2019 – Page 68 – Impact Lab

City Planning, Engineering, Housing, Science & Technology News

The UN is supporting a design for a new floating city that can withstand Category 5 hurricanes

April 12, 2019

A rendering of Oceanix City. Oceanix

The United Nations just unveiled a concept for a floating city that can hold around 10,000 residents.
The city is built to withstand natural disasters like floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes.
The design comes from architect Bjarke Ingels and floating city builder Oceanix.
At a roundtable on Wednesday, the UN said floating cities could help protect people from sea-level rise while addressing the lack of affordable housing in major cities.

What once seemed like the moonshot vision of tech billionaires and idealistic architects could soon become a concrete solution to several of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Continue reading… “The UN is supporting a design for a new floating city that can withstand Category 5 hurricanes”

communication, Computer Security, facebook, Science & Technology News

Mark Zuckerberg: The Internet needs new rules. Let’s start in these four areas.

April 12, 2019

Mark Zuckerberg is founder and chief executive of Facebook.

Technology is a major part of our lives, and companies such as Facebook have immense responsibilities. Every day, we make decisions about what speech is harmful, what constitutes political advertising, and how to prevent sophisticated cyberattacks. These are important for keeping our community safe. But if we were starting from scratch, we wouldn’t ask companies to make these judgments alone.

I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators. By updating the rules for the Internet, we can preserve what’s best about it — the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things — while also protecting society from broader harms.

From what I’ve learned, I believe we need new regulation in four areas: harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.

Continue reading… “Mark Zuckerberg: The Internet needs new rules. Let’s start in these four areas.”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, Machine Learning, Science & Technology News

What will our society look like when artificial intelligence is everywhere?

April 11, 2019

Will robots become self-aware? Will they have rights? Will they be in charge? Here are five scenarios from our future dominated by AI.

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE | April 2018

In June of 1956, A few dozen scientists and mathematicians from all around the country gathered for a meeting on the campus of Dartmouth College. Most of them settled into the red-bricked Hanover Inn, then strolled through the famously beautiful campus to the top floor of the math department, where groups of white-shirted men were already engaged in discussions of a “strange new discipline”—so new, in fact, that it didn’t even have a name. “People didn’t agree on what it was, how to do it or even what to call it,” Grace Solomonoff, the widow of one of the scientists, recalled later. The talks—on everything from cybernetics to logic theory—went on for weeks, in an atmosphere of growing excitement.

What the scientists were talking about in their sylvan hideaway was how to build a machine that could think.

Continue reading… “What will our society look like when artificial intelligence is everywhere?”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, government, Legal Issues, Science & Technology News

Estonia plans an AI-powered “Robot Judge”

April 11, 2019

Can AI be a fair judge in court? Estonia thinks so.

GOVERNMENT USUALLY ISN’T the place to look for innovation in IT or new technologies like artificial intelligence. But Ott Velsberg might change your mind. As Estonia’s chief data officer, the 28-year-old graduate student is overseeing the tiny Baltic nation’s push to insert artificial intelligence and machine learning into services provided to its 1.3 million citizens.

“We want the government to be as lean as possible,” says the wiry, bespectacled Velsberg, an Estonian who is writing his PhD thesis at Sweden’s Umeå University on using the Internet of Things and sensor data in government services. Estonia’s government hired Velsberg last August to run a new project to introduce AI into various ministries to streamline services offered to residents.

Continue reading… “Estonia plans an AI-powered “Robot Judge””

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, brains, Science & Technology News

Can we stop AI outsmarting humanity?

April 11, 2019

The spectre of superintelligent machines doing us harm is not just science fiction, technologists say – so how can we ensure AI remains ‘friendly’ to its makers?

It began three and a half billion years ago in a pool of muck, when a molecule made a copy of itself and so became the ultimate ancestor of all earthly life. It began four million years ago, when brain volumes began climbing rapidly in the hominid line.

Fifty thousand years ago with the rise of Homo sapiens sapiens.

Ten thousand years ago with the invention of civilization.

Five hundred years ago with the invention of the printing press.

Fifty years ago with the invention of the computer.

In less than thirty years, it will end.

Continue reading… “Can we stop AI outsmarting humanity?”

Biotech, Legalized marijuana, Science & Technology News

Pharma company hacks tequila bacteria to produce THC

April 10, 2019

Farmako, a pharmaceutical cannabis company based in Frankfurt, Germany recently registered a patent for a gene-editing process that turns tequila bacteria into cannabinoids, Futurism reports.

The genetically modified bacterium is called Zymomonas cannabinoidis, a gene-edited version of Zymomonas mobilis, which is used to produce tequila. By feeding on sugar, the bacterium produces biosynthetic cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and “more than 180 known cannabinoids,” according to a press release. The process could make producing cannabinoids “a thousand times cheaper,” Futurism reports.

As VinePair reported in February, several organizations are working to engineer more cost-effective ways to produce THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids. For example, scientists revealed a process in which turning a sugar found in brewers yeast can be converted into cannabinoid compounds.

Via Vinepair.com

Amazon.com, Automation, Business, Science & Technology News, Shopping

7-Eleven unveiled a store of the future complete with scan-and-go tech, craft beer, and tacos as it prepares to fend off Amazon Go

April 10, 2019

The store’s also got made-to-order smoothies. Courtesy of 7-Eleven

7-Eleven launched a lab store in Dallas on March 22.

The store features plenty of new additions, like in-store baked cookies and a craft beer station.

“7-Eleven stays at the forefront by pushing the boundaries and being unafraid to try new things,” Chris Tanco, 7-Eleven’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Via BusinessInsider

Life Skills, Money Talk, Report, Science & Technology News

There’s a retirement crisis in America where most will be unable to afford a ‘solid life’

April 10, 2019

The three “legs” of the retirement “stool” (private savings, pensions, and Social Security) are all in dire shape.

At Vanguard, the median 401(k) account value for an investor age 65 and older is a measly $58,035.

After looking at the data, the Saint Louis Fed concluded: “It could be worrisome that, for many American households, the total balances of their retirement accounts may not be sufficient to ensure a solid life in retirement.”

Continue reading… “There’s a retirement crisis in America where most will be unable to afford a ‘solid life’”

Children, Internet, Latest Trend, Parenting, Science & Technology News

Verizon’s new ‘Just Kids’ plan aims to become your child’s first smartphone plan

April 9, 2019

A child’s first cell phone is increasingly becoming an earlier, and pricier, decision for parents.

While each family has its own decision to make on when the appropriate time is for their child to get their first device, Verizon is hoping a new plan will make the choice easier on the financial side of things with its new “Just Kids” plan.

The new plan, available starting Thursday, includes 5GB of 4G LTE data plus unlimited talk and text to 20 contacts pre-approved by the parents. Like other recent Verizon plans, there are no overage fees if the child goes beyond the allotted data, with the speeds simply slowed down instead.

Continue reading… “Verizon’s new ‘Just Kids’ plan aims to become your child’s first smartphone plan”

Automation, Driverless vehicles, Employment, Science & Technology News

Dockworkers battle driverless trucks plan

April 9, 2019

Los Angeles – A fierce struggle over automation has erupted at the Port of Los Angeles, as local union officials representing some 12,000 dockworkers demand that one of the world’s largest shipping firms abandon a plan to introduce driverless electric cargo trucks.

Shouting, whistling and jeering, more than 1,200 union members, local business owners and community activists packed a four-hour hearing Thursday before the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. The board voted to postpone a construction permit for the automated system after an offer by Mayor Eric Garcetti to mediate the dispute.

“The decision before the board may have far-reaching impacts on the pace of automation at our port and could define how the port will compete and sustain jobs into the foreseeable future,” Garcetti wrote in a letter unveiled at the hearing.

Continue reading… “Dockworkers battle driverless trucks plan”

Automation, Automobiles, Driverless cars, Driverless vehicles, Science & Technology News

Self-driving cars will change over 30 industries in the long run

April 9, 2019

Self-driving cars were just s sci-fi-like idea 10 years back, but today it is a reality. They have caused a commotion in the market, affecting a great number of industries with the revolutionary AV technology. It is said that with this technology driverless cars will save more than half million of lives between 2035 and 2045.

Still restricted in many parts of the world, driverless cars are being tested in California as the regulations allowing the testing of self-driving cars on the streets of California is contributing to the growth and development of companies and manufacturers such as Tesla and Alphabet.

In the meanwhile, Uber, a rideshare provider preparing to g public with the forthcoming IPO, is also working with AV.

Continue reading… “Self-driving cars will change over 30 industries in the long run”

Automation, Automobiles, Food, mobile apps, Science & Technology News

Domino’s adds in-car ordering to its tech lineup

April 8, 2019

Dive Brief:

Domino’s has partnered with Xevo, which provides in-vehicle commerce and services for automakers, to provide an AnyWare pizza ordering platform, according to a press release.

Customers can order via Easy Order and track it using the Domino’s Tracker. They also can find their local stores and call in an order from the in-car interface.

The ordering feature will be automatically loaded into millions of cars with the Xevo platform starting later this year.

Continue reading… “Domino’s adds in-car ordering to its tech lineup”