What It Is To Be Conscious: Exploring the Plasibility of Consciousness in Deep Learning Computers

As artificial intelligence and robotics progress further and faster every day, designing and building a conscious computer appears to be on the horizon. Recent technological advances have allowed engineers and computer scientists to create robots and computer programs that were previously impossible. The development of these highly sophisticated robots and AI programs has thus prompted the age-old question: can a computer be conscious? The answer relies on addressing two key sub-problems. The first is the nature of consciousness: what constitutes a system as conscious, or what properties does consciousness have? Secondly, does the physical make-up of the robot or computer matter? Is there a particular composition of the robot or computer that is necessary for consciousness, or is consciousness unaffected by differences in physical properties? My aim is to explore these issues with respect to deep-learning computer programs. These programs use artificial neural networks and learning algorithms to create highly sophisticated, seemingly intelligent computers that are comparable to, yet fundamentally different from, a human brain. Additionally, I will discuss the required actions we must take in order to come to a consensus on the consciousness of deep learning computers

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 32 Number 1, Fall 1989

10 - A TIME TO DIE? The debate over euthanasia changes and grows more interesting as we grow older and live longer. By Julie Sly 15 - LOOKING FOR LIFE IN SPACE SCU\u27s scientist-in-residence talks about how resumption of planetary probe aids his origin of life research. By Maureen Mclnaney 20 - MEMORIES - THE WAY WE WERE A 1939 alumnus tells what Santa Clara was like 50 years ago and offers vignettes of Jesuits he remembers. By Norman Bayley 24 - EASTSIDE PROJECT Students and faculty are involved in this special partnership between SCU and East San Jose communities. By Ed De Berri, S.J. 28 - CASHING IN ON SCIENCE Is it morally right for university faculty to make a profit on publicly funded research? By Manuel Velasquezhttps://scholarcommons.scu.edu/sc_mag/1037/thumbnail.jp

Selected Computing Research Papers Volume 1 June 2012

An Evaluation of Anti-phishing Solutions (Arinze Bona Umeaku) ..................................... 1 A Detailed Analysis of Current Biometric Research Aimed at Improving Online Authentication Systems (Daniel Brown) .............................................................................. 7 An Evaluation of Current Intrusion Detection Systems Research (Gavin Alexander Burns) .................................................................................................... 13 An Analysis of Current Research on Quantum Key Distribution (Mark Lorraine) ............ 19 A Critical Review of Current Distributed Denial of Service Prevention Methodologies (Paul Mains) ............................................................................................... 29 An Evaluation of Current Computing Methodologies Aimed at Improving the Prevention of SQL Injection Attacks in Web Based Applications (Niall Marsh) .............. 39 An Evaluation of Proposals to Detect Cheating in Multiplayer Online Games (Bradley Peacock) ............................................................................................................... 45 An Empirical Study of Security Techniques Used In Online Banking (Rajinder D G Singh) .......................................................................................................... 51 A Critical Study on Proposed Firewall Implementation Methods in Modern Networks (Loghin Tivig) .................................................................................................... 5

A Company-led Methodology for the Specification of Product Design Capabilities in Small and Medium Sized Electronics Companies

It is the aim of the research reported in this thesis to improve the product design effectiveness of small and medium sized electronics companies in the United Kingdom. It does so by presenting a methodology for use by such firms which will enable them to specify product design capabilities which are resilient to changes in their respective business environments. The research has not, however, concerned itself with the details of particular electronics component technologies or with the advantages of various CAD or CAE products, although these are both important aspects of any design capability. Nor is it concerned with the implementation of the product design capability. The methodology, which represents a significant improvement on current practice, is a structured, company-driven approach which draws extensively upon the lessons of international design best practice. It uses well-proven tools and techniques to guide firms through the entire process of creating such capabilities - from the development of an appropriate Mission Statement to the identification of cost effective and appropriate design system solutions which can readily be translated into action plans for improvement. The work emphasises the importance of adopting a holistic, systems approach which acknowledges the interrelationship between the management of the design process, as well as its operational and supporting activities. The research has been structured around the experiences of companies which have implemented electronics design systems and which "own" the problem in question. Hence, a research strategy was adopted which was based upon a case study approach and upon the development of close collaborative links with two leading design automation tool vendor companies. Case study interviews were undertaken in 18 U.K. and European electronics companies and in 11 U.S., Japanese and Korean electronics firms. The work proceeded in two distinct phases. Firstly, the author participated with other researchers to jointly develop a functional specification of an electronics designers' toolset to support the process of product design in an integrated manufacturing environment. The first phase provided the context for Phase 2, the development of the AGILITY methodology for specifying product design capabilities which represents the author's individual contribution. The contribution to knowledge made by the research lies in the creation of a process methodology which, for the first time, will help U.K. electronics companies to define for themselves product design capabilities which are robust and which support their wider business objectives. No such methodology is currently available in a form which is both accessible and affordable to smaller firms. Furthermore, the author has uncovered no evidence of the existence of such a methodology even for use by large electronics firms. Validation of the methodology is subject to an ongoing process of feedback.Racal Redac Lt

Approach to programming and master planning for Joseph C. Wilson Center for Research and Technology

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1996.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-176).The research question in this thesis supports a master plan effort at the Wilson Center for Research and Technology in Webster, New York. It concerns workplace design, space and technology issues, within the business context of research and development operations. A framework is proposed for developing R&D workplace laboratories based on the analysis of a pilot project completed in the Wilson Center. The analysis centers on understanding of the impacts of space, technology, organizational policies and practices, and how these affect the rate of product development. This thesis examines the Wilson Center's ongoing efforts to create a work environments that support innovation. The central hypothesis is that master planning processes, in addition to space and technology renovation, must also focus on learning methods intrinsic in a design process to achieve a unified approach and outcome. A unified research work environment is as dependent on it's culture as a reconstruction of its environment. Ultimately, a more appropriate design for supporting specific research processes is achieved when the users design the environment themselves.by Suon Kuo Cheng.M.S

Adaptive Policymaking: Evolving and Applying Emergent Solutions for U.S. Communications Policy

This Article presents some specific ways that U.S. policymakers should use teachings from the latest thinking in economics to create a conceptual framework in order to grapple with current controversies in communications law and regulation. First, it provides a brief overview of Emergence Economics, with an emphasis on the rough formula of emergence and the unique role of technological change in creating and furthering innovation and economic growth. Second, this paper explicates the general concept of Adaptive Policymaking by governments and includes some proposed guiding principles, an outline of the public policy design space, and an adaptive toolkit to be used by policymakers. Third, this Article discusses devising a policy design space specifically for communications policy, with an emphasis on the institutional and organizational challenges facing the FCC as it seeks to fulfill the suggested goal of furthering More Good Ideas. Finally, this paper explores the conceptual framework for the fitness landscape, including a searching critique of the notion of enabling without dictating evolutionary forces in the marketplace

Strategic and large scale government IT projects management: innovation report

This research focuses on the Implementation of IT systems and public sector and national ID card projects in particular. Such projects have high expectations but low success rates. The study Investigated the factors contributing to IT projects failure through on extensive review of the existing literature. This was enriched and tested by close Involvement with the UAE national ID card project, surveys and In depth interviews with senior managers from other ID card projects and presentations and attendance at over 50 conferences on this subject. Many of the factors leading to either success or failure identified in many practical studies could be addressed through a well designed project management methodology. Based on the literature, practical experience, observations and feedback from practitioners a project management methodology; named PROMOTE - PROject Management Of Technology Endeavours - was developed and tested for the planning and Implementing large scale IT projects mainly In a government context. The US$200+ million dollar national ID programme In the United Arab Emirates was the main test vehicle. Its Innovations include a hybrid systems development/project management customer based philosophy, a number of new tools and techniques and the Introduction of a mentor for the project manager. To help assess the general applicability of the methodology it was also tested In the Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain national ID initiatives. The methodology phases were refined several times (and other phases were added) to address the problems Identified from UAE project, the literature, the experiences reported at GCC committee meetings and from other large scale Implementations around the world (from conferences and study visits to other countries). From the testing conducted, the methodology is believed to add a significant contribution to the field of IT projects Implementation and In Increasing the success chances of such projects. Such success should have a profound Impact on government services. The study also recognises that a better understanding of the new methodology and its contributions Is only possible through further research and application In other large scale IT projects. This should allow the extension of the applicability of this methodology to a much wider spectrum

Fully rational morality and evaluation of public decisions : with action research case study : a local planning controversy and residents' appeal to a public inquiry and to national and international courts

The impetus for my deliberations arises from the need to establish which proposals and decisions by social institutions to approve. This seems to come down to much the same as considering which alternatives are the better in a moral sense, but, unfortunately, there is no general agreement as to which of numerous proposed moral systems is apt, and the long and tortuous history of ethics indicates very poor prospects for such agreement. If at the outset I had been more conversant with that and the argument that the notion of a 'right' or 'objective' morality is tautological, nonsensical and/or incoherent, I would probably have thought it ridiculously ambitious to seek the basis of morality and would probably not have embarked upon the theoretical parts of this thesis. However, occasionally something is gained by attempting the impossible, and, while I certainly do not claim to have found the (morally) right morality, I suggest that I come at least very near to establishing how to ascertain what rules for behaviour are fully rational.Whether fully rational rules (FRM) are the same as 'moral' ones is arguably essentially a semantic question. However, I suggest that our definition of 'moral' is doomed to be a minority quest of marginal significance in reasonably rational societies if it entails rules which are notably at variance with those which are the most likely to be adopted by reasonably rational people as the general expectation and/or requirement in a maximally rationally structured society (arguably a 'true' democracy).Evaluation is hardly fUlly rational unless it is practicable. I have therefore included an attempt to apply FRM to the complex real situation which my Walton Street 'action research' examines and which comprises a number of decisions of a type crucial to the working of modem societies (e.g. those of pressure groups, local authorities, the press, public inquiries and national and international Courts).My 'action research' concerns the insistence by the authorities that the poor housing in the Walton Street area in Hull must be dealt with by total clearance under the Housing Act 1957 rather than by the partial clearance and Housing Action Area treatment which was facilitated by the Housing Act 1974 and was overwhelmingly preferred by the residents. In their bid to change the authorities' plan the residents exhausted all means of appeal, and in view of the evidence regarding the quality of the houses and cost calculations submitted on behalf of the residents, it was accepted (e.g. by the Court of Appeal) that the residents' alternative was both feasible and cheaper in the short term (and there were no long term assessments). Nevertheless, neither local, nor central, government would accept that the residents' proposal constituted the most satisfactory method of dealing with the conditions - seemingly for rather dubious reasons