The supposed security of blackboxing the eye data itself is illusory and functionally just for marketing.

The issue is doubly close to my heart because my father has ALS and is nearly at the point where eye-tracking will be his only means of communicating effectively with the world. While existing Tobii systems work well enough, typing with your eyes is still exhausting to do.

Ultimately I don't think a platform like the vision pro is suitable for ALS patients, especially later term. They cannot support the weight of the headset and/or fatigue will set in rapidly. Many (including my father) also require use of a ventilator, accompanied with a mask that can seal effectively enough to support the positive pressure necessary to inflate their lungs. Unless the form factor for HMD's minimalizes significantly, it will likely interfere with the respirator's efficacy.

Incorporating curiosity and exploration of new experience into learning algorithms offers so much more utility versus relying solely on offline training and past experiences alone.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33131283

Points: 4

# Comments: 1

The literally definition reads: "Indigenous or less commonly indigenous : of or relating to the earliest known inhabitants of a place and especially of a place that was colonized by a now-dominant group"

In most modern contexts it's used to refer to the diverse peoples that inhabited a land prior to European colonization.

In extension, here in Canada the Métis People (explicitly descendants of MIXED European and Indigenous ancestry) are recognized as an Indigenous group with unique language and cultural practices. They are by no means thought of as "pure bred" as you reductively tried to frame it.

The University of Alberta has an excellent, widely accoladed, and free MOOC on Indigenous Canada that I highly recommend you, and anyone else interested in learning more, consider taking: https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada

Why is this amusing? In N.A. there is currently (and pre-dating Covid-19) substantive differences in xenophobic response to China/Russia vs. the other countries mentioned. The former are the go to political boogiemen whereas the latter are either allies or patronizingly viewed.

They're also very supportive of the local start-up scene. Highly recommend.

I'm surprised to see this level of interest by the Alberta government on tech that is very much unproven.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24278095

Points: 3

# Comments: 2

For those unaware, the university of Alberta is Rich Sutton's home institution, and he approves of and promotes the course.

Not sure if the intent behind this is to placate current professionals or attract new ones, but in any case the author seems to mis-understand the current state of the art and appeal of this kind of research[1].

(1) https://speech-to-text-demo.ng.bluemix.net/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20198074

Points: 1

# Comments: 2

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17154339

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

However, institutions are increasingly offering combined MBA/MEng programs and I was wondering if this augments the discussion at all.

I (29 years old) currently work in a research lab at a Canadian University which offers the program and would effectively cover the course costs if I enrolled part-time. I'd be able to continue working full-time without any additional commuting. The opportunity seems too good to pass up, and working in an academic environment has most definitely re-ignited my interest in continuing my formal education, but the conflicting perspectives on the MBA's utility has me doubting it's necessarily worth pursuing.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11209066

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12517984

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13257823

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17070696

Points: 1

# Comments: 0