Daily Archives: March 1, 2017

Disruptive by Design: Siri, Tell Me a Joke. No, Not That One. – Signal Magazine

Posted: March 1, 2017 at 9:24 pm

Ask Siri to tell you a joke and Apples virtual assistant usually bombs. The voice-controlled systems material is limited and profoundly mediocre. Its not Siris fault. That is what the technology knows.

According to a knowledgeable friend, machines operate in specific ways. They receive inputs. They process those inputs. They deliver outputs. Of course, I argued. Not because I believed he was wrong, but because I had a lofty notion of the limitations of machines and what artificial intelligence (AI) could become.

My friend was not wrong. That is what machines do. For that matter, that is what all living beings do. We take external data and stimuli, process it and react as we see fit, based on previous experiences. The processing of inputs is what expands intelligence. Machines, on the other hand, process within specified parameters determined by humans. For a machine, output is limited by programming and processing power.

What is the upper limit of what a machine can learn? We do not yet know, but we do know that today, it takes repetition in the hundreds of thousands for artificial neural networks to learn to recognize something for themselves.

One day, machines will exceed the limits of human intelligence to become superintelligence, far surpassing any human in virtually all fields, from the sciences to philosophy. But what really will matter is the issue of sentience. It is important to distinguish between superintelligence and sentience. Sentience is feeling and implies conscious experiences.

Artificial neural networks cannot produce human feelings. There is a lack of sentience. I can ask Siri to tell me a joke thousands of times, and the iOS simply will cycle through the same material over and over. Now, consider superintelligence or an advanced form of AI. Does the potential exist for a machine to really learn how to tell a joke?

The answer depends on whether we think these machines will ever reach a stage where they will do more than they are toldwhether they will operate outside of and against their programmed parameters. Many scientists and philosophers hold pessimistic views on AIs progression, perhaps driven by a growing fear that advanced AI poses an existential threat to humanity. The concept that AI could improve itself more quickly than humans, and therefore threaten the human race, has existed since the days of famed English mathematician Alan Turing in the 1930s.

There are many more unanswered questions. Can a machine think? A superintelligence would be designed to align with human needs. However, even if that alignment is part of every advanced AIs core code, would it be able to revise its own programming? Is a code of ethics needed for a superintelligence?

Questions such as these wont be pertinent for many years to come. What is relevant is how we use AI now and how quickly it has become a part of everyday life. Siri is a primitive example, but AI is all around you. In your hand, you have Siri, Google Now or Cortana. According to Microsoft, Cortana continually learns about its user and eventually will anticipate a users every need. Video games have long used AI, and products such as Amazons personal assistant Alexa and Nest Labs family of programmable, self-learning, sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats and smoke detectors are common household additions. AI programs now write simple news articles for a number of media agencies, and soon well be chauffeured in self-driving cars that will learn from experience, the same way humans do. IBM has Watson, Google has sweeping AI initiatives and the federal government wants AI expertise in development contracts.

Autonomy and automation are todays buzzwords. There is a push to take humans out of the loop wherever possible and practical. The Defense Department uses autonomous unmanned vehicles for surveillance. Its progressive ideas for future wars are reminiscent of science fiction. And this development again raises the question: Is a code of ethics needed?

These precursory examples also pose a fundamental question about the upper limits of machine learning. Is the artificial intelligence ceiling a sentient machine? Can a machine tell an original joke or be limited to repeating what it knows? Consider Lt. Cmdr. Data from Star Trek, arguably one of the more advanced forms of benevolent AI represented in science fiction. Occasionally, he recognizes that someone is telling a joke, usually from context clues and reactions, but fails to understand why it is funny.

Just maybe, that is when we will know we are dealing with sentient AIwhen machines are genuinely and organically funny. The last bastion of human supremacy just might be humor.

Alisha F. Kelly is director of business development at Trace Systems, a mission-focused technology company serving the Defense Department. She is president of the Young AFCEANs for the Northern Virginia Chapter and received a Distinguished Young AFCEAN Award for 2016. The views expressed are hers alone.

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Tech Leaders Raise Concern About the Dangers of AI – iDrop News

Posted: at 9:24 pm

In the midst of great strides being made in artificial intelligence, theres a growing group of people who have expressed concern about the potential repercussions of AI technology.

Members of that group include Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence, Gates in a 2015 Reddit AMA, adding that he doesnt understand why some people are not concerned. Additionally, Gates has even proposed taxing robots that take jobs away from human workers.

Musk, for his part, was a bit more dramatic in painting AI as a potential existential threat to humanity: We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes, Musk tweeted, adding that Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by philosopher Nick Bostrom was worth reading.

Hawking was similarly foreboding in an interview with the BBC, stating that he thinks the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. Specifically, he said that advanced AI could take become self-reliant and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate. Human beings, limited by biological evolution wouldnt be able to keep up, he added.

Indeed, advances in artificial intelligence once seen as something purely in the realm of science fiction is more of an inevitability than a possibility now. Tech companies everywhere are seemingly in a race to development more advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning systems. Apple, for example, is reportedly doubling-down on its Seattle-based AI research hub, and also recently joined the Partnership on AI, a research group dominated by other tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google.

Like every advance in technology, AI has the potential to make amazing things possible and our lives easier. But ever since humanity first began exploring the concept of advanced machine learning, the idea has also been closely linked to the trope of AI being a potential threat or menace. SkyNet from the Terminator series comes to mind. Even less apocalyptic fiction, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, paints AI as something potentially dangerous.

As Forbes contributor R.L. Adams writes, theres little that could be done to stop a malevolent AI once its unleashed. True autonomy, as he points out, is like free will and someone, man or machine, will eventually have to determine right from wrong. Perhaps even more worryingly, Adams also brings up the fact that AI could even be weaponized to wreak untold havoc.

But even without resorting to fear-mongering, it might be smart to at least be concerned. If some of the greatest minds in tech are worried about AIs potential as a threat, then why arent the rest of us? The development of advanced artificial intelligences definitely brings about some complicated moral and philosophical issues, even beyond humanitys eventual end. In any case, whether or not AI will cause humankinds extinction, it doesnt seem likely that humanitys endeavors in the area will slow down anytime soon.

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Trump’s call for human space exploration is hugely wasteful and pointless – Los Angeles Times

Posted: at 9:24 pm

Space exploration aficionados experienced the thrill of anticipationin the hours before President Trumps speech Tuesday night, with advance word that he was going to call for a return to the human exploration of space.

Sure enough, in his closing words Trump declared that for a country soon to celebrate its 250th anniversary, American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream.

Trumps brief, offhand comment had the tone of an impulsive notion that, like so many of his other policy pronouncements, wont get any follow-through. Lets hope so, because the idea of sending humans to explore distant worlds is loopy, incredibly wasteful, and likely to cripple American science rather than inspire it. And thats assuming that Trumps notion doesnt have the ulterior motivation of diverting American scientists from their Job One, which is to fight climate change right here at home.

The idea of sending humans back into planetary exploration, with Mars as the prime target,has been a crowd-pleasing dream of presidents ever since Gene Cernan became the last American to set his footprints on the moon in 1972. As the author Ken Kalfus toted up the record, during the Reagan administration a congressional commission called for a return to the moon by 2005 and a Mars landing by 2015;George H.W. Bush declared that the American flag should be planted on Mars by the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing (2019);andGeorge W. Bush moved the deadlineout to a moon landing by 2020 in preparation for a leap to Mars and other destinations.

Barack Obama canceled the Constellation program that might have fulfilled the latter Bushs dream, but eased the pain by calling for sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, orbiting humans around Mars by the mid-2030s, and landing them on the surface soon after that within his own lifetime.

The romance of human space exploration doesnt belong only to politicians. Its been exploited, for example, by the industrialist Elon Musk, who last year unveiled a vision of human colonization of Mars to turn humankind into a multiplanet species to safeguard against an extinction event on Earth. Musks private rocket company, SpaceX, recently announced that it has taken deposits from two customers for orbital voyages around the moon.

The exhortations by presidents shareseveral assumptions. One is that the manned moon exploration programs Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo have yieldedstupendous returns in science, engineering, and economics and that the exponentially more challenging voyage to Mars will yield exponentially greater benefits. Another is that humans are needed to perform some functions in space that robots cant do. A third (seldom voiced directly) is that only the drama and romance of human spaceflight can attract the public interest and support needed for such an expensive program. At the peak of the space race, NASA commanded fully 4% of the federal budget, a share that couldonly be sustained by tapping into public excitement.

None of these assumptions is warranted, even though the scientific and economic returns from the space programs are invariably invoked as articles of faith. Typical is this claim madein October by two Trump campaign advisors, former GOP Rep. Robert S. Walker of Pennsylvania and UC Irvine economist Peter Navarro: Our past investments in space exploration have produced brilliant returns for our economy, our security and our sense of national destiny. In their article, Walker and Navarro dont actually mention any specific economic returns, brilliant or otherwise. Thats unsurprising, because its hard to identify any that would not have been produced by an unmanned moon program.

The presidential visions of human space exploration all hark back, of course, to President Kennedys 1961 call to send a man to the moon and bring him back alive by the end of that decade, a quest that was fulfilled. That was a different time, however: America was in the heat of technological and economic battle with the Soviet Union, the 1957 Sputnik flight still stung, and the Soviets had recently sent cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in orbit around Earth. Back then we were all vulnerable to the cult of the astronaut; as a kid I knew the names and personal stories of all the original seven Mercury pilots. Today few can summon up the names of shuttle astronauts with the exception of Christa McAuliffe, who is recalled chiefly because of her tragic end on the shuttle Challenger.Todays sense of the limitations of public funding of science and heightened awareness of competing demands on the federal budget closer to home didnt exist in 1961.

Are humans necessary for space exploration? Less now than ever, with the vast advances in robotics achieved since the last moonwalk in 1972. Astronomers and other scientists long have been skeptical of the need for human exploration. In 2010, then-Astronomer Royal Martin Rees of Britain said, The practical case gets weaker and weaker with every advance in robotics and miniaturization. It's hard to see any particular reason or purpose in going back to the moon or indeed sending people into space at all."

As physicist Steven Weinberg observed more than a decade ago, placing humans on a space mission makes it so much more expensive than an unmanned flight that some elements of the mission get jettisoned and those are almost always scientific projects. The public obviously considers the human participants to be indispensable, so much so that a loss of life can almost destroy a space program, as happened with the space shuttle program after two human catastrophes. Accordingly, protecting human lives and health becomes paramount; the cost of those arrangements will be much greater on a Mars flight, which is estimated to take as long as nine months.

Weinberg makes short work of the best example made for the necessity of humans in spaceflight. This is the series of repair missions on the Hubble Space Telescope performed by shuttle crews, the last time in 2009. The Hubble is one of several orbiting observatories that have added immeasurably to our knowledge of distant space. But because it was launched by the shuttle, it was also uniquely expensive. Weinberg quotes Riccardo Giacconi, the former director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, as estimating that had the telescope been launched by unmanned rockets instead of the shuttle, seven Hubbles could have been launched for the same price as the one we got. It would then not have been necessary to service the Hubble, Weinberg writes; when design flaws were discovered or parts wore out, we could just have sent up another Hubble.

What really underlies the lure of human space exploration is its romance and drama, fostered in part by decades of popular culture, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek and Star Wars, and The Martian. The characters in these space operas are our heroes, but whats often overlooked is that many of these are disaster stories. The thrill we feel from the interplanetary rescue of the stranded astronaut of The Martian obscures the more fundamental question of why he had to get stranded up there in the first place.

Among the dangers of cavalier calls for publicly-funded human space exploration is that monumentalBig Science programs like the space race tend to suck resources away from any science left on the outside looking in. A multitrillion-dollarprogram to put an American on Mars, endorsed by a president, will get first call on the federal budget, leaving behind programs aimed at disease cures, chemistry, and physics far behind.

In the current political climate, the biggest threat is to Earth science, which is increasingly devoted to climate change. It may not be a coincidence that conservatives in Congress have been systematically trying cut NASAs Earth Science budget in favor of planetary exploration, albeit unmanned exploration. They argue that the goal is to refocus NASA on its traditional mission. But thatsa smokescreen, because research in climate science has become a major part of NASAs mission.Theyre really displaying their hostility to research that could undermine the fortunes of their patrons, the fossil fuel industry. If Trumps call for manned planetary exploration is another puff of that smokescreen, it would hardly be surprising.

Sending humans into space would give Americans a sense of mission and grandeur, but thats mostly a sign of civic immaturity. Take the same sums and spend them on curing disease whether the biological malady of cancer or the social maladies of poverty and hunger and pride will surely follow. Keep the astronauts at home, and there will be much more money available to send robots farther out than humans could ever go, and to bring back immeasurably more knowledge.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow@hiltzikmon Twitter, see hisFacebook page, or emailmichael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

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Trump's call for human space exploration is hugely wasteful and pointless - Los Angeles Times

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LEGO Announces ‘Women of NASA’ Set Celebrating Female Pioneers in Space Exploration – Babble (blog)

Posted: at 9:24 pm

Oscar-nominated filmHidden Figures tells the incredible (previously) untold story of three brilliant African-American women who worked at NASA.Through their pioneering work, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jacksonwere, in fact, the brains behind John Glenns orbit into space.

Since the Christmas Day release of this film, you may have been asking yourself: How can such remarkable contributions made by women in the fields of science and space exploration be forgotten by history?How are we supposed to tell our daughters and granddaughters that they can be anything they want to be,that there are no limits in what they can accomplish, when our own nations narrative fails to acknowledge the work of these remarkable female scientists and engineers?

When retired mathematician Johnson, 98, the only surviving employee of the three, made her appearance at this Sunday nights Oscars, it was one of the most moving moments of the awards ceremony. Introduced as a true NASA and American hero, she sat in her wheelchair, alongside the lead actresses of the film, while the crowd erupting in a stand ovation. She simply responded, Thank you very much.

Youre welcome, Katherine. We are all just so sorry that this acknowledgement is long overdue.

Girls Pose for Powerful Recreation of Hidden Figures Poster

Rocket ships dont launch themselves, and they dont take off from the merits of men alone. The year is 2017, right? Its about time we demanded that the overlooked achievements made by the women of NASA be celebrated. We need to provide these role models for all the little girls out there who dream big.

Thankfully, LEGO agrees.

This holiday season, a new LEGO set called Women of NASA will be hitting shelves. The exciting news was announced yesterday, congratulating science editor and writer, Maia Weinstock,came up with the idea for the project. The deputy editor of MIT News pitched this set as part of the LEGO IDEAS series which allows fans to propose new set concepts.

Weinstock reveals that she was inspired to create the setto help young ones and adults alike learn about the history of women. In this case, those [women] whove made a big impact through their work at NASA.

The set will feature five notableWomen of NASA including Sally Ride (the first American woman in space), Nancy Grace Roman (known as the mother of the Hubble Space Telescope), Mae Jemison (the first African-American woman in space), Margaret Hamilton and Katherine Johnson (whose work helped put the first people on the moon).

Havent heard of those other four women of NASA before now? Nope, neither have I. We have a long way to go in our own race for recognition, ladies. Thats why I think I speak for all women, and mothers, when I (in turn) say to LEGO,Thank you.

Thank you for paying tribute to the great minds who contributed to our milestones in space, thank you for making certain that history will never again forget the leaps and bounds these women have made in their respective fields, and thank you for giving us all another reason to tell fellow women in our life to never stop shooting for the stars.

I Took My Son to See 'Hidden Figures,' and We Both Walked Away Changed

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LEGO Announces 'Women of NASA' Set Celebrating Female Pioneers in Space Exploration - Babble (blog)

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What Donald Trump Said About Space Travel During His Speech – Heavy.com

Posted: at 9:24 pm

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress on February 28, 2017 in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. (Getty)

During his address to Congress on Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump delivered a brief line suggesting that America should resume its human exploration of space.

Towards the conclusion of Trumps remarks, the president talked about Americas centennial in 1876, when citizens gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate and inventors showed offtheir creations, including the telephone and the typewriter.

Trump then looked ahead to Americas 250th anniversary, listing off a number of things that America may be able to celebrate by then, including cures to illnesses and millions being lifted from welfare.

The president then said, American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream.

Before Trumps address, it was reported that the president would officially call for new manned space exploration. In actuality, there was only a brief reference to space travel, and Trump did not propose anything specific or place much emphasis on this statement.

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What Donald Trump Said About Space Travel During His Speech - Heavy.com

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Terrifying new Chinese tank revealed after photos leak online | Daily … – Daily Star

Posted: at 9:23 pm

CHINAS plans for WW3 have been revealed after pictures of its terrifying new tank were leaked online.

The photo which surfaced on the Chinese military website CJDBY shows what is thought to be a prototype of a deadly new Chinese infantry fighting vehicle.

The tanks fearsome new cannon can fire explosive shells at 1km per second, analysis suggests.

The new hardware is being developed as tensions continue to rise between China and the West in the South China Sea.

GETTY/CJDBY

CJDBY

China has issued a chilling warning to America over US Navy patrols in the South China Sea which it deemed threatening and damaging.

Chinese military leaders also revealed war with the US could now become a reality as a top powerbroker warned war could erupt between the two nations if trade agreements were to break down.

Experts believe the tank will replace the ZBD-04 and ZDB-04A which are used by China's People's Liberation Army.

NOICNIC

Unconfirmed Chinese media reports suggest the IFV may be armed with a new fast-loading cannon.

A similar weapon system was recently unveiled at the Chinese Zhuhai Airshow in November last year sparking claims the weapon could be fitted to the leaked photo.

DS

An inside view of the Chinese military over 120 years.

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The developer, China North Industries Corporation, claimed the cannon can fire up to 200 rounds per minute.

It can fire explosive rounds at a speed of 1km per second.

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‘Poker was like being in a trance’: readers’ experiences of problem gambling – The Guardian

Posted: at 9:21 pm

Bookmakers face losing their licence and huge fines over problem gambling. Photograph: Daniel Hambury/PA

Problem gambling costs the UK up to 1.2bn according to a report by charity GambleAware, with spending related to police intervention, mental health services and homelessness putting pressure on the system.

The charity warned of the narrow focus on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), known as the crack cocaine of gambling, and called on the government to do more to combat online betting.

We asked readers to share their personal experiences of problem gambling. Heres what some of you said.

Over three years I ran up an online poker loss of around 12,000. Playing poker was like being in a trance. I couldnt quit even whilst ahead. I drank. Id wake up the next day and wonder who that was last night that mad person who had dribbled away my hard-earned salary?

Since I work in finance this meant I couldnt change jobs as Id have my credit checked. This has held my career back. As a renter, it also meant I couldnt move from my flat, which has mould. For years I felt like a dirty loser with no control over my life.

I did have a good experience though with the site PartyPoker. I told them about my gambling and asked for a deposit limit of 10 to be put on my account. They said they took that sort of thing very seriously, closed my account and provided a link for advice on responsible gaming. I was pretty impressed, and to be honest that really helped break the poker-fever.

Sam, Edinburgh

I started playing blackjack online when I turned 18 and won several thousand pounds to start with. Then I started playing for more and more money and was simultaneously introduced to casino and internet poker. For several years I went through phases of giving myself an ultimatum that I would never play poker or gamble again, but inevitably I would break this promise to myself.

I tried to get counselling from Gamblers Anonymous (GA) but when it was offered to me I found I did not have the strength of mind to talk to a counsellor. I have hidden most of my online gambling from family and friends and have this burden of how I have wasted my time and money to myself. I am not sure who to tell as I am deeply embarrassed about it and feel it reflects badly on me and that those close to me will change their opinion.

Roger, London

My partner used to work for a high street bookmaker and developed a gambling problem through being in that environment. He suffers mental health problems and went off work for long term sickness and eventually left. He is a compulsive gambler and turns to gamble when he cannot cope with life.

Receiving substantial amounts of money can be distressing for him because of the compulsion he constantly feels to gamble. One time a few thousand poundswas played on roulette and lost within two and a half hours. No attempts to contact were made by the bookmaker, even though my partner had already lost a lot of money and they had access to files explaining his mental health issues.

Bookmakers always talk about protecting the vulnerable. I feel like allowing my partner to gamble like that was a massive failure and feel strongly enough to say they did not honour their licence agreement. Thankfully we pulled through and my partner received counselling through a local service . However I think he will always be a gambling addict and may always relapse throughout his life.

Louisa, north of England

My gambling was very secretive and involved bets on my phone. I gambled away money I didnt have, took out payday loans, borrowed off family members, all the while my wife didnt have a clue. I consider myself to be a family man, I love my wife and daughter and would do absolutely anything to give them a life they deserve. Gambling for me wasnt about chasing the big win, it was about chasing the money Id already lost. I got more satisfaction about recouping money Id lost that I did my winning outright.

When my wife found out about my problem she was devastated. We are saving up for our first mortgage and I was daft enough to waste what money I had left over on something so meaningless. I then risked my long-term credit rating by taking out short-term loans to fund my habit. I have attended GA meetings for the past 10 weeks and at the time of writing am coming up to 90 days without placing a bet.

Craig, Lancashire

My husband is a recovering gambler. He gambled for years without any issues then one day in the bookies he tried a roulette machine. Three years later and thousands of pounds in debt he eventually told me and started attending GA. It nearly destroyed our marriage and has had a profound impact on my ability to trust him. We now lose a substantial amount of our income a month to a debt management plan and whilst were financially secure due to reasonably paid jobs we cant afford all the nice things I see friends doing like holidaying abroad, going out for meals etc.

He is an intelligent, degree-educated man who works with addicts every day but these machines turned him into an addict of a different sort. He has had mental health problems ever since and remains on medication for anxiety. I dont think the 12 step approach suits everyone though. Perhaps there should be more CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy)-like approaches as there are with drugs and alcohol problems.

Amy, Yorkshire

I started gambling when I was 14. My mum, uncle and grandfather were all addicted to gambling. I started playing fruit machines in the pub where I worked part time. My mum and I then started going into the arcade in the local town often from 9am-9pm when it closed, before the 24 hour arcades opened. I have gambled pretty much every day since my mum died 10 years ago often going to the arcade and phoning in sick.

Ive had two periods of absence from work one lasted for 18 months and currently its been a couple of weeks. My mum died with a thousands of pounds of debt which my father knew nothing about. I have had counselling, taken part in clinical tests and have been to all the relevant NHS clinics but these are not supported as much as they should be.

Charlie, London

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The Necks and Battle Trance offer two different takes on experimental music – PGH City Paper

Posted: at 9:21 pm

By pure coincidence, two groups come to town this weekend playing music that cant be easily defined with a description like free improvisation, though that comes close. Their music definitely doesnt sound like jazz, though members of The Necks and Battle Trance have experience playing jazz music. Like the best artists who play that music, these groups know its history, and each has continued on its own course toward originality. The results come closer to music based on pure sound: Sometimes its so gentle it barely exists, while other times it gets abrasive. With either group, its best to check your inhibitions at the door and keep your ears open.

The Necks came together in Sydney, Australia, 30 years ago, playing purely improvised music. In the time since, the group has released 17 albums and toured the world, but bassist Lloyd Swanton says its original plans never looked beyond the practice room. We had no problem with an audience. We werent snobs or anything like that, Swanton says, speaking from San Francisco at the start of a tour. We didnt want any outside influence on the creation of music at all.

But the staff at Sydney Universitys Music Department heard Swanton, Chris Abrahams (piano, organ) and Tony Buck (drums, percussion) rehearsing, and invited them to participate in a concert series. We thought if we fell flat on our faces, well just go back to what we were doing, Swanton says. It turned out to be a very successful concert. We got about 100 people, and it just proceeded from there.

Audience size has grown since then. Last year, The Necks opened for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, bringing their relatively subdued sound to venues with thousands of seats. While they enjoyed that jaunt, Swanton says the members still prefer smaller spaces, with more attentive audiences. It was a buzz playing to 10,000 people, but theres something very special about an intimate room, he says. The way we play, we want to engage with the room a little bit more.

Members of The Necks never discuss what will happen before a performance. They walk onstage, stand in silence, and wait for one of them to make the first sound. What follows is often built on layers of drones, with musical fragments floating over them. Its not unusual for Swanton to bow a single note for several minutes, while Buck keeps some percussion clattering and Abrahams adds melodic fragments on piano or organ or both. While it sounds unorthodox, the bassist is following in a tradition. A lot of bass playing funk, reggae is all really about sitting on something solidly and reassuringly, he says. So I try to bring those mainstream principles to the music.

While The Necks play music made of three unique parts, the tenor saxophone quartet Battle Trance disregards individual personalities in favor of creating one big sound. After a while, theres little differentiation or recognition between the four of us, where its hard to tell whos playing what sound, says Travis Laplante, who formed the quartet, in 2012, with Patrick Breiner, Matt Nelson and Jeremy Viner.

This became apparent at the New York Winter Jazzfest back in January, during a performance of the lengthy piece Blade of Love. For close to an hour, the sounds kept shifting from droning long tones to a point where the quartet literally sang with their mouthpieces. Right when it seemed like they were noodling away, going off in four different directions, they all hit a low squonk together, which seemed intuitive. This clearly was a structured composition. The pieces are extremely precise, Laplante says, and the compositions are not vague. We get into the extreme subtleties of timbre, and were working with very specific, unusual fingerings of the saxophones to create very specific resonances with particular notes.

Laplante adds that the acoustics of a venue play a big role in a Battle Trance performance. The band and the pieces work very deeply with resonance. Not only the resonance of the saxophones but how that is embodied within the space that were playing, he says. Thats one of the things that I love about playing acoustic music, and this band in particular. The piece becomes alive in a totally different way every night.

While Battle Trance doesnt sound like a jazz group (in fact, its record label links it to classical music), Laplante came to his own unique approach through jazz studies. For me, he says, it was a balance between going deeper and deeper into the saxophone as an instrument and, at the same time, breaking down certain limitations I had put in my psyche about what is and isnt possible with the saxophone what is and isnt correct.

Likewise, when listening to either Battle Trance or The Necks, listeners should set aside any preconceptions they might have about the music.

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Interview with Luminosity Events founder Bo van Eck | Trance Hub – Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

Posted: at 9:21 pm

We had a chat with Bo van Eck, the man behind one of the biggest trance music events in the world Luminosity Events. Trance music is all about passion and it is essential to know what goes in making our dream events like Luminosity Beach Festival and more. Bo discusses behind the scenes stories and his love for trance music. You can buy tickets to #LBF17 Paylogic

The pleasure is mine! Im looking forward to hear all of the artists of course but Im always the most curious about the fresh names who will be making their Luminosity debut. It has always been a big priority for us to support new and upcoming artists and give them a stage to help their profile to grow and have their fans finally being able to hear and meet them.

The most important basis here is a big passion for the trance scene as a whole and the ideal to support especially the producing artists to help them making a living out of music and that way being able to continue producing beautiful trance music. Without this passion for trance music Im sure we wouldnt have the big support and success as we are currently receiving from so many passionate fans world width.

People recognize that the event is made by trance fans for trance fans. In this light the quality of the line-up and having a surprising element in the line-up is always the biggest priority for our events.

Already a few weeks before the coming Luminosity Beach Festival will be organised we start with planning the dates of the next years event. This of course has to go through the venues involved and has to be communicated with the local city councils as well as they need to confirm that the required emergency crew (police, ambulance and more) capacity will be available that specific weekend. Once that has been cleared we move forward with multiple artworks and start the first discussions with the agencies of the main headliners to double check if their agendas are free and to see if all is clear to move forward. As a whole confirming the line-up is a process of approx. 4-6 months as often than not all the requested artists are able to confirm directly.

Once the line-up is confirmed we can move forward with other key elements such as the promotion of the event, the production, organising the crew, plan meetings with suppliers and brainstorm about fresh ideas etc. In all aspects the main organisation mission is to 1) surprise the visitors every year by adding new elements and changing organising and production compared with the previous year and 2) to improve literally every aspects which is involved in the event organisation. Think of the production, merchandise, minimalizing the waiting time at the entrance, bars and toilets, transports, accommodation for all artists and crew involved and most importantly the overall atmosphere of the event.

During the event our crew has approx. 60-70 people. In the preparations we are working with approx. 8 people. Most tasks are split, thinking of artwork, merchandise, administration & accounting, customer service, social media, artists hospitality, logistics, physical promotions, online marketing, personnel, web mastering etc.

The best thing without a doubt is seeing and meeting passionate people from all over the world, enjoying the music and making new friends, experiencing the event together with a friendly crew like it is a small heaven on earth.

Listening to new music and radio shows and finding new amazing tracks and exciting talented artists also gives me a great feeling of motivation and hope for the years to come.Apart from the atmosphere and happiness factor Im a planner type of guy from origin so it makes me happy and proud when things work out as planned and organised. Small example is seeing people from the main event walking to the shuttle buses to the after party, all staying together, friendly and controlled. Making sure everything happens in a good, safe and responsible way. Every now and then police and other authorities are stopping by to keep an eye on the overall organisation and seeing their happy and sometimes even surprised face expression is great to see and a sign that we as event as a whole are doing great which is also the basis for the local authorities to approve out request to organise the event there in the future again.

Negatives are the enormous pressure involved to keep the event as one of the best out there. Of course it is a huge privilege to often read positive feedback from the visitors but after the event it can sometimes cause sleepless nights as thinking how we are going to improve next year

Theres also a huge overall challenge as there are many parties involved in organising an event and we need to make sure all are motivated and capable of organising the event as we planned. During the event I think its safe to say that 80% of what we planned in the preparations runs differently than how we expected so in that case its important that all involved are flexible, able to improvise and are capable to work with big pressure and still stay friendly and always being focused on finding solutions.

Picture: Ivan Lavarini

Music wise I miss a lot the more old school sounds in the BPM area between progressive and 138 where the focus is on euphoric melodies and dreamy vocals and vibes. I do enjoy most of the sub-genres today (from progressive to psy-trance). Furthermore Im happy to see that the more trouse sounds havent made out in the trance scene for long and havent took over trance as a whole.

Apart from the global situation Im a bit worried about the trance event scene here in The Netherlands as there is a bit of a overkill going on with often multiple events being organised in the same weekend which Im afraid affects in events pulling a smaller crowd, having a smaller budget and so seeing the overall quality going down. When that happens Im afraid that event visitors get a negative experience and arent so likely anymore to visit another trance event in the future which is killing for the trance scene in the long terms.

Thats a difficult one! Id say the Luminosity Beach Festival 2016 as the feedback of that event was so positive even while expectations were already incredible high. The atmosphere experienced, seeing people crying of happiness, is something I havent witnessed ever before. Also from the organisation and crew perspectives that was an event which I look back to in a very positive way. Apart from last years beach event every event is important and special for us.

Ive actually kept my regular daytime job for the past 9 years while organising events, this as I studied for it, had great joy doing the work and had great colleagues to work with as well. Quitting my day time job in times of a crises was a bit of a tricky thing to do as you never know if in the future an employer will give you the job in the previous working experience again, as obviously Id be out of that work for some years and they then might prefer a more junior and cheaper employee. Looking back at things now I have dont really understand how Ive managed to get things done back then ha! Even today Id wish there would be 100 hours in a day, being able to do more. This is also the reason that we now have an office which gives the possibility to work in a bigger team and also work more together, exciting times really!

Simple! The way how trance music can hit you in the soul and have an impact on our daily moods is so big! Possibly for many of us it could be an addiction I also find the trance scene overall a very open and friendly type of people. When visiting events its easy to make new friends and have fun together. You dont get fights quickly when stepping on someone toes by accident etc. People have positive minds and make the best of things.

Not really, no. So far the goal is to keep the event as exclusive as possible and not sell the concept to earn more money. The event has grown from very small to an average sized event step by step, in a very organic and non-forced way. The vital factor in our event, as I see it, is having the support of the most dedicated and passionate crowd out there. Copying the event to another part in the world would require the same slow and organic way of event grow. This is also something very time taking so to do so we would have to start from zero somewhere else which would also effect in having less budgets and a lower overall event quality which obviously doesnt meets the ambitions from our side and expectations from the crowd. Copying the event to somewhere else and then forcing the event to have a similar event visitors as in the Netherlands would require a big mainstream promotion campaign and effect in a type of crowd which doesnt meet our concept fully.

This week however we had the pleasure to announce a new partnership with Captured Festival in Ibiza, who have much similar ethos as Luminosity Events so we are exciting to combine powers and organise great events there in the coming years!

I wouldnt say its the best festival in the world but our power is the combination of a unique line-up, a great location with the freedom to leave the event at any time to take a relaxing break at the beach and then come back to the event, a friendly crew and most important the support of a huge internationally dedicated and passionate trance crowd.

I in no way like to sound arrogant here but not really no. I could mention someone like Tiesto but honestly I wouldnt know what the effects on Luminosity of such a booking would be; what crowd would visit us then and which atmosphere will there be? Im happy, privileged and proud on and with the artists who we have worked with so far. In that light I rather re-book artists which we have previously worked with than new superstars who would possibly change our concept too much.

Im a family guy who loves making day trips and travels to see the world and experience as much as possible. I love football but quit playing myself after some injuries in my youth so Im now a professional TV watcher

In the weekends I love to spent time with my kids, go to a restaurant and visit trance events every few weeks

Thank you. Its always a pleasure to do interviews like this one. Id also like to thank all the fans for their long and loyal support and my family to be able to balance work and personal life. Its a busy job which often continues up to night times while others would spend quality family time together so it means a non-stop mixture of family time and hard work, but Im very lucky to be in this position, to share what we as team love doing and spreading the love for trance music worldwide.

Hope to see you all on the dancefloor at Luminosity Beach Festival 2017.

Co-Founder of Trance Hub, Curator of The Gathering events in India and ALT+TRANCE in Czech Republic. By day, a Digital Marketing Enthusiast with love for Food and Technology. By night, a dreamer who wants to grow the Trance scene in India.

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Interview with Luminosity Events founder Bo van Eck | Trance Hub - Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

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The 40 Best Trance Songs Ever – EDM Sauce

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Best Trance Songs 1-20

Since its origins in the 1990s, trance music has been known to have influences from genres such as house music, big room, ambient, techno and even tech house. Today, trance music can be broken down into many smaller sub-genres, some of which include hard, euphoric and commercial, uplifting trance and progressive trance.

Even though trance music has made many transitions throughout the years, the euphoric genre remains to have a tempo lying anywhere between 125 and 150 beats per minute.

In the early days of trance, the scene was being pushed forward by the likes of Tiesto, Rank 1, Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, Markus Schulz and a handful of other artists. In the current state of trance, artists such as Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren, Andrew Rayel, Gareth Emery and Markus Schulz continue to push the scene in a new direction.

We have compiled 40 of the best trance songs of all time. While this list may be subjective to some, this list includes some of the most influential trance songs of all time.

Tiesto Adagio for Strings

Motorcyle As The Rush Comes

Sasha Xpander

Rank 1 Airwave

Solarstone Seven Cities (Solarstone Pure Mix)

Gouryella Gouryella

Paul Oakenfold Southern Sun

Luminary Amsterdam (Super 8 & Tab Remix)

Dash Berlin Till The Sky Falls Down

John O'Callaghan feat. Sarah Howells Find Yourself

Gouryella Walhalla

Tritonal feat. Phoebe Ryan Now Or Never

Above & Beyond ft. Richard Bedford Sun & Moon

Paul Oakenfold Toca Me

Tiesto Love Comes Again ft. BT

DJ Mangoo Eurodancer

ATB Could You Believe

Tiesto Elements of Life

Armin van Buuren ft. Trevor Guthrie This Is What It Feels Like

Markus Schulz The New World

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The 40 Best Trance Songs Ever - EDM Sauce

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