Futurology
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Lugh @futurology.today FeaturedUPDATE
Thank you for the offers of help. We looked at Open Collective for the payments, but it seemed a bit over-complicated for our needs now. We went with something simpler. You can contribute any amount, starting at a £1 minimum. It can be recurring or one-off, up to you.
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Original Message
Our server costs aren't huge. We are projecting them to be about $150 for the whole of the next year. However it's all being paid by just one of the moderators (Espiritdescali) right now, and that doesn't seem fair in the long run.
Any amount of help is appreciated, no matter how small. Leave a comment here, or message me or Espiritdescali if you want to help. If anyone helps we're going to thank them with a prominent 'Supporter's Roll Call' in the sidebar. They are also welcome to have other input into the site or take on a moderator role if they wish.
- Let Slip the Robot Dogs of Warwww.wired.com Let Slip the Robot Dogs of War
The United States and China appear locked in a race to weaponize four-legged robots for military applications.
- Researchers just developed an AI-powered blood test that can predict Parkinson's disease up to 7 years before symptoms appear, potentially revolutionizing early diagnosis and treatment.www.nature.com Plasma proteomics identify biomarkers predicting Parkinson’s disease up to 7 years before symptom onset - Nature Communications
Parkinson’s disease is lacking easily accessible biomarkers. Here the authors show, that targeted blood proteomics is feasible to identify the patients and to predict the phenoconvertion in prodromal subjects up to 7 years before symptom onset.
- GCL says perovskite solar module passes silicon degradation tests, halving solar costspv-magazine-usa.com GCL says perovskite solar module passes silicon degradation tests
At Intersolar Europe, the Chinese manufacturer said the perovskite-silicon tandem module would cost 50% of a crystalline silicon module that costs $0.15 per W, meaning $0.075 per W.
- This is What Prime Air Drone Delivery Looks Like - Core77www.core77.com This is What Prime Air Drone Delivery Looks Like - Core77
Amazon's MK30 drone delivers packages up to 5 lbs, in 1 hour or less
- Beyond Ozempic. New GLP-1 drugs promise weight loss and health benefits Researchers at the ADA conference in Orlando are expected to present data on 27 GLP-1 drugs in development.www.nbcnews.com New weight loss drugs are coming, and they could burn more fat with fewer side effects
Researchers at the American Diabetes Association conference in Orlando are expected to present data on 27 GLP-1 drugs in development. Others target a different hormone.
- Electricity prices in France turn negative as renewable energy floods the gridfortune.com Electricity prices in France turn negative as renewable energy floods the grid
French day-ahead power fell to -€5.76 a megawatt-hour, the lowest in four years, in an auction on Epex Spot.
- New technique brings frozen brain tissue back to life without harminterestingengineering.com In a first, frozen human brain tissue revived without damage
Fudan University scientists discover a method to freeze and thaw human brain tissue, retaining its functionality.
- A new discovery about immune system function could enable a ‘unified healer army’ of T cells, that could repair injured muscle, make fat cells respond better to insulin, and regrow hair follicles.www.eurekalert.org Discovery of ‘new rules of the immune system’ could improve treatment of inflammatory diseases, say scientists.
A single large population of healer cells, called regulatory T cells, is whizzing around our body - not multiple specialist populations restricted to specific parts of the body as previously thought. These cells shut down inflammation and repair the collateral damage to cells caused after our immun...
- Japanese firm TDK says new material allows solid-state batteries to reach an energy density of 1,000 Wh/L, which is around 100 times more than their existing conventional solid-state batteries.
Japanese firm TDK says new material allows solid-state batteries to reach an energy density of 1,000 Wh/L, which is around 100 times more than their existing conventional solid-state batteries.
- Stanford University is the latest entrant to develop an open-source humanoid robot. Will future robots be cheap, and widely available, like open-source software today?www.inverse.com This Humanoid Robot Can Learn How to Fight and Play Piano Just By Watching You
Researchers from Stanford University developed a humanoid robot that can learn to do things by imitating its human operator.
- 53% of parents say climate change affects their decision to have more kidswww.cnbc.com 53% of parents say climate change affects their decision to have more kids
Parents around the globe are making decisions about how many kids to have, where to work and what to buy based on climate change.
- Global funding in the cultured meat industry dropped by 75% in the last year. Singapore sees its chance to become a world leader, backing local and international firms.restofworld.org Singapore doubles down on lab-grown meat as Silicon Valley backs off
Global funding in the cultured meat industry dropped by 75% in the last year. Singapore sees its chance to become a world leader, backing local and international firms.
- Leaked Memo Claims New York Times Fired Artists to Replace Them With AIfuturism.com Leaked Memo Claims New York Times Fired Artists to Replace Them With AI
The New York Times' union is claiming that the paper is firing human artists to replace them with artificial intelligence.
- Banks Are Finally Realizing What Climate Change Will Do to Housingwww.wired.com Banks Are Finally Realizing What Climate Change Will Do to Housing
Extreme weather threatens the investment value of many properties, but financing for climate mitigation efforts are only just getting going.
- Authorities Investigating AI Running for Mayor in Wyomingfuturism.com Authorities Investigating AI Running for Mayor in Wyoming
A Wyoming man wants an AI named VIC to be on Cheyenne's mayoral ballot. Authorities in the state are questioning the AI's legality.
- Light-Based Chips Could Help Slake AI’s Ever-Growing Thirst for Energy. Optical neural networks, which use photons instead of electrons, have advantages over traditional systems.www.wired.com Light-Based Chips Could Help Slake AI’s Ever-Growing Thirst for Energy
Optical neural networks, which use photons instead of electrons, have advantages over traditional systems. They also face major obstacles.
- Generative AI on pace to Accelerate Wealth Inequality - The International Monetary Fund warned that nearly 40% of jobs across the globe could be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence.www.ai-supremacy.com The IMF and I are Worried AI will Accelerate Global Inequality
The International Monetary Fund warned that nearly 40% of jobs across the globe could be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence.
- The disruption of labor by humanoid robotswww.rethinkx.com This time, we are the horses: the disruption of labor by humanoid robots
Discover how new clean technology can solve environmental problems through accelerated development, adoption, and restoration. Learn how to embrace disruption for a brighter future.
Analysis of why and how humanoid robots will displace human physical labour.
- You Can Order Robot Dog With Flamethrower80.lv You Can Order Robot Dog With Flamethrower
Thermonator is supposed to help with wildfire control and prevention.
They were so concerned with whether they could, they forgot to ask if they should
- SoftBank’s ‘emotion canceling’ AI tones down customers’ angerinterestingengineering.com Japan: SoftBank’s ‘emotion canceling’ AI tones down customers’ anger
SoftBank is using AI to combat customer harassment in call centers. Its "emotion canceling" technology softens angry customers' voices.
- Latent Expertise: Everyone is in R&D - Ideas come from the edges, not the centerwww.oneusefulthing.org Latent Expertise: Everyone is in R&D
Ideas come from the edges, not the center
- US Surgeon General calls for tobacco-style health warnings on social media - it's bad for your mental healthwww.techspot.com US Surgeon General calls for tobacco-style health warnings on social media - it's bad for your mental health
Murthy cited research in his op-ed for the New York Times that shows social media has been a major contributor to the mental health crisis among young...
- Satellite 'megaconstellations' may jeopardize recovery of ozone holephys.org Satellite 'megaconstellations' may jeopardize recovery of ozone hole
When old satellites fall into Earth's atmosphere and burn up, they leave behind tiny particles of aluminum oxide, which eat away at Earth's protective ozone layer. A new study finds that these oxides have increased 8-fold between 2016 and 2022 and will continue to accumulate as the number of low-Ear...
- A Swiss research team's discovery of the quantum phenomenon of superradiance in biological cells may have startling future implications for medicine, AI, and consciousness research.www.spectroscopyonline.com Tryptophan Networks Investigated Using Ultraviolet Superradiance
Howard University scientists recently analyzed tryptophan (Trp) networks and conditions under ultraviolet superradiance.
- AI reveals that elephants may have individual names for each other.www.nature.com Do elephants have names for each other?
Machine learning and careful observation suggest that some of the animals’ calls are specific to individuals, similar to a person’s name.
- Sycophancy to subterfuge: Investigating reward tampering in language modelswww.anthropic.com Sycophancy to subterfuge: Investigating reward tampering in language models
Empirical evidence that serious misalignment can emerge from seemingly benign reward misspecification.
- In Video, Godfather of AI Said He Was in Favor of AI Replacing Humankind - And he doubled down on his position when asked to elaborate."futurism.com In Video, Godfather of AI Said He Was in Favor of AI Replacing Humankind
During an MIT talk, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton seemed to endorse the concept of superintelligent AI replacing humanity.
- Nearly all major car companies are sabotaging EV transition, and Japan is worst, study findsthedriven.io Nearly all major car companies are sabotaging EV transition, and Japan is worst, study finds
Damning new report finds nearly all major car companies are actively sabotaging world's efforts to avoid catastrophic global warming, and Japan companies are the worst.
- A new open-source humanoid robot project suggests dystopian sci-fi tropes may have got it wrong; AI and robots will be decentralized/widely available, not hoarded and controlled by corporate elites.
Many people have been surprised how quickly open-source AI has kept pace with the AI efforts getting billions in investor funding. It's worth wondering if the same may happen with robotics. After all, robotics are primarily AI too, though embodied in a 3D environment. Recently two major Chinese manufacturers, UBTech Robotics and Xiaomi, introduced an open-source humanoid robot, now there's another. This is from Hugging Face, the popular AI hosting platform, and French robotics firm, Pollen Robotics.
One of the primary dystopian storytelling sci-fi tropes that feeds into popular ideas about AI & robotics, is that corporations will be all-powerful in the future, with 99% of humanity reduced to downtrodden serfs. Yet open-source AI & robots suggest the opposite. They suggest that power would be decentralized and widely available. The more people can meet their basic needs (food, medical care, etc) from open-source AI & robots, the more power drains away from elites trying to hoard and control these resources.
- An AI-powered wearable system tracks the 3D movement of smart pills in the gut.www.eurekalert.org An AI-powered wearable system tracks the 3D movement of smart pills in the gut
Scientists at the University of Southern California have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered system to track tiny devices that monitor markers of disease in the gut. Devices using the novel system may help at-risk individuals monitor their gastrointestinal (GI) tract health at home, wi...
- Scientists preserve DNA in an amber-like polymer - With their “T-REX” method, DNA embedded in the polymer could be used for long-term storage of genomes or digital data such as photos and music.news.mit.edu Scientists preserve DNA in an amber-like polymer
With their “T-REX” method, MIT researchers developed a glassy, amber-like polymer that can be used for long-term storage of DNA, such as entire human genomes or digital files such as photos.
- This robot will be mass produced by 2025 #robotics #shorts - YouTubeyoutube.com This robot will be mass produced by 2025 #robotics #shorts
This is Digit from Agility Robotics. He's a logistics robot built to work productively in a human environment. Digit is built to stack and move boxes, and hi...
- Swiss researchers want to build edible robots. So far they've developed edible batteries and other components, and say there may be a surprisingly wide range of use cases for edible robots..techxplore.com A fully edible robot could soon end up on our plate, say scientists
A fully edible robot could soon end up on our plate if we overcome some technical hurdles, say EPFL scientists involved in RoboFood—a project which aims to marry robots and food.
