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Jun 30, 2015

Kurzweil Responds to ‘When Robots Are Everywhere, What Will Humans Be Good For?’ — By David J. Hill

Posted by in categories: employment, futurism, human trajectories, posthumanism, robotics/AI

Lately, media around the web has been bracing for robots — not time-traveling robots per se, but robot workers. Specifically, the increased sophistication of artificial intelligence and improved engineering of robotics has spurred a growing concern about what people are going to do when all the regular jobs are done by robots.

A variety of solutions have been proposed to this potential technological unemployment (we even had an entire Future of Work series dealing with this topic in March), many of which suggest that there will still be things that humans can do that robots can’t, but what are they? Read more

Jun 30, 2015

World’s first underground urban farm opens for business in London

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

When the surface becomes too toxic, there’s always the tunnels.

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Jun 30, 2015

The Millennium Project’s “2015−16 State of the Future” report on the Prospects of the Global Outlook to be released July 31st

Posted by in categories: futurism, governance, policy

Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 30, 2015

Another 2.3 billion people are expected to be added to the planet in just 35 years. “By 2050, new systems for food, water, energy, education, health, economics, and global governance will be needed to prevent massive and complex human and environmental disasters,” explains Jerome Glenn, CEO of The Millennium Project. As Pope Francis said in His Encyclical Letter, “Halfway measures simply delay the inevitable disaster.”

The “2015−16 State of the Future” reviews the global situation and future prospects in a broad range of areas from environment to business and technology, and global ethics. Its executive summary states that:

Continue reading “The Millennium Project’s "2015-16 State of the Future" report on the Prospects of the Global Outlook to be released July 31st” »

Jun 30, 2015

Holographic Heads-Up Display Is Coming To Your Windshield — Ana Alves WTVox

Posted by in categories: electronics, holograms

navion-smart-wearable-for-cars

There are plenty of ways to get directions in the car, but most have one big shortcoming. Whether you’re using a standalone GPS, in-car navi system, smartphone, the Apple Watch, or even a paper map, you have to look away from the road (you know, that thing you’re supposed to be paying attention to when driving) in order to see where you’re supposed to be going.

So how to keep your eyes on the road and not get lost? One option is the heads-up display. Increasingly common on high-end cars, these devices project things like navigation directions and current speed onto the windshield, so the driver has important information right in their field of vision. Read more

Jun 30, 2015

Swedish scientists create an artificial neuron that mimicks an organic one

Posted by in categories: electronics, futurism, neuroscience

Chemical-to-electrical-to-chemical signal transmission. A conventional neuron (upper panel) senses chemical signals (orange circles), which trigger an electrical pulse of membrane depolarization (action potential) along the axon, causing chemical release at the axon terminals (blue circles). This process can be mimicked (lower panel) by a chemical biosensor (for glutamate or acetylcholine) connected to an axon-mimicking organic electronic ion pump that transmits electrons/ions and generates chemicals — forming an organic electronic biomimetic neuron. (credit: Daniel T. Simon et al./Biosensors and Bioelectronics)

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Jun 29, 2015

The Future of Superhuman Technology

Posted by in categories: cyborgs, futurism, neuroscience, transhumanism

I’m excited to share this 12-min video on transhumanism and my presidential campaign (at 7 min mark). This video just came out, but the Good Mythical Morning (with over 7 million YouTube subscribers) videos often get over 1 million views and 3,000+ comments. This will likely be one of the most popular videos on transhumanism this year, and it’s really funny!

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Jun 29, 2015

The Crazy Science Behind Self/less’ Consciousness Transfer

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

In the new movie Self/Less, Ben Kingsley is dying of cancer, so he gets his mind placed into a younger body—that of Ryan Reynolds. You’ve seen this kind of “re-sleeving” before in novels like Altered Carbon, but is it scientifically possible? Here’s a brand new exclusive featurette that says… maybe.

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Jun 29, 2015

If Isaac Asimov Were Alive, Humans Would Be His Favorite TV Show

Posted by in category: entertainment

I couldn’t agree more! Fantastic show.

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Jun 29, 2015

Some physicists believe we’re living in a giant hologram — and it’s not that far-fetched

Posted by in category: physics

The wild idea, explained in basic English.

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Jun 29, 2015

No, an AI Did Not Just “Lash Out” at Its Human Programmer

Posted by in categories: ethics, neuroscience, robotics/AI

A slew of articles are claiming that an “exasperated” artificial intelligence snapped at its programmer during a conversation about morality and ethics. Sadly, it’s another example of the media overselling the capabilities of simple chatbots.

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