For the 2 billion people in the world who still lack sanitation, Caltech is creating a cheap, safe, and clean toilet. But building this cool product is really the easy part.
Engineering the Secret Engines of Off-Grid Living
Futurist Thomas Frey: Having just returned from a trip to Alaska, it occurred to me that most of the 660,000 sq miles of this beautiful state will never be habitable until a more complete off-grid solution is found. In Alaska, they’ve already figured out how to turn every one of their 3 million lakes into a landing strip, so transportation is far less of an issue than power, heat, lights, water, and communications.
Continue reading… “Engineering the Secret Engines of Off-Grid Living”
Can the rapid advances in technology create a jobless future?
“We are interested in robots that create and are creative,” Hod Lipson describes his Creative Machines Lab captures his ambitions. Lipson is an engineering professor at Cornell University. He is one of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence and robotics. His research projects provide a peek into the intriguing possibilities of machines and automation, from robots that “evolve” to ones that assemble themselves out of basic building blocks. A few years ago, Lipson demonstrated an algorithm that explained experimental data by formulating new scientific laws, which were consistent with ones known to be true. He had automated scientific discovery.
Continue reading… “Can the rapid advances in technology create a jobless future?”
Look what’s coming down the robotics pike
Amazon has 15,000 robots in warehouse jobs to work beside humans.
In his latest article, futurist speaker Thomas Frey states, “we are less than a decade away from workerless factories, robots with their own bank accounts, Watson-like judges dolling out sentences in court, and having wars filled with robots fighting other robots.”
Continue reading… “Look what’s coming down the robotics pike”
Floating cities could be the next frontier
Everyone learns the value of natural selection when learning basic biology – a species either adapts to their changing environment or dies off. This process also applies to governments, in some ways, but millions of people can still be chained to a failing state with no exit options. Continue reading… “Floating cities could be the next frontier”
What technologies will be required for the robots of the future?
It might sound like science fiction, but someday, thanks to creative scientists and engineers, our world may contain autonomous or semi-autonomous robots working with people, helping us do tasks that are better suited for machines. Continue reading… “What technologies will be required for the robots of the future?”
Solving a Billion-Person Problem
Futurist Thomas Frey: My friend, Peter Diamandis, likes to say, “The best way to become a billionaire is to solve a billion-person problem.”
When I first heard this phrase, I had difficulty imagining what a billion-person problem looked like. Continue reading… “Solving a Billion-Person Problem”
Top 12 threats to human civilization
Researchers at the Global Challenges Foundation released earlier this month a thorough and unsettling look at what threatens human civilization. Continue reading… “Top 12 threats to human civilization”
The fear of artificial intelligence
Our Fear of Artificial Intelligence
A true AI might ruin the world—but that assumes it’s possible at all.
By Paul Ford
Years ago I had coffee with a friend who ran a startup. He had just turned 40. His father was ill, his back was sore, and he found himself overwhelmed by life. “Don’t laugh at me,” he said, “but I was counting on the singularity.” Continue reading… “The fear of artificial intelligence”
Four Rules for Game Testing Our Way to a Better Future
Futurist Thomas Frey: At a recent video game tournament in Denver called ClutchCon, I was moderating a panel discussion on the future of video games, and we got into the topic of leveraging the time and energy spent playing video games into a “wisdom of crowds” approach for solving the world’s problems.
Continue reading… “Four Rules for Game Testing Our Way to a Better Future”
37 Critical Problems that need to be Solved for Drone Delivery to become Viable
Futurist Thomas Frey: It all started when Toni, one of our staffers working on our flying drone workshop, asked me a simple question. She asked, “Since I live in an apartment complex, if I order something to be delivered by drone, where would they leave the package?”
Continue reading… “37 Critical Problems that need to be Solved for Drone Delivery to become Viable”
Harvard professors: Privacy is dead and it’s never coming back
Imagine a world where a department store knows from your buying habits that you’re pregnant even before your family does or mosquito-sized robots fly around stealing samples of your DNA. Continue reading… “Harvard professors: Privacy is dead and it’s never coming back”
