machilin

I was interested in the question about how computer scientist would perform as politicians. As far as I know, one person who seems to be pretty prominent in a government leader position is Herman Cain. Since computer science is a fairly new discipline and most of the world's leaders so far are not computer scientists. I would like to find out opinions on how a computer scientist would fare as a politician. Perhaps a more efficient and tech-driven governance? Will we one day see a president who is a computer scientist? That would be a really interesting question. Thank you.

Hello there, I'm interested in dabbling with some projects related to artificial intelligence. And I would love to know of any big startups focused on AI, or build products enhanced with AI. Could you guys name a few? I know of some such as Hunch, Siri.

One pattern I noticed among most of these companies is that typically do not become really BIG companies or generate billions in revenue. So what's the prospect for someone looking to build a company focused on AI, or enhance current products with AI, e.g marrying real estate with AI, or search with AI? Or perhaps social networking with AI?

Just a few weeks ago, I saw a web app posted on HN that uses a url to find the first image on google image and show it to you. e.g http://website.com/iphone would show you an image of an iphone. I vaguely remember the title as "say it in words" or something similar, but I had little luck finding it. Can anyone point me to this gem again? Thank you.

I would hate to say this but either it is one, or looks just like one. There will be losers and winners in this case. People who bought them early cash out and earn a huge profit. So where does the profits come from? Thin air? From people who buy them at a higher price. And how do they cash out without making a loss? By cashing out at a higher prices when other people are buying.

It's almost like a never ending cycle until maybe bitcoin prices reaches infinity and beyond. Someone has to win and someone will lose. You can't have everyone becoming bitcoin millionaires. Big issue now is bitcoin prices are dropping fast. So good luck to those still holding on to those hot potatoes. Cheers.

Judging from the prices of Bitcoin and more recently, Litecoin and the creation of new currency, it dawned on me: What's stopping me or anyone of you guys from creating your own "currency" and making a quick profit? Here's the plan:

1. Create a new "currency", claim it's better than bitcoin. 2. Mine as much as you can when the difficulty is low or pre-mint some coins yourself. 3. Wait for a while as prices for your currency rises. 4. Cash out and PROFIT for the win.

Maybe, I should spend the weekend hacking away of my new "bitcoin alternative". What do you guys think?

Bitcoin has been on a tear recently with great potential, and I'm really excited about it. But I have some legitimate concerns that I can't quite figure out:

1. Is the rising price of bitcoin sustainable? Sounds to me like a bubble in making, with the influx of speculators and crazy buzz around it. How much further can the price go up, before it goes south and comes crashing to the ground, or will it be able to stabilise? You won't want to be holding any bitcoins when the bubble does burst.

2. Bitcoin has no governmental control which is a core strength but is also a weakness. Who's to stop you from creating your own 'high yield fund' ponzi and disappearing with the money? That's a big concern on its own.

3. Bitcoin is a great investment with high yields, judging by the rising prices, but not a great currency for spending. Until, Amazon starts accepting bitcoins, only then will consumers take it seriously. Otherwise, great currency to invest in.

Pretty big concerns but not too sure what you guys would think of these. Cheers.