In this edition of the Worldwide Wrap, Bill Gates insists artificial intelligence is a threat; and a team of students at California College of the Arts in San Francisco has developed autonomous, mobile 3D printing robots that could someday be put to work building in outlying areas. Get the details on these stories and more below.
Facebook bigger than China
If Facebook were a country, it would be the most populous nation on earth.
The social network said on Wednesday that 1.39 billion people log in to Facebook each month to scroll their news feeds, communicate with friends and look at photos.
That's more than the entire population of China, the world's most populous country, which the CIA last estimated to have 1.36 billion people.
Via: Huffington Post
Artificial intelligence threat
Humans should be worried about the threat posed by artificial intelligence, Bill Gates has said.
The Microsoft founder said he didn't understand people who were not troubled by the possibility that artificial intelligence could grow too strong for people to control.
Gates contradicted one of Microsoft Research's chiefs, Eric Horvitz, who has said he "fundamentally" did not see artificial intelligence as a threat.
Via: BBC
3D printing bot
A team of students at California College of the Arts in San Francisco has developed autonomous, mobile 3D printing robots that could someday be put to work building in outlying areas.
The Swarmscapers, as the small robots are called, are capable of traversing difficult terrain and they work with found materials to build shapes and structures. Someday, these little robots could be used to construct entire buildings.
Via: Inhabitat
iTunes impromptu game
Apple has kicked off an impromptu game of musical chairs on iTunes Connect, dropping developers into random accounts including one lucky punter who was allegedly handed BlackBerry's portal.
The glitch, which surfaced a few hours ago (at the time of writing), has since been resolved after developers were randomly logged into accounts they did not own.
iTunes Connect is a tool that allows Apple developers to upload and manage apps, and sell content.
Via: The Register
TV for the blind
Researchers are working on technologies to replace the audio descriptions that help visually impaired people enjoy TV shows and films.
Dr Mariana Lopez, from Anglia Ruskin University, is leading the study to explore how a story can be told without the need for a track describing events.
Via: BBC
Tencent partners with NBA
The National Basketball Association and Tencent said the Shenzhen-based Internet giant will be the only company in China to stream the league's online content.
The exclusive, five-year deal will allow Tencent to offer for the first time in China the NBA's League Pass package, which allows subscribers to watch a full season's worth of games live and on-demand.
Via: Reuters
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