May 2017 – Page 2 – Impact Lab

Crypto-Technology, Economy, Money Talk, new technology, New Viewpoints

Cryptocurrency wars – Untraceable coins storming into top 10

May 21, 2017

Bytecoin, an untraceable privacy-preserving cryptocurrency, has just seen an astronomical triple-digit percent surge in price. The cryptocurrency soared to the all time high market capitalization of $444,000,000, before calming down to around $300,000,000 and establishing itself at the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization at the time of writing (according to CoinMarketCap). A symbolic turning point for one of the first untraceable cryptocurrencies launched in 2012.

Continue reading… “Cryptocurrency wars – Untraceable coins storming into top 10”

AI, Alzheimer's Disease, Brain, brain hacking, brain-computer interfaces, Breakthrough Thinking, Medical Breakthrough, Medicine, Memory

Robot completes 2-hour brain surgery in just 2.5 minutes

May 21, 2017

Brain surgery is precision business, and one slip can spell doom for affected patients. Even in one of the most skilled jobs in the world, human error can still be a factor.

Researchers from the University of Utah are looking to provide less opportunity for those errors to occur. A robot that the team is developing is able to reduce the time it takes to complete a complicated procedure by 50 times.

Continue reading… “Robot completes 2-hour brain surgery in just 2.5 minutes”

AI, App, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, Bill Gates, Biotech, Birth, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Cancer

Bio-sensing contacts can monitor for signs of disease

May 19, 2017

Finger pricks, blood draws, and urine testing are miserable for just about everyone. But now researchers are working on a new concept to make testing for disease much easier. The project? A contact lens that would use the condition of the eyes to help spot illness.

Continue reading… “Bio-sensing contacts can monitor for signs of disease”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Bill Gates, brain hacking, brain-computer interfaces, Breakthrough Thinking, Children, Computer Security

How will human rights change in the era of A.I.

May 19, 2017

Will we have more rights or fewer rights when artificial intelligence kicks in? How about the right to have our diseases cured, the right to a full head of hair, the right to a job that matches our skills, or the right to marry our perfect mate?

In response to advances in neuroscience and technologies that alter or read brain activity, some researchers are proposing a recognition of new human rights to mental integrity. These would protect people from having their thoughts abused, hacked, or stolen. The idea of this kind of human right is a recognition that although brain-related technologies have the potential to transform our lives in many positive ways, they also have the potential to threaten personal freedom and privacy.

Continue reading… “How will human rights change in the era of A.I.”

AI, Alzheimer's Disease, Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Bill Gates, Biotech, Birth, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Cancer, cutting edge, Medical Breakthrough, Medicine

We’re beginning to see the medical revolution CRISPR had promised

May 19, 2017

There’s a revolution happening in biology, and its name is CRISPR.

CRISPR (pronounced “crisper”) is a powerful technique for editing DNA. It has received an enormous amount of attention in the scientific and popular press, largely based on the promise of what this powerful gene editing technology will someday do.

Continue reading… “We’re beginning to see the medical revolution CRISPR had promised”

Big Data, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Future, Ideas, Internet of Things

Too much data? It’s easier to ship it by truck

May 19, 2017

In today’s world, a terabyte is a rather routine size of information. However, when we get to petabyte, we talking serious volumes of data.

Companies like DigitalGlobe are creating more petabytes than they can upload to the cloud. That’s why Jeff Bezos has a service for shipping huge amounts of data via traditional roadways.

Continue reading… “Too much data? It’s easier to ship it by truck”

AI, Alternative Transportation, Automation, Automobiles, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Driverless cars, Driverless vehicles, Drone, drones, Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Elon Musk

All fossil-fuel vehicles will vanish in 8 years in twin ‘death spiral’ for big oil and big auto

May 18, 2017

No more petrol or diesel cars, buses, or trucks will be sold anywhere in the world within eight years. The entire market for land transport will switch to electrification, leading to a collapse of oil prices and the demise of the petroleum industry as we have known it for a century.

This is the futuristic forecast by Stanford University economist Tony Seba. His report, with the deceptively bland title Rethinking Transportation 2020-2030, has gone viral in green circles and is causing spasms of anxiety in the established industries.

Continue reading… “All fossil-fuel vehicles will vanish in 8 years in twin ‘death spiral’ for big oil and big auto”

Blockchain, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Crypto-Technology, Employment, Technological Unemployment

Companies of the future: No CEO, no boss, managed by blockchain

May 15, 2017

We can get rid of bad bosses once and for all. At least that’s the promise of a radically new type of organization based on blockchain technology.

It’s called a Decentralized Autonomous Organization and it has no CEO, CFO, or VPs.

In fact, there’s no hierarchy at all. Of course, any time you bring people together in a group, there are bound to be politics, but it won’t be the “command and control” structure that most of us are used to.

Continue reading… “Companies of the future: No CEO, no boss, managed by blockchain”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Banking, Big Data, Big Problems, Bitcoin, Blockchain, brain hacking, Coding, Coding Schools, Crime, Crime Prevention, Crypto-Technology, Money Talk, new technology, New Viewpoints, privacy

7 laws that will have to change because of blockchain

May 16, 2017

“Code is law,” as described in Lawrence Lessig’s book ‘Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace’, refers to the idea that computer code has progressively established itself as a predominant way to regulate behavior to the same degree as legal code.

With the advent of blockchain technology, code is assuming an even stronger role in regulating people’s interactions.

However, while computer code can enforce rules more efficiently than legal code, it also comes with a series of limitations.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Birth, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Driverless cars, Driverless vehicles, drones, Economy, Education

27 common uses for A.I. in 2027 that don’t exist today

May 16, 2017

If you’re impress with the progress we’re making with A.I. so far, hang onto your hats. We’re just getting started. Over the next 10 years, artificial intelligence will make more progress than in the fifty before it, combined. With countless quickly oncoming applications to business, government, and personal life, its influence will soon touch absolutely every aspect of our lives.

Here are 27 surprising ways life and society that will be forever changed by artificial intelligence over the coming decade.

Continue reading… “27 common uses for A.I. in 2027 that don’t exist today”

Drone, drones, Engineering, Future, Futurist, Human Behavior, Inventions, Latest Trend

The next extreme sport – drone skydiving

May 14, 2017

Unlike typical consumer-aimed quadcopter drones, Latvian company Aerones specializes in big UAVs that can carry hefty loads. Last year, they showed off one of their big lifter’s prowess by towing YouTuber Kaspars Balamovskis on a snowboarding run.

Today, they released another stunt video spotlighting one of their heavy lifters hauling a man a thousand feet in the air — before he let go to skydive back down to earth. Check out the video!

Continue reading… “The next extreme sport – drone skydiving”

Alternative Transportation, Big Problems, Future, Latest News, Latest Trend, Mass Transit, Science & Technology News

Electric planes and $25 tickets could be the future of regional air travel

May 10, 2017

Imagine taking your next trip of a couple hundred miles. New York City to Boston, for example. Or Houston to Dallas. Tampa to Miami. The obvious choice now might be to drive. But what if you could show up at an airport at one of those cities, bypass security checkpoints, board a small hybrid-electric plane with luggage in hand, and be on the ground at your destination in about an hour — all for $25 each way?

Continue reading… “Electric planes and $25 tickets could be the future of regional air travel”