- Social:
The Atlantic
Deputy editor at the Atlantic and author of Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology
PROFILE
Alexis Madrigal
Guest
FROM Alexis Madrigal
To the Point
Google Joins Race for a Drone Delivery System The technological arms race in Silicon Valley is soaring into the air as Amazon and Google vie to be first with deliveries using unmanned drones. The pilot project has already delivered a first aid kit, candy bars dog treats and water—in Australia. The competition for drone delivery has been super-secret, but Alexis Madrigal was given access to Google’s Project Wing, a pilot project that’s being tested in Australia. He describes it in detail in the Atlantic magazine, where he’s Deputy Editor.
Which Way, L.A.?
Intelligence Analysts Look for Deeper Meaning in Language US intelligence agencies want to know how people use language, people who speak not just English but Spanish, Russian and Farsi. Specifically, it wants computer programs developed that can provide keys to how people think by the way the use metaphors. The ultimate grant could run to nine figures. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, IARPA, is a small research arm of the US intelligence establishment. It's ready to spend big money on The Metaphor Program , to analyze common turns of phrase to learn "in a deep and fundamental way [how] humans make sense of the world." That's according to Alexis Madrigal in The Atlantic magazine.
To the Point
Intelligence Analysts Look for Deeper Meaning in Language US intelligence agencies want to know how people use language, people who speak not just English but Spanish, Russian and Farsi. Specifically, it wants computer programs developed that can provide keys to how people think by the way the use metaphors. The ultimate grant could run to nine figures. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, IARPA, is a small research arm of the US intelligence establishment. It's ready to spend big money on The Metaphor Program , to analyze common turns of phrase to learn "in a deep and fundamental way [how] humans make sense of the world." That's according to Alexis Madrigal in The Atlantic magazine.
Recommended
Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.