Lifeboat Foundation

(An alternate version of this article was originally published in the Boston Globe)

On December 2nd, 1942, a team of scientists led by Enrico Fermi came back from lunch and watched as humanity created the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction inside a pile of bricks and wood underneath a football field at the University of Chicago. Known to history as Chicago Pile-1, it was celebrated in silence with a single bottle of Chianti, for those who were there understood exactly what it meant for humankind, without any need for words.

Now, something new has occurred that, again, quietly changed the world forever. Like a whispered word in a foreign language, it was quiet in that you may have heard it, but its full meaning may not have been comprehended. However, it’s vital we understand this new language, and what it’s increasingly telling us, for the ramifications are set to alter everything we take for granted about the way our globalized economy functions, and the ways in which we as humans exist within it.

Continue reading “Deep Learning Is Going to Teach Us All the Lesson of Our Lives: Jobs Are for Machines” »

President Obama announced a new initiative this week to connect 20 million more Americans to broadband by 2020, further promoting the White House’s agenda to reclassify high speed Internet as a public utility, like water or electricity.

The digital initiative, named ConnectALL, is intended “for folks looking for jobs or workers hoping to learn new skills,” wrote Obama in a Facebook post, acknowledging that in today’s economy, “the Internet isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.”

Interesting.

Giving everyone a “basic income” is the latest trendy idea sweeping Silicon Valley. It’s a terrible solution to a real problem.

UK’s biggest threat to their own economy is cybercrimes.

By Jacob Bojesson

The Canadian province of Ontario will join several European countries in testing Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) in the near future.

UBI is a a monthly allowance given to all citizens regardless of their socioeconomic status. Ontario’s regional government will release its designs for a pilot program in 2016.

Continue reading “Canada To Test Universal Basic Income For Citizens” »

High-resolution satellite imagery can be used to monitor the flow of goods and commodities to measure global economic indicators. Our imagery can help economists, supply chain managers, hedge fund traders, and logistics operators identify operational inefficiencies and anticipate supply chain bottlenecks from above.

Here’s an example of our imagery in action, depicting supply chain changes in the Port of Long Beach, the second-busiest container port in the United States. The time lapse imagery shows dynamic fluctuations in features including shipping containers, cars and ships.

Not good. Could this be one of the many reasons why so many are leaving SV and going to places like NY, Austin, Boston, etc.?

People are angry at Silicon Valley. In recent years, protestors have slashed the tires of buses hired to transport Google employees. They’ve occupied Airbnb’s headquarters and participated in worldwide demonstrations against Uber.

These tech titans stand accused of destroying industries and livelihoods, sucking up wealth for themselves while failing to distribute any wider benefits to the rest of us. And they’re guilty, according to media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, author of the forthcoming book Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth became the Enemy of Prosperity. He argues that unless Silicon Valley’s fundamental model changes, we’re heading for mass social unrest.

Continue reading “Silicon Valley is broken and heading for social unrest, argues media theorist” »

Following two big acquisitions by US tech companies of AI startups based in academia, the capital is emerging as a hub for young scientist-entrepreneurs.

Researchers from the University of Alexandria have developed a cheaper, simpler and potentially cleaner way to turn seawater into drinking water than conventional methods.

This could have a huge impact on rural areas of the Middle East and North Africa, where access to clean water is a pressing issue if social stability and economic development is to improve.

Right now, desalinating seawater is the only viable way to provide water to growing populations, and large desalination plants are now a fact of life in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries.