Aral Sea August 25, 2000
A massive environmental disaster dubbed “the quiet Chernobyl,” is shown in series of NASA satellite images that reveal the shocking decline of water levels in the Aral Sea. (Photos)
Continue reading… “NASA satellite images reveal extent of Aral Sea disaster”
Fletcher’s paradox
A statement or problem that either appears to produce two entirely contradictory (yet possible) outcomes, or provides proof for something that goes against what we intuitively expect is called a paradox. Paradoxes have been a central part of philosophical thinking for centuries, and are always ready to challenge our interpretation of otherwise simple situations, turning what we might think to be true on its head and presenting us with provably plausible situations that are in fact just as provably impossible. Confused? You should be.
IBM’s Watson is a cognitive computing system originally designed to vanquish human competitors on Jeopardy in 2011. Watson has been winding its way into more and more healthcare and health-related use cases. But like most novel technologies, a number of people still don’t understand exactly what Watson is or does — or what IBM’s roadmap for the technology is.
Continue reading… “The evolution of IBM’s Watson supercomputer and where it’s taking healthcare”
Artificial intelligence morality will be different from our human morality.
By Zoltan Istvan: I recently gave a speech at the Artificial Intelligence and The Singularity Conference in Oakland, California. There was a great lineup of speakers, including AI experts Peter Voss and Monica Anderson, New York University professor Gary Marcus, sci-fi writer Nicole Sallak Anderson, and futurist Scott Jackisch. All of us are interested in how the creation of artificial intelligence will impact the world.
Continue reading… “The 3 laws of transhumanism and artificial intelligence”
Burger King’s black burgers prompted a backlash in the U.S.
Burger King made headlines after unveiling its black KURO Pearl and KURO Diamond burger, earlier this month. The burger comes complete with black buns, black cheese, and black sauce and is available in Japan through early November.
Continue reading… “Color more important than taste in food”
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Online classes really can teach as effectively as traditional classroom courses.
Two years ago, a New York Times article declared it the “year of the MOOC,” short for “massive open online courses.” For the first time every, researchers have carried out a detailed study that shows that these classes really can teach at least as effectively as traditional classroom courses—and they found that this is true regardless of how much preparation and knowledge students start out with.
Continue reading… “Study: Online classes really do work”
Ellie is the world’s first AI-psychologist. Developed by DARPA and researchers at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies. Ellie is a diagnostic tool capable of reading 60 non-verbal cues a second—everything from eye-gaze to face tilt to voice tone—in the hopes of identifying the early warning signs of depressions and (part of the long term goal) stemming the rising tide of soldier suicide.
Continue reading… “The global impact of AI-driven mental health care”
Futurist Thomas Frey: I had great difficulty completing this column. This is partly due to the complex nature of the technology and partly because its implications may indeed be so far reaching that I’ll sound over-reaching in describing it.
Continue reading… “Computing’s Next Big Transformation – Semantic Intelligence”
If they can grow muscle, can they make meat?
Modern Meadow is a startup based in Brooklyn, New York. They are aiming to commercialize leather and meat products that are not made from slaughtered animals but brewed in cell-culture vats. If it works, and if the market embraces the resulting products, it would lead to vast savings in water, land, and energy use associated with livestock production.
Continue reading… “Why is lab-grown beef better than ranchers raising cows?”
Black holes have long been the subject of popular culture, from Star Trek to Hollywood. They are the ultimate unknown. They are the blackest and most dense objects in the universe that do not even let light escape. And as if they weren’t bizarre enough to begin with, now add this to the mix: they don’t exist.
Continue reading… “Researcher proves mathematically that black holes do not exist”
Private companies want to mine asteroids for fuel, and build filling stations in space. A bill now in front of the US Congress would help by allowing them to own what they discover – but it might, if passed, meet stiff international opposition.
Continue reading… “Asteroid Act could unlock billion dollar in asteroid mining business”
There is a 50% probability that human-level machine intelligence will have been attained by 2050.
Machines already have superhuman strength, speed and stamina. One day machines will have superhuman intelligence. Assuming that scientific and technological progress continues, human-level machine intelligence is very likely to be developed. And shortly thereafter, superintelligence.
Continue reading… “Top 5 ways the superintelligence revolution could happen”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.