2018 – Page 57 – Impact Lab

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, Futurist, Hot Issues, Machine Learning

Five myths about artificial intelligence

May 4, 2018

Artificial intelligence is the future. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are all making big bets on AI. (Amazon owner Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post.) Congress has held hearings and even formed a bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Caucus. From health care to transportation to national security, AI has the potential to improve lives. But it comes with fears about economic disruption and a brewing “AI arms race .” Like any transformational change, it’s complicated. Perhaps the biggest AI myth is that we can be confident about its future effects. Here are five others.

Continue reading… “Five myths about artificial intelligence”

AI, Amazon.com, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, Google, Hot Issues

Google exec issues warning over future of AI

May 4, 2018

Google co-founder Sergey Brin sent the message in a letter to Alphabet shareholders (Source: Getty)

One of Google’s top execs and president of Alphabet Sergey Brin has raised concerns about the AI revolution in a letter to Alphabet’s shareholders.

In his annual letter sent to shareholders of Google umbrella organisation Alphabet yesterday, Brin said that “new questions and responsibilities” had been raised about the potential of AI.

Continue reading… “Google exec issues warning over future of AI”

Amazon.com, Children, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Amazon made an Echo Dot for kids, and it costs $30 more than the original

May 3, 2018

Those with an Amazon Echo device in their homes have likely already exposed their children to Alexa. Now, Amazon wants to give kids the opportunity to turn Alexa into their friend with the new Echo Dot Kids Edition. The hockey puck-like smart speaker doesn’t look too different from the original Dot, but it comes with new “Amazon FreeTime” content that gives kids new ways to interact with Alexa and parents more control over those interactions.

New parental controls and FreeTime Unlimited subscription coming soon, too.

Continue reading… “Amazon made an Echo Dot for kids, and it costs $30 more than the original”

Architecture, City Planning, Engineering

Floating city of modular, eco-friendly pyramids is now enrolling citizens

May 3, 2018

Pierpaolo Lazzarini envisions wayaland, a floating city made of modular pyramids that offers different living and entertainment facilities including hotels, shops, spas, gyms, bars and cinemas. completed with solar panels and water turbines for energy supply, the project aims to provide a new offshore living experience within a self-sustainable community.

The main waya pyramid comprises different modules that overlap on a floating 54 by 54-meter basement, offering a total surface of about 3000 m2. The basement includes a large entrance for boats and a reception, while the part of each module submerged underwater stores engines, equipment, additional energy sources and generators. dividing the height in ten different floors with a total surface of 6500 m2, the complete waya reaches a maximum height of 30 meters from the waterline.

Continue reading… “Floating city of modular, eco-friendly pyramids is now enrolling citizens”

Analysis, Automation, Business, Robots

The countries with the highest density of industrial robots

May 2, 2018

Across the world, the pace of industrial automation is steadily accelerating. According to the International Federation of Robotics, there were 66 installed industrial robots per 10,000 employees globally in 2015 and that increased to 74 in 2016. Broken down by region, average robot density in Europe is 99 units per 10,000 workers, while’s it’s 84 in the Americas and 63 in Asia. Even though China has recorded the most dynamic development of robot density in recent years, South Korea has the highest level of density of any country on the planet.

Continue reading… “The countries with the highest density of industrial robots”

Analysis, Big Problems, Business

42 percent of startups fail for this one simple reason (It’s not what you think)

May 2, 2018

Close to half of the over 100 startups analyzed made this mistake — and never recovered.

CBI Insights recently analyzed 101 startup post-mortems (reports they wrote after they failed). The researchers extracted the top reasons startups fail, including things like a pivot going wrong; legal challenges; disharmony within the team or with investors; poor marketing; and of course the one frequently cited: running out of cash money.

But the number one reason was none of those.

It was far simpler: the startup didn’t solve a big enough problem.

Continue reading… “42 percent of startups fail for this one simple reason (It’s not what you think)”

Analysis, Cancer, Healthcare

Cancer dormancy: Why do cancer cells go to sleep?

May 1, 2018

Cancer has always been thought of as something that grows rapidly and uncontrollably, but this view may be wrong. New evidence suggests that cancer alternatively uses the “accelerator” and the “brake” in order to survive.

Continue reading… “Cancer dormancy: Why do cancer cells go to sleep?”

Bill Gates, Biotech, Genes, Genetics, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Gene editing for good

May 1, 2018

How CRISPR could transform global development.

Today, more people are living healthy, productive lives than ever before. This good news may come as a surprise, but there is plenty of evidence for it. Since the early 1990s, global child mortality has been cut in half. There have been massive reductions in cases of tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. The incidence of polio has decreased by 99 percent, bringing the world to the verge of eradicating a major infectious disease, a feat humanity has accomplished only once before, with smallpox. The proportion of the world’s population in extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on less than $1.90 per day, has fallen from 35 percent to about 11 percent.

Continue reading… “Gene editing for good”

Banking, Bitcoin, Money Talk

World’s first cryptocurrency bank opened in Singapore

April 30, 2018

The co-Founder of Nuo, Varun Deshpande announced on twitter that they are opening a bank in Singapore. This is not just a normal bank but a virtual bank for cryptocurrencies. He also stated that they will open an ATM for virtual digital money as well.

They are also introducing a new technology- Advanced Robotic Account Managers (AARAM). What so fascinating about this bank is that this bank doesn’t need a real manager or a banker. Customers will be personally managed by AARAM at their branch. AARAM can give answers to the queries of users of the bank regarding cryptocurrency prices, private keys, decentralized loans, etc. Also, users can book their own AARAM by installing bank app and signing up for the app. It is a completely automated and decentralized bank which ensures no queues at all times. All users from around the world can avail services at no extra cost by visiting the branch.

Continue reading… “World’s first cryptocurrency bank opened in Singapore”

government, Human Behavior, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

How the world’s first loneliness minister will tackle the sad reality of modern life

April 30, 2018

A woman holds the report of the Jo Cox Commission on December 15, 2017 in Batley, England. The report has highlighted that the UK should appoint a “minister for loneliness.”

Tracey Crouch knows what it’s like to feel frighteningly alone. After giving birth to her first child, Freddie, in 2016, the British lawmaker says that despite having a “network of friends, family and a wonderful partner,” she began feeling cut off from the world. It wasn’t a new sensation; Crouch says she also suffered from depression six years earlier, when she first became a member of parliament. It felt like she was “in a very dark place, a very lonely place” she recalls.

Continue reading… “How the world’s first loneliness minister will tackle the sad reality of modern life”

Big Problems, Future, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

The next great workplace challenge: 100-year careers

April 30, 2018

Scientists expect people to live routinely to 100 in the coming decades, and as long as 150. Which also suggests a much longer working life lasting well into the 70s, 80s, and even 100, according to researchers with Pearson and Oxford University.

Quick take: Thinkers of various types are absorbed in navigating the age of automation and flat wages, but their challenge will be complicated by something few have considered — a much-extended bulge of older workers.

Continue reading… “The next great workplace challenge: 100-year careers”

Analysis, Biotech, Genes, Medical Breakthrough

End of ageing and cancer? Scientists unveil structure of the ‘immortality’ enzyme telomerase

April 29, 2018

Making a drug is like trying to pick a lock at the molecular level. There are two ways in which you can proceed. You can try thousands of different keys at random, hopefully finding one that fits. The pharmaceutical industry does this all the time – sometimes screening hundreds of thousands of compounds to see if they interact with a certain enzyme or protein. But unfortunately it’s not always efficient – there are more drug molecule shapes than seconds have passed since the beginning of the universe.

Alternatively, like a safe cracker, you can x-ray the lock you want to open and work out the probable shape of the key from the pictures you get. This is much more effective for discovering drugs, as you can use computer models to identify promising compounds before researchers go into the lab to find the best one. Now a study, published in Nature, presents detailed images of a crucial anti-ageing enzyme known as telomerase – raising hopes that we can soon slow ageing and cure cancer.

Continue reading… “End of ageing and cancer? Scientists unveil structure of the ‘immortality’ enzyme telomerase”