clever programmers can conceal that fact for a while. In this short excerpt from his new book, Non-Computable You, Robert J. Marks discusses the tricks that make you think chatbots are people.

Notes

1 Selmer Bringsjord, Paul Bello, and David Ferrucci, Creativity, the Turing Test, and the (Better) Lovelace Test, in The Turing Test: The Elusive Standard of Artificial Intelligence, ed. James H. Moor (Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003), 215239.

2 David Klinghoffer, Robert Marks on the Lovelace Test, Evolution News and Science Today, Discovery Institute, January 24, 2018.

3 Bringsjord, Bello, and Ferrucci, Creativity. The Lovelace test (LT) is more formally stated by Bringsjord and his colleagues. Here is their definition: Artificial agent A, designed by H, passes LT if and only if (1) A outputs o; (2) As outputting o is not the result of a fluke hardware error, but rather the result of processes A can repeat; (3) H (or someone who knows what H knows, and has Hs resources) cannot explain how A produced o. Notice that this differs from Turings surprises which, as he admitted, occurred because he as programmer erred or else forgot what he had done.

4 Selmer Bringsjord, The Turing Test is Dead. Long Live the Lovelace Test, interview by Robert J. Marks in Mind Matters News, podcast, 27:25, April 2, 2020, https://mindmatters.ai/podcast/ep76/.

See the rest here:

Machines with Minds? The Lovelace Test vs. the Turing Test - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence

Photo credit: Micha L. Rieser, via Wikimedia Commons.

Editors note: We are delighted to present an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the new bookNon-Computable You: What You Do that Artificial Intelligence Never Will, by computer engineer Robert J. Marks, director of Discovery Institutes Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.

Selmer Bringsjord and his colleagues have proposed theLovelace testas a substitute for the flawed Turing test. The test is named after Lady Ada Lovelace (1815-1852).

Bringsjord defined software creativity as passing the Lovelace test if the program does somethingthat cannot be explained by the programmeror an expert in computer code. Computer programs can generate unexpected and surprising results. Results from computer programs are often unanticipated. But the question is, does the computer create a result that the programmer, looking back, cannot explain?

When it comes to assessing creativity (and therefore consciousness and humanness), the Lovelace test is a much better test than the Turing test. If AI truly produces something surprising which cannot be explained by the programmers, then the Lovelace test will have been passed and we might in fact be looking at creativity. So far, however, no AI has passed the Lovelace test. There have been many cases where a machine looks as if it were creative, but on closer inspection, the appearance of creative content fades.

Here are a couple of examples.

A computer program named AlphaGo was taught to play GO, the most difficult of all popular board games. AlphaGo was an impressively monumental contribution to machine intelligence. AI already had mastered tic-tac-toe, then the more complicated game of checkers, and then the still more complicated game of chess. Conquest of GO remained an unmet goal of AI until it was finally achieved by AlphaGo.

In a match against (human) world champion Lee Sedol in 2016, AlphaGo made a surprising move. Those who understood the game described the move as ingenious and unlike anything a human would ever do.

Were we seeing the human attribute of creativity in AlphaGo beyond the intent of the programmers? Does this act pass the Lovelace test?

The programmers of AlphaGo claim that they did not anticipate the unconventional move. This is probably true. But AlphaGo is trained to play GO by the programmers. GO is a board game with fixed rules in a static never-changing arena. And thats what the AI did, and did well. It applied programmed rules within a narrow, rule-bound game. AlphaGo was trained to play GO and thats what it did.

So, no. The Lovelace test was not passed. If the AlphaGo AI were to perform a task not programmed, like beating all comers at the simple game ofParcheesi(pictured above), the Lovelace test would be passed. But as it stands, AlphaGo is not creative. It can only perform the task it was trained for, namely playing GO. If asked, AlphaGo is unable to even explain the rules of GO.

This said, AI can appear smart when it generates a surprising result. But surprise does not equate to creativity. When a computer program is asked to search through a billion designs to find the best, the result can be a surprise. But that isnt creativity. The computer program has done exactly what it was programmed to do.

Heres another example from my personal experience. The Office of Naval Research contracted Ben Thompson, of Penn States Applied Research Lab, and me and asked us to evolve swarm behavior. Simple swarm rules can result in unexpected swarm behavior like stacking Skittles. Given simple rules, finding the corresponding emergent behavior is easy. Just run a simulation. But the inverse design problem is a more difficult one. If you want a swarm to perform some task, what simple rules should the swarm bugs follow? To solve this problem, we applied an evolutionary computing AI. This process ended up looking at thousands of possible rules to find the set that gave the closest solution to the desired performance.

One problem we looked at involved a predator-prey swarm. All action took place in a closed square virtual room. Predators, called bullies, ran around chasing prey called dweebs. Bullies captured dweebs and killed them. We wondered what performance would be if the goal was maximizing the survival time of the dweeb swarm. The swarms survival time was measured up to when the last dweeb was killed.

After running the evolutionary search, we were surprised by the result: The dweebs submitted themselves to self-sacrifice in order to maximize the overall life of the swarm.

This is what we saw: A single dweeb captured the attention of all the bullies, who chased the dweeb in circles around the room. Around and around they went, adding seconds to the overall life of the swarm. During the chase, all the other dweebs huddled in the corner of the room, shaking with what appeared to be fear. Eventually, the pursuing bullies killed the sacrificial dweeb, and pandemonium broke out as the surviving dweebs scattered in fear. Eventually another sacrificial dweeb was identified, and the process repeated. The new sacrificial dweeb kept the bullies running around in circles while the remaining dweebs cowered in a corner.

The sacrificial dweeb result was unexpected, a complete surprise. There was nothing written in the evolutionary computer code explicitly calling for these sacrificial dweebs. Is this an example of AI doing something we had not programmed it to do? Did it pass the Lovelace test?

We had programmed the computer to sort through millions of strategies that would maximize the life of the dweeb swarm, and thats what the computer did. It evaluated options and chose the best one. The result was a surprise, but does not pass the Lovelace test for creativity. The program did exactly what it was written to do. And the seemingly frightened dweebs were not, in reality, shaking with fear; humans tend to project human emotions onto non-sentient things. They were rapidly adjusting to stay as far away as possible from the closest bully. They were programmed to do this.

If the sacrificial dweeb action and the unexpected GO move against Lee Sedol do not pass the Lovelace test, what would? The answer is, anything outside of what code was programmed to do.

Heres an example from the predator-prey swarm example. The Lovelace test would be passed if some dweebs became aggressive and started attacking and killing lone bullies a potential action we did not program into the suite of possible strategies. But that didnt happen and, because the ability of a dweeb to kill a bully is not written into the code, it will never happen.

Likewise, without additional programming AlphaGo will never engage opponent Lee Sedol in trash talk or psychoanalyze Sedol to get a game edge. Either of those things would be sufficiently creative to pass the Lovelace test. But remember: the AlphaGo software as written could not even provide an explanation of its own programmed behavior, the game of GO.

Read more from the original source:

For AI to Be Creative, Here's What It Would Take - Discovery Institute

WHAT WE HAVE ON THIS PAGE

In recent years, edge computing has been gaining popularity to provide IoT (Internet of Things) devices and AI (Artificial Intelligence) applications with valuable sensor information in a fast and efficient manner. But, to effectively implement these innovational technologies at scale, integrated circuit manufacturers and researchers must first build new, specialized chips that can support their computationally-heavy demands.

The Chinese startup Reexen Technology was established in 2018 by Dr. Hongjie LIU, an ETH Zurich graduate. It has now risen to prominence as a worldwide leader in the field of edge-AI ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) for medical, industrial, and consumer markets.

Although they have a significant impact on our daily lives, it can be challenging to navigate the vast array of terminology used to describe the latest technical trends, like edge-AI Application-Specific Integrated Circuits or embedded DNN functionalities in low-power internet of things (IoT) sensors. This article includes two primary goals to solve this problem. The first aim is to give a brief overview of the key concepts related to the emerging field of AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things), which encompasses many of the terms listed above. The second aim is to provide practical examples of how these technologies are implemented in the real world, using Reexens work.

IoT has emerged as one of the most promising new paradigms during the last decade. Broadly defined, it is simply a network of intelligent objects that can automatically organize and share information, resources, and data. They also can make decisions and respond to changes in the environment. This widely publicized idea promises to bring everything in our world together under a single infrastructure, allowing us to communicate and connect with anyone from anywhere around the globe. This has led to the proliferation and development of numerous smart devices for many sectors, including energy, industrial manufacturing, urban planning, healthcare, etc.

Although there are many definitions for what makes an object smart, the most important aspects include their ability to gather information about their environment through embedded sensors. This information must be analyzed promptly. However, large datasets can be quickly generated, especially when many sensor devices are connected within an IoT network. This brings up the question of what type of computing is most suitable for the job.

Cloud computing is the most popular option. It outsources the task of managing, processing, and storing data to a network of remote servers located on the Internet rather than a personal computer or a local server. However, while this strategy is suited for specific IoT sectors, it also has several disadvantages, including decreased bandwidth, increased latency, privacy concerns, and the possibility of data loss.

Therefore, Edge computing emerged as a promising option for time-sensitive applications in which data is analyzed and processed by small computing devices that are located near the data source-i.e., the sensors. These edge devices can open up a wide range of applications that use AI, which has resulted in the development of a new field known as AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things). This might be a game-changer since industry experts and researchers predict that Artificial Intelligence of Things systems will soon be able to not only identify failures and events but also gather necessary information and make correct decisions based on that data all without the need for human intervention.

Despite significant advances in this area, several IoT sensor devices still use traditional processor chips. These chips are not well-suited for implementing many of todays computationally intensive algorithmic programs that sensors need to run on the edge. For example, these include DNNs (deep neural networks) and cutting-edge machine learning algorithms responsible for many recent artificial intelligence breakthroughs like DeepMinds AlphaGo. As a result, significant efforts are currently being made to build new ASICs, which, as their names suggest, are mainly designed for a specific application or task. This is where companies like Reexen Technology are attempting to build creative solutions for deploying cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology at scale.

As explained by Dr. Hongjie Liu, Reexen Company is involved in neuromorphic engineering- sometimes known as neuromorphic computing. This technique aims to imitate the neural operations and structure of the human brain with hardware and software. Reexens goal is to mimic the brains functioning, eye, and cochlea in our ears. This is also called neuromorphic processing and sensing they are currently developing mixed sign in- inference sensing or memory computing solutions.

Furthermore, mixed-signal in-memory computing circuits solve latency and energy consumption issues in A/D (analog-to-digital) conversion and data-intensive DSPs (digital signal processors) in two ways. First, unlike the traditional CPUs (Central Processing Units) or GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), which can only process data in the computer-readable field, mixed-signal computing circuits can process sensory signals directly in both the analog and digital domains. Second, by now integrating computational cells into memory cells, processing-in-memory solutions can solve the shortcomings of the von Neumann architecture of traditional computers, which expand significant energy and time to transfer data from memory to the central processing unit for computation.

On the other hand, inference sensing means that inputs generated from the physical world are processed and transformed on the side of the sensors rather than on a large computer or in the cloud, which is beneficial for a variety of applications, including earphones, smartwatches, smart IoT gadgets, etc.

In this case, Reexen Company collaborated with the leading micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) microphone manufacturer to put its innovative audio-processing chip inside the MEMS sensor itself, allowing the microphone to use keyword detection. This is crucial for many speech recognition applications, including Hey Alexa, Okay Google, or Hey Siri. These words enable digital assistants to respond to users queries. Reexen technology is currently working on a vision-processing chip mainly used in AR/VR glasses or smartphones.

To summarize, Edge-based computing has proven an appealing solution for IoT devices that provide high-quality and actionable sensor information. It can also save time and reduce energy.

However, industry leaders and researchers have been working together to create new chips that can complete more demanding machine learning tasks on devices in real time-either totally or using a hybrid strategy.

Reexen Technology is a Chinese startup that develops mixed signal in-memory computing and inference sensing solutions. These solutions aim to mimic the neural operation and structure of the human brain. For example, this has led to the creation of an innovative audio-processing chip used to construct MEMS microphones with integrated keyword spot functions. It is also being used to develop a vision processing chip for AR/VR glasses and smartphones

More here:

How will Edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chips Take IoT Devices to the Next Level - Enterprise Apps Today

I used to view abortion as something I hoped I would never need but wanted access to just in case. Then I became a Christian and my views on abortion quickly shifted. I knew my belief in a Creator Godwho knows us intimately (Ps. 139:1318) and makes us in his image (Gen. 1:27)meant Id never have an abortion.

But I still identified as pro-choice. Although my personal views had changed, I didnt think it was right to push those views on other women. Id make my choice. Theyd make theirs.

Then my English professor assigned Frederick Douglasss memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. In it, Douglass shared that some of the most frustrating people to him were those living in the border states who personally thought slavery was wrong but refused to resist the institution of slavery to the South. Theyd even return escaped slaves to their slaveowners because it was the law.

Their reasoning: I believe slaves are people, but my neighbor believes theyre his property. I would never own a slave, but who am I to push my beliefs on others?

It hit me: I was like the abolitionist who valued the slave owners legal right over the life of the enslaved.

In that moment, I moved from pro-choice to fervently pro-life.

I know many smart, compassionate women who are mourning the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade because theyre outraged by what they genuinely perceive as an attack on women.

But Ive got to be honestas a woman, I find the idea that abortion is a good thing for women deeply offensive. Here are three reasons why legalized abortion is harmful to women.

Our society is shaped by men. Most of our institutions were established by men and therefore default to a male perspective. The fight for female empowerment in the U.S. has focused on women having all the same things that men have, which is a helpful standard when it comes to legal protection, enfranchisement, and access to the workforce. But focusing only on getting what men have perpetuates a society structured in reference to men, downplays the value of women embracing what they uniquely have, and undermines their ability to shape society.

When we as women use a mans point of view to define whats good, successful, and lovely, we end up overlooking and devaluing those things that are uniquely feminine.

When we as women use a mans point of view to define whats good, successful, and lovely, we end up overlooking and devaluing those things that are uniquely feminine.

In a world where women believe they must be like men in order to thrive, where the best option for an unplanned pregnancy is to cut and run, abortion can seem like a good thing. If men can easily escape the situation of unplanned parenthood, why cant women? Abortion can also seem like a good thing in a world that makes us feel as though childbearing is not worth the social, professional, and economic sacrifices it might incur.

But Im not content with this. Im not content with a world where women are convinced that, to be as valuable, successful, or happy as men, they must fight for a mans ability to abandon his child beforeor afterhe or she is born. Im not content with a world where women see fertility and motherhood not as God-given gifts but as liabilities and challenges to overcome on the path to becoming more like men.

I hate that world. I mourn that world. And I want to fight to make it better.

One common pro-choice argument is that abortion opponents are really pro unborn life. In the case of an unwanted pregnancy, youre either on the moms side or the babys side. Not only does this either-or framing put a huge burden on the pregnant mother, essentially forcing her to choose herself or the unborn life, but its also a false dichotomy.

Mom vs. baby is an unnatural warping of a miraculous relationship. Far from an oppositional relationship, a mother and her child represent one of creations most beautiful bonds. Lets get some perspective: for nine months (at most), these two beings are inseparable. After that, both have a lifetime to grow and struggle and thrive as individual lives.

Pregnancy isnt a zero-sum game. Except in very rare, very sad situations, its not a choice between one life or the other. We can care about both a mom and her baby, but not if we kill the latter before he or she even has a chance to live outside the womb.

Roughly half of all babies are female. This means at least half of the babies destroyed in abortions are little girls who would have grown up to be women. How is the killing of millions of girls each year an empowerment for women? And because of the disparity in how men and women are valued around the worldand the availability of sex-selective abortionsthe global rate of girls killed in abortions is likely much greater than 50 percent.

How is the killing of millions of girls each year an empowerment for women?

Studies mapping Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB, the number of males born per every 100 females) demonstrate imbalances that have increased significantly since the 1970s, when prenatal diagnostic tools (such as ultrasounds) and legalized medical abortion became more widely available. The expected SRB falls around 105 males per 100 females. The highest SRBs are in countries in Asia and North Africa, many of which have a strong cultural preference for sons. Here, the ratios are as high as 121 boys per 100 girls, with some regions reaching over 130. Given the large populations of the regions in questionparticularly in China and Indiathese imbalances represent millions of women killed as a result of sex-selective abortion.

We live in a broken world where sacrificing otherseven your own childmight seem like the most expedient way out of a challenging situation. But I refuse to throw up my hands and say, I guess abortions a necessityhow else will women flourish?

Overturning Roe is a good thing for women because it helps us to reject the lie that ending the life of a child in the womb is ever an empowering option.

Overturning Roe is a good thing for women because it helps us to reject the lie that ending the life of a child in the womb is ever an empowering option.

Though now illegal in some states, abortion is still legal in othersand in many places around the world. The legal fights will continue, but Christians must also fight the messaging battles around abortioncommunicating truer, longer-lasting answers to the question of how to promote flourishing for women and their children.

We must fight to shape a world that recognizes, celebrates, and honors women for what we can uniquely offer as women, not as people who are interchangeable with men. This includes rewriting the narrative around child-bearing and rethinking our ideas about what female empowerment means. With time, maybe well get to a place in society where, even if a woman finds herself in an unwanted pregnancy, shell never consider the evil equation that says her life can go on only if her childs life does not. Instead, by Gods grace, shell choose to carry the child even if the circumstances are incredibly hard, not seeing this as a compromise of her God-given power and calling as a woman, but as an embrace of it.

See the article here:
Why Overturning Roe Is Good for Women - The Gospel Coalition

A sincerely raw tale of self-summoning and speaking truth to those who abuse their authority, Canadian singer/songwriter mainstay Rose Rangers new single summons all her pop Power and then some. And arriving fresh from her sixth studio album release, Confessions, theyre both available now.

Power is about justice and finally standing up for oneself; to speak your own truth, Rose shares. Its about how pain can be transformed into power and empowerment from the oppressive forces that want to keep us down and dim our light.

The message is raw and clear-cut, as are some truths that cut people down off their high horses; Power conveys a sense of vulnerability, as Rose Ranger breaks free from a cruel tyrant. Lyrically, the track hits a lot of sore spots while gently soothing open wounds with words of reassurance and empowerment.

Roses vocals add to the symbolism of the lyrics: feeling powerful and ready to break the cycle yet held back, almost anxious to confront such a tremendous task.

My pain is my power / My love is a tower / My truth is gunpowder / My strength is a flower.

As they say, power can be used for good over evil, the Vancouver-based artist muses. It can be used for positive change or misused and abused; this song illustrates both.

I think almost everyone anywhere in the world can relate to being mistreated at some point in their life, she continues. With that, I think this song was living somewhere in my head and heart for about a decade, but I couldnt speak about it.

Hailing from Vancouvers North Shore, Rose Rangers resume consists of multiple singles produced for television and single radio airplay plus a plethora of songwriting awards. Multi-talented, she has studied dance, voice and choir, theatre and film acting, creative writing, psychology, philosophy, womens studies, and neuroscience at The University of British Columbia, Cap U, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and in private classes.

Within her music, Roses roster of releases continue to deliver lush odes to self-discovery alongside subtle yet profound observations around moments of life.

I just try to write from an honest place, whether the song is autobiographical, about someone else, or entirely fictional she explains of her process. Either way, it has to feel honest.

Its with this sense of transparent songwriting that Power arrives alongside Confessions Roses sixth studio album, and 20 years since her breakthrough debut, 2022s Replies. Weaving themes of resiliency, finding strength in vulnerability, love, and pain, all the way to self-empowerment, and hope, Confessions was produced by Rose Ranger and JUNO Award-winner Ryan Stewart.

For me, I found inspiration in telling it like it is and not candy coating the truth after going through personal and family tragedies she reveals of the deeply personal lens through which she wrote. Writing can be cathartic, with each word offering a glimmer of light at the end of some very dark tunnels.

Metaphorically speaking, the album starts in an alley and ends on the autobahn

Its about being compassionate with both yourself and others because everyone is going through something you probably have no clue about, she continues. Its about finding your inner hero and holding onto that metaphor inside us all.

Hang out with your allies in life; dont waste your life on the people, situations, or environments that try to take you down or drain your life force, Rose Ranger insists. Dont let anyone make you feel like you dont deserve to go for what you want in your life.

Its worth it.

And with that lands real, raw personal Power.

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Rose Ranger Summons Power in Her Confessions with Release of New Single & Sixth Studio Album - The GATE

Taking on the world with a potent pop vision, Melbourne singer-songwriter Royal Drue has unveiled her debut single Cinderella a lush, fun and nostalgic slice of pop perfection.

Released independently on June 24, Cinderella is as unapologetic as it is utterly enthralling andsymbolises a brand new chapter for Royal Drue, the moniker of established artist Alexandra Smirneos.

Read Melbournes most comprehensive range of features and interviewshere.

Channelling intimate emotion and passionate energy into an addictive, irresistible three-and-a-half-minute upheaval, Cinderella is an anthem surging with absolute confidence.

Packed with the fierce power and catchy flair that youd expect from an empowering pop anthem, Cinderella beats the odds to feel both fresh and exciting upon first listen: Its the combination of Drues impressive vocals, soaring melodies and that unmistakable charisma that helps make this song an intoxicating thrill.

With nods to the likes of Taylor Swift (fans of the Lover album will adore this), Lady Gaga, Beren Olivia, LL and the early works of Katy Perry, the hypnotic pop track showcases Drues songwriting prowess. Weaving a majestic, mesmerizing tapestry of buoyant beats, vibrant verses and wonderful nostalgia, Cinderella encourages listeners to take ownership over their expression, sexuality and identity.

In an inspiring burst of energy, Drue rises to an incredible fever pitch in the songs anthemic chorus and a resounding and catchy statement we will be playing on repeat for years and years to come:

Ill keep crying Im a Princess, Im a Princess Prince Charming

Ill let you love my walk, my talk, and my bullshit stories

Ill even play hard to get when you want my number in your phone babe

Ill keep crying Im a Princess with my blue lips Ill be a darling

And while the track is a roaring anthem of empowerment, as Royal Drue candidly explains, Cinderella started out as a magical accident.

I came up with the chorus melody straight away and then the lyrics fell right into place. I didnt know what it was going to be about until I started the writing process.

After writing the lyrics Ill keep crying Im a princess, Im a princess prince charming I knew I wanted to form the rest of the song around Cinderella references. I loved the idea of making it about sexual role play, so that became the core inspiration for the whole song.

From there I dove in pretty deep and made sure the song had a strong empowering message that you can be whoever you want to be, however you want to be on your own terms.

Working alongside one of Drues closest friends and favourite collaborators, Sean Donehue, and with production taken care of by the talents at MSquared, Cinderella is a super-fun standout pop hit that makes your heart burst. Here Drue expands the scope of her artistry: Sonically, melodically, and lyrically, this track radiates intent.

Equal parts genius and fun, nostalgic, bold and eminently likeable, this debut brings us up-close-and-personal with Drue as a solo artist in her own right; fuelled by passion and an ear for creativity, catchy connection, drawn from her already incredible musical journey so far.

Already at just 24 years of age, Royal Drue has worked with an impressive list of Aussie favourites including Client Liason, Kaiit, Em Rusciano, and Young Divas Emily Williams, as well as sharing the stage with Baker Boy as feature artist at his local shows earlier this year.

Performing since the tender age of five, Drue also performs with the acclaimed Gospel/Techno crossover project Sunshine and the Disco Faith Choir as both lead singer and vocal director who recently signed to Lonely Lands Agency alongside heavy hitters including Tones and I, Tash Sultana and Boy & Bear.

With a wealth of experience, Royal Drue is a project that will see the singer-songwriter dive deeper and dig further than anything shes done before. At the same time, judging solely from her debut and vision, this project promises to be the singer/songwriters most accessible and relatable work to date.

Its always been on the cards but there were plenty of things I needed to do before going out on my own as a solo artist. All of my experiences as a session musician and collaborations with other artists have made me who I am today.

I can and have been impatient lol but Im so glad I got the chance to work with all these incredibly talented creatives because it gave me the chance to figure out who I wanted to be as an artist myself and what story I was going to tell.

Ive tried, failed, changed my mind, failed and tried again so many times. My journey to now has been so important in my development not only as an artist but as a human and I think thats how I know that nows the time to step out and do my own thing.

Sparing no expense in not just owning, but fully embracing being unapologetically herself and encouraging others to do so too Cinderella arrives alongside a sparkling, lively film clip that sees Royal Drue playing multiple characters representing multiple aspects of herself.

From glam to grunge and everything in between, the characters are symbolic versions of a Cinderella that defy the conventions of your typical Disney princess, celebrating the parts of us that make us special, unique, and different.

Its a metaphor. Cinderella shows that you can choose who you want to be. You have the ability to try on different versions of yourself; you can be whoever you want to be, however you want to be, whenever you want to be.

A definitive artist to watch, Royal Drue is one-of-a-kind; a performer at the top of her game, shes accomplished something truly remarkable with her debut release and we cannot wait to see where she goes from here.

Ive always felt ready as a performer and creatively but as a person, I think Im the readiest now than Ive ever been. Its always scary taking the first leap, but the excitement I get out of what I do definitely outweighs the nervous energy!

Ive got tracks lined up and ready for rapid-fire, so again, stay tuned the next one is closer than you think!

Stream Cinderella by Royal Drue here and keep up with the latest via Royal Drues socials.

This article was made in partnership with Royal Drue

Continued here:
Royal Drue redefines what it means to be a princess in empowering pop anthem, 'Cinderella' - Beat Magazine