LONDON) – Four out of every five dollars of wealth generated in 2017 ended up in the pockets of the richest one percent, while the poorest half of humanity got nothing, a report published by Oxfam found on Monday.
The World Bank is no longer supporting the oil and gas industries
The World Bank is starting to phase out its support for the oil and gas industries.
The move is part of efforts to address climate change and reinforce the Paris Climate agreement.
It also suggests that the Bank intends to play a leading role in the battle against climate change as the US turns its back on global environmental leadership.
Continue reading… “The World Bank is no longer supporting the oil and gas industries”
Chinese tech giant Baidu just revealed its plan to mass-produce self-driving vehicles beginning this year — and Waymo should be nervous
Chinese tech giant Baidu announced partnerships to build self-driving vehicles starting in 2018.
The company’s software will be used in a mini bus and mass-market consumer vehicles.
The company has been making significant investments in autonomous driving technology to compete with American companies like Tesla and Waymo.
GM is dropping the steering wheel in autonomous cars
General Motors (GM) says it is mass-producing autonomous cars that give complete control to the machine by taking away both the steering wheel and pedals.
Continue reading… “GM is dropping the steering wheel in autonomous cars”
Pizza Hut says driverless delivery could create more jobs than it destroys
Pizza Hut and Toyota are partnering on an autonomous delivery vehicle called e-Palette that could make the delivery process driverless.
Despite the implications for current drivers, Pizza Hut said driverless delivery could create more jobs than it displaces.
Continue reading… “Pizza Hut says driverless delivery could create more jobs than it destroys”
Urban farming will bring food to city-dwellers that need it most
The planet is growing more food than ever, and yet millions of people continue to starve worldwide. People are hungry everywhere — in the country, in the suburbs. But increasingly, one of the front lines in the war against hunger is in cities. As urban populations grow, more people find themselves in food deserts, areas with “[l]imited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food,” according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Continue reading… “Urban farming will bring food to city-dwellers that need it most”
China is the new world leader in renewable energy
A new report from the IEEFA is positioning China as a world leader in renewable energy investment. The country has put $44 billion in clean energy projects around the world.
Continue reading… “China is the new world leader in renewable energy”
9 signs Japan has become a ‘demographic time bomb’
Japan is dealing with what economists call a “demographic time bomb.”
Continue reading… “9 signs Japan has become a ‘demographic time bomb’”
Google and others are building AI systems that doubt themselves
AI will make better decisions by embracing uncertainty.
Continue reading… “Google and others are building AI systems that doubt themselves”
Will the next Mozart be a robot?
Humankind has done a great deal in terms of making exquisite art, whether through its paintings, songs, or performance art. Museums are packed with such work, and ordinary people have libraries full of fantastic literary achievements—both physical and digital. For the longest time, creativity seemed like an exclusively human forte.
Continue reading… “Will the next Mozart be a robot?”
Spotify disrupted the music world, now it’s doing the same to Wall Street
If Spotify’s non-IPO goes forward this spring, it will be unusual in that it will be a “direct listing,” wherein the current shareholders will sell their shares directly to the retail-investing public on the NYSE, vs. to institutional investors. Spotify is the first company of its size to propose such a listing. If the listing yields a lucrative exit for existing shareholders, it will encourage other nascent high-growth firms to follow in Spotify’s footsteps.
Continue reading… “Spotify disrupted the music world, now it’s doing the same to Wall Street”
Graphene-based sieve turns seawater into drinking water
A UK-based team of researchers has created a graphene-based sieve capable of removing salt from seawater.
Continue reading… “Graphene-based sieve turns seawater into drinking water”
