Towletech v.113: Jurassic World, Turing Test, Magic Schoolbus, World's Largest TV

BY KYLER GEOFFROY

A weekly round-up of the best tech, science, and geek-related news from around the web.

 The first official photos of increasingly hunky Chris Pratt on the set of Jurassic World. You’re welcome. 

 And while I myself can't wait for Jurassic World, a new report shows Chinese audiences are growing increasingly tired of Hollywood's overreliance on sequels, remakes, and special effects-stuffed blockbusters. 

 A Russian computer program has become the first AI to pass the Turing Test by impersonating a 13-year-old non-native-English-speaking Ukrainian boy. Futurist Ray Kurzweil and other experts, however, are saying not so fast. Luckily, we have Steven Colbert to clarify everything for us: its a 'robolution' in the making.

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 Every video game being shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this week in Los Angeles.

 Put those fears about America's failing education system aside - Netlix has announced that it will reboot classic 90's kid's show The Magic Schoolbus.

 Crayola boxes may sadly become a thing of the past with Scribble - a pen that lets you scan and replicate any random object's color   

 Amazon launches Spotify-esque streaming music service free to Prime members.

 The powerful implications of 3D printing, robotics, artificial intelligence, the “Internet of Things,” infinite computing and synthetic biology in one handy little 5 minute video: 

 

 A mind-controlled exoskeleton will be kicking off the World Cup's opening ceremony today.

 What Doctor Who might look like in the hands of Disney animators.   

 A Facebook employee by the name of Dave Goldblatt has donated $20,000 to win the top prize in a charity contest put on by Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin. And the prize? Dave will get the honor of having a new character named after him in an upcoming book...and said character will then be killed off in a grisly manner. So so very jealous

 You might have seen our post earlier today on NASA’s warp drive space ship designed to make interstellar travel easier. Well earlier this week, Boeing unveiled its new “space taxi” – designed to make it easier to launch astronauts into space. 

 And if you’re still looking for a Father’s Day present, consider the 370-inch Titan – the world’s largest television. It’ll only set you back a cool $1.7 million

Got something you think would be cool for the round-up? Tweet me @kylergee

Hillary Clinton Spars with NPR's Terry Gross in Combative Interview About Gay Marriage: LISTEN

Hillary Clinton sparred with NPR host Terry Gross during a lengthy, tense, set of questions about her evolution on gay marriage.

Gross began by asking her if her move to marriage equality support was a political calculation even though she's committed to human rights, which started things going.

“I think you’re reading it very wrong," Clinton answered. "I think that, as I said – just as the President has said – just because you’re a politician doesn’t mean you’re not a thinking human being. You gather information, you think through positions, you’re not one hundred percent set, thank goodness, you’re constantly re-evaluating where you stand. That is true for me."

Thus began seven minutes of questions during which Clinton seemed to  disagree with every question, finally accusing Gross of trying to distort her message:

"You know I really, I have to say, I think you being very persistent, but you are playing with my words and playing with what is such an important issue...No, I don’t think you are trying to clarify. I think you are trying to say that I used to be opposed and now I am in favor and I did it for political reasons. And that’s just flat wrong. So let me just state what I feel like I think you are implying and repudiate it. I have a strong record. I have a great commitment to this issue and I am proud of what I’ve done and the progress we're making.”

Listen to the interview, AFTER THE JUMP...

Wisconsin Attorney General Says County Clerks May Be Prosecuted for Issuing Gay Marriage Licenses

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen (R-pictured) said Thursday that gay couples who have been issued marriage license since U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage last Friday are not married in the eyes of the law and county clerks who issue marriage licenses to these couples could be prosecuted.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

"You do have many people in Wisconsin basically taking the law into their own hands and there can be legal repercussions for that," Van Hollen said. "So, depending on who believes they're married under the law and who doesn't believe they're married under the law may cause them to get themselves in some legal problems that I think are going to take years for them and the courts to work out."

He said he did not believe same-sex couples could be prosecuted but that county clerks risked that happening.

"That's going to be up to district attorneys, not me," he said. "There are penalties within our marriage code, within our statutes, and hopefully they're acting with full awareness of what's contained therein."

According to state law, country clerks can be jailed for up to nine months and fined up to $10,000 for issuing marriage licenses that aren’t allowed. According to the AP, 63 of the state’s 72 counties are issuing marriage license to same-sex couples.

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said the possibility of prosecution “doesn’t keep me up at night,” and that Van Hollen needs to "call off the dogs and turn off the fire hoses.”

Van Hollen has appealed the ruling to the 7^th Circuit Cort of Appeals and is asking for a stay.

Guy Captures Terrifying Close Encounter With Great White Shark on GoPro Camera: VIDEO

So some online are saying that this video of a guy in Sydney Harbour capturing a close encounter with a Great White shark on his GoPro camera is fake – but you be the judge.

Fake or not, I still found the video horrifying in a “scream holy sh*t at your computer screen” kind of way.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…

 

Hillary Clinton: The U.S. 'Must Be On the Front Lines' of LGBT Rights Around the World: VIDEO

At the first speaking stop on a tour promoting her new memoir Hard Choices, Hillary Clinton spoke about her push for gay rights during her 2009-2013 tenior as Secretary of State -  saying that there is still much work to be done to secure global LGBT equality and that the U.S. must lead the way.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

"I began to vigorously protest with governments in many parts of the world," she said. Some countries just need to be "brought along." Others: "Are just cynical. Like what Putin's doing in Russia with all these laws against the LGBT community. That is just a cynical political ploy. I've gotten into shouting matches with top Russian officials. But I realized unless there was an argument made, a platform created, we wouldn't have as strong of a case."

"We have a long way to go, I don't want to mislead anybody," Clinton said. "This is going to be an ongoing struggle and the United States must be on the front lines."

Clinton, who was joined on stage by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, also spoke out for women’s rights and the need to reestablish a “thriving middle class.”

Check out a news report on Clinton’s stop in Chicago, AFTER THE JUMP...

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1598

39 FACTS: About comedy.

ANDERSON COOPER: Tries a schizophrenia simulator.

GHOST PEPPER CHALLENGE: 1,000 people eat one of the hottest peppers in the world in Copenhagen.

FAILS: This week's best.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.