Artificial Intelligence and thought vectors Since I sold my latest start-up, I have been looking into ways to make sense of the deluge of data created by new technologies; data that Google, Facebook, Twitter and
Learning from worm brains Recently I came across two papers about the C. elegans, a tiny translucent worm. The papers are interesting because they help shed some light on how brains work. In fact,
About societies Accelerating technology and its impact on societies, cultures and economies of the world is impossibile to ignore. Some societies refuse to embrace the future and consequently accept to change, others
Advanced computer technology in 1968 For those interested in understanding where computers come from. Technology as humble as the keyboard, the mouse or hi-def CRT, video cameras, the word processor or video conferencing. This was
Open Gov, corporations and git This is a very well written article about how git and github could be used to re-engineer government processes. As with most innovations that the Internet has brought about, git
Moved to Sevenoaks, Kent, UK I moved a few months ago. Sevenoaks is a beautiful little town 25 minutes by train from London. Lots of green, great schools, very safe and good healthcare. As any
Mind-wandering seems to have evolved from walking I walk when I really want to concentrate and think about new ideas. And there is a reason why I do that: it seems that I am actually using the
What I like about Bitcoin and my personal note! Bitcoin was created to decentralize money and will probably be used to achieve decentralized trust with group authority. Defining rules, and making sure they are not tampered with, is what
Ask Canadians if you want to understand Mr. Berlusconi Non-Italian friends often ask why Italians have voted for Mr. Berlusconi for 20 years, and still do. I try hard, but it is next to impossible to explain; Italians, they
That Altavista moment Remember when the best search engine was Altavista? Remember how frustrating it was to look for something on the Net? Search results would be mostly unrelated to what you where
The meta-organism: the Internet and us, is it real? The Internet has become part of the fabric of our lives; if we want to create the next big thing we must understand the relationship between the Internet and us
Self and Cognitive Systems I'll be in Wimbledon for the next three weeks. Fortunately it is much cooler here than in Italy, so I can work more efficiently! I was expecting to sleep without
The art of free society Lately I cannot travel too far for personal reasons, though I expect this to change sooner rather than later; so when I found online about the Unconventional Computation Conference to
The state of Neuromorphic Engineering as seen from an outsider Last week I was in Sardinia at the annual Capo Caccia Cognitive Neuromorphic Engineering Workshop organized by the University of Zurich. This was my third time at the workshop, so
The brain is not a computer Understanding the brain means being able to replicate some of its functions. A one page description, or a hundred pages will not do. Current technologies, that allow us to emulate
Change, change and change It is finally becoming mainstream. Economists are slowly appreciating the fact that the current technological progress is so fast and runs so deep into the fabric of our world that
Brains and computers In a paper by Kozma, I found an interesting citation from The Computer and the Brain, the book that John Von Neumann was writing when he died: It is only
Do you have any idea how complex a cell is? Check out this video produced by Harvard University. It is an amazing shot at trying to convey how complex a cell is. What you see is just a simplification of
Old / new paper: Science and Complexity Today I took sometime off to read a classical paper from Weaver: Science and Complexity. The paper was published in 1948, many years before computers were first available at Universities,
About Cognitive Neuromorphic Engineering The two weeks I spent in Capocaccia were worth the trip. The Cognitive Neuromorphic Engineering workshop, organized by the University of Zurich, is an interesting mix of engineering, science, math
Three not so simple questions This is a rather cryptic post, so bare with me. I just want to remember where I am and maybe get some feedback. Let's get started: Artificial Intelligence and mathematics
Italy, now what? It looks like it is decision time for Italy. The markets will not allow more debt, so it is now about time to take Italy into the current century by
Making connections vs reducing What you work on affects your ability to see the world. I haven't had time to write a structured post in a while, mostly because I have been looking into
Sorting out this mess will not be easy More than one type of re-balancing needed. One of the recurring themes of the current economic crisis is the idea of re-balancing the global economy. But where are the imbalances?