Blog

Archive for the ‘economics’ category: Page 161

Aug 21, 2017

Paul Tudor Jones Wants to Crowdsource “Good” Companies — By Imogen Rose-Smith | Institutional Investor

Posted by in categories: business, economics, ethics, finance

” … Paul Tudor Jones co-founded JUST Capital to fix the ills of corporate capitalism by identifying the most just or “good” companies. Will it work?”

Read more

Aug 21, 2017

The Great Transhumanist Game — Part 1 — How to Win

Posted by in categories: economics, geopolitics, transhumanism

~ Gennady Stolyarov


This video was created by Gennady Stolyarov II, Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party, as a piece in the Great Transhumanist Game orchestrated by Professor Angel Marchev, Sr., Ph.D., of the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Continue reading “The Great Transhumanist Game — Part 1 — How to Win” »

Aug 21, 2017

The Great Transhumanist Game — Part 2 — How to Play and Not to Play

Posted by in categories: economics, geopolitics, transhumanism

~ Gennady Stolyarov


This is the second video created by Gennady Stolyarov II, Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party, as a piece in the Great Transhumanist Game orchestrated by Professor Angel Marchev, Sr., Ph.D., of the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Continue reading “The Great Transhumanist Game — Part 2 — How to Play and Not to Play” »

Aug 20, 2017

VW’s electric microbus will become a reality in 2022

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI, transportation

When Volkswagen unveiled the ID Buzz, the assumption was that it would meet the same fate as many concept cars: it’d look good at an auto show, and promptly disappear when cold economic realities set in. Thankfully, the Buzz won’t suffer that fate. VW has announced that it will put the Microbus-inspired EV into production, with a launch expected by 2022. We wouldn’t expect everything about the Buzz to remain intact (those large wheels are likely the first things to go), but the ’60s-inspired styling, semi-autonomous driving and all-wheel drive option will carry over. VW is even teasing a cargo variant, so couriers may have a clean (and slightly kitschy) alternative to the usual vans.

The EV is primarily targeted at China, Europe and North America.

The melding of a nostalgic vibe with electric transportation is the primary allure, of course, but VW notes that going electric should make it very practical. As it doesn’t need a giant gas engine, there’s a tremendous amount of space. You’d get as much passenger room as a big SUV in the size of a compact commercial van, VW says. It’s also practical for the automaker. If prior leaks are accurate, VW is producing the Buzz precisely because it’s based on the same platform as other ID cars, making it far less expensive to develop than the previous Microbus concept (which had a one-off platform).

Continue reading “VW’s electric microbus will become a reality in 2022” »

Aug 20, 2017

Where is China’s Silicon Valley?

Posted by in categories: economics, innovation

The technology furor that has emerged way before 2014, and swept across the country can’t be more pronounced. As many as 17 national-level innovation demonstration zones from coastal Shenzhen to inland Chengdu city have been handpicked by the State Council, or China’s cabinet, and allowed to offer favourable policies to spur innovation and drive regional economic growth based on their respective strengths and geographical advantages.


Beijing has picked 17 tech hubs across the country to transform from a manufacturing-reliant economy to one led by tech and innovation.

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 12 August, 2017, 8:16am.

Continue reading “Where is China’s Silicon Valley?” »

Aug 20, 2017

China rushes into embryo selection

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, economics, genetics, government

China’s five year plan to eliminate birth defects by preimplantation genetic diagnosis of embryos.

Gene-editing with CRISPR has been in the headlines over the past month and touted as a way of eliminating genetic diseases. But the cruder and cheaper technique of preimplantation genetic diagnosis does the same. And it is exploding in China. According to a feature in Nature, fertility doctors there “have been pursuing a more aggressive, comprehensive and systematic path towards its use there than anywhere else”.

The government’s current five-year plan for economic development has made reproductive medicine, including PGD, a priority. In 2004, only four clinics in the whole country were licensed to perform PGD; now there are 40.

Continue reading “China rushes into embryo selection” »

Aug 19, 2017

Weapons Money Intended For Economic Development Being Secretly Diverted to Lobbying

Posted by in category: economics

The UAE is funneling money meant for development projects to a think tank known to support arms sales.

Read more

Aug 16, 2017

Business Book of the Year 2017 — the longlist

Posted by in categories: business, drones, economics, mobile phones

Death, taxis and technology: titles in the running for this year’s Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year give a new twist to the old maxim about certainty.

The 17 books on the 2017 longlist include analyses of the implications of world-changing innovations, from the iPhone to drones; a lively account of the rise of Uber; and a sobering history of the role war, plague and catastrophe have played in shaping our economies.


Titles about the relentless march of technology dominate the FT/McKinsey annual prize.

Read more

Aug 14, 2017

This Economic Model Organized Asia for Decades. Now It’s Broken

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, food, robotics/AI, sustainability

Pan’s company is at the vanguard of a trend that could have devastating consequences for Asia’s poorest nations. Low-cost manufacturing of clothes, shoes, and the like was the first rung on the economic ladder that Japan, South Korea, China, and other countries used to climb out of poverty after World War II. For decades that process followed a familiar pattern: As the economies of the early movers shifted into more sophisticated industries such as electronics, poorer countries took their place in textiles, offering the cheap labor that low-tech factories traditionally required. Manufacturers got inexpensive goods to ship to Walmarts and Tescos around the world, and poor countries were able to provide mass industrial employment for the first time, giving citizens an alternative to toiling on farms.


Automation threatens to block the ascent of Asia’s poor. Civil unrest could follow.

Read more

Aug 10, 2017

Merion West Interviews Zoltan Istvan, Candidate for Governor of CA

Posted by in categories: economics, genetics, geopolitics, life extension, robotics/AI, transhumanism

A new interview I did on my transhumanist California Governor run:


On August 4th, Zoltan Istvan joined Merion West’s Erich Prince for an interview to discuss his campaign for Governor of California. Running in this race as a Libertarian, Mr. Istvan previously ran in the 2016 presidential election as a member of the Transhumanist Party. Working previously for National Geographic, Mr. Istvan is well-known for his writings on transhumanism, the movement that aims to improve human life and extend longevity through science. A pillar of his campaign for Governor of California includes a proposal for implementing universal basic income.

Erich Prince: Mr. Istvan, thank you for joining us this morning. Could you start by explaining the connection that you see between transhumanism, the movement you’re so involved with, and libertarianism?

Continue reading “Merion West Interviews Zoltan Istvan, Candidate for Governor of CA” »