Guardian Award
The Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award is annually bestowed upon a
respected scientist or public figure who has warned of a future fraught
with dangers and encouraged measures to prevent them.
For the first time since 2006, we have two joint recipients of the
Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award. This year’s recipients are Jerome C.
Glenn and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who are defending against world
existential risks and country existential risks, respectively.
Jerome C. Glenn
Jerome C. Glenn cofounded and directs the Millennium Project, the
leading global participatory think tank supported by international
organizations, governments, corporations, and NGOs which produces the
internationally recognized State of the Future reports. He was the
Washington, DC representative for the United Nations University as
executive director of the American Council for the UNU 1988–2007.
Jerry is working to protect the human race from extinction. For example,
his The Millennium Project is calling for a new UN office to coordinate
global research to prevent human extinction in an open letter to the UN
Secretary-General, working with 200 leaders.
The Millennium Project also submitted a proposal to give us Friendly AI
instead of having AI being developed by organizations like Google who
dropped “Don’t be evil” from their slogan.
They proposed: “AGI leaders together with governments and UN systems
create agreements on the governance of initial conditions for the
development of AGI in the interest of humanity. IEEE and ISO define the
standards and metrics for AGI audits. Interpol is automatically notified
whenever an AGI fails an audit, and freezes the AGI until it passes the
audit.”
Jerry says: “If we don’t get the initial conditions ‘right’ for
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Artificial Super Intelligence
(ASI) could evolve without our awareness and not to our benefit.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Major wars are becoming less common due to large alliances that include
countries with nuclear weapons. For example, in Europe, we have NATO
with 30 member countries. Unfortunately for Ukraine, they were not part
of NATO because they believed Russia when Russia said that them joining
NATO would be a provocation.
The opposite was true, and by not joining NATO, Ukraine became a juicy
target as were other recent Russian targets of Georgia, Chechnya, and
Moldova. Those targets joined a long list of other targets last century
including Japan, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania,
Germany, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.
When Russia’s giant military invaded Ukraine with its quite small
military, many predicted that it would fall in a matter of days. Accordingly, the U.S. offered to evacuate their president Volodymyr
Zelenskyy after the U.S. had already run for it and had evacuated its
embassy in Ukraine.
Volodymyr replied, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Russian forces came within minutes of catching him, so the danger to him
was real and which is why his many visits to the front since then don’t
seem very high risk to him after his very perilous day on the first day
on the invasion.
Besides the option of fleeing the country, Volodymyr had the option to
flee to a bunker outside Kyiv but in Ukraine that the president could
have gone to, which was secure and could withstand a long siege. However, he refused to leave Kyiv, instead taking to the streets despite
nearby fighting to record video addresses to the Ukrainian people.
Courage runs in his family. Volodymyr is Jewish and his
great-grandfather and his grandfather’s three brothers all fought
against the Nazis but only his grandfather survived to return home.
Volodymyr’s courageous fight is helping to continue to move us towards a
world with big alliances that will no longer allow the strong to
dominate the weak. By stopping the Russian assault on his capital
despite having no modern ships, planes, or tanks, Volodymyr bought time
for a growing alliance to start to send him more and more support.
About 75 countries (almost 40% of all countries!) have provided support
of some type to Ukraine so far, with East European countries such as
Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Lithuania providing the most support per
GDP while the United States, with its massive economy and the world’s
largest military, making a big difference in this world-wide effort to
protect the weak from the strong.
Learn more at
https://lifeboat.com/ex/press.releases.....winners
17th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology
The 17th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) will take
place on March 23–25, 2023 in the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Learn more at https://cony.comtecmed.com
Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference NSRC-2023
Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference NSRC-2023, the premier
conference for researchers and educators interested in commercial
suborbital reusable vehicles, will be held February 27 to March 1 in
Denver, Colorado USA.
Learn more at https://nsrc.boulder.swri.edu
Nexus Nairobi
Nexus Nairobi is a singularly powerful, immersive four-day gathering,
taking place January 31 to February 4, 2023 in Kenya, presented by 100
Year Starship. Designed & hosted by Dr. Mae Jemison and the 100YSS team,
Nexus Nairobi brings together a global community of doers, thinkers,
advocates, leaders, organizers, dreamers — committed to advancing a
beneficial future here on Earth and beyond to learn, contribute, and
grow in an immersive, engaged experience. Nexus is a hybrid event —
in-person (limited) and virtual (live-streamed with rewind).
Our Jason Batt, David Brin, Jaym Gates, David Orban, and Rhonda
Stevenson will be speaking.
Enter the code LifeboatFoundation2023code at registration for a special
offer for virtual participation. Limited to the first 30 registrants.
Applies to standard and student registrations.
Learn more at https://nexusnairobi.org
Books
Read “Ad Infinitum: The Continuing Adventures of the Infinity Club” by
our Alex Thatcher at https://amzn.to/3us7TD0
Read “Days V”, a collection of poems and “Myriad Voices”, a collection
of short stories, by our Sarita Sharma. They are at
https://amzn.to/3GBEbkm and
https://www.scientiabooks.in/product/my...-voices/
Read “Journey to Everywhere” by our Mike Kawitzky at
https://amzn.to/3uEmo6L
This gonzo auto-biography documents the evolution of cyber-consciousness
via social networking from a uniquely South African viewpoint.
Read “Mobius: A Memoir” by our Richard Thieme at https://amzn.to/3Wkop4c
This book is a stunning exploration of the impact of a life of deception
and professional intelligence work which illuminates the world in which
we all now live.
Read “Modified: Living as a Cyborg”, coedited by Chris Hables Gray at
https://www.routledge.com/9780815364016
Building off the highly successful “The Cyborg Handbook”, this new
collection of essays, interviews, and creative pieces brings together a
set of compelling personal accounts about what it means to live as a
cyborg in the twenty-first century.
Lifeboat members can use discount code FLR40, or if they want to review
it or check it out to teach they can get it for free.
Read “Our Fruiting Bodies” by our Nisi Shawl at https://amzn.to/3uwGakz
This book collects stories of old growth and fresh decay, of stubborn
rebirth, and the faint but nonimaginary paths connecting life and
nonlife.
Read “Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech
Billionaires” by our Douglas Rushkoff at https://amzn.to/3GoVfvf
Read “Technology vs. Humanity: The coming clash between man and machine”
by our Gerd Leonhard at
https://amzn.to/2JTUn57
Blog
International news organization Longevity joins our blog team with the post
“Micronutrient Supplementation to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk” at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/01/micro...lar-risk
Recent interesting blog posts include:
“4 Mind-Boggling Technology Advances In Store For 2023” by Chuck Brooks
at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/4-min...for-2023
“A bot that watched 70,000 hours of Minecraft could unlock AI’s next big
thing” by Dan Kummer at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/a-bot...ig-thing
“A cutting-edge radar system could be a front-line tool to fight
dangerous space junk” by Atanas Atanasov at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/a-cut...ace-junk
“Alzheimer’s tied to cholesterol, abnormal nerve insulation” by Dan
Kummer at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/alzhe...sulation
“Another Universe Existed Before Ours — And Energy From It Is Coming
Out Of Black Holes” by Shubham Ghosh Roy at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/anoth...ck-holes
“Artificial wombs: The coming era of motherless births?” by Omuterema
Akhahenda at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/artif...s-births
“Bioengineering Breakthrough: New Implant Can Restore Sight to the
Blind” by Kelvin Dafiaghor at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/bioen...he-blind
“The Concept of Unlimited Solar Energy From Space is One Step Closer to
Reality” by 21st Century Tech Blog at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/01/the-c...-reality
“David Sinclair Talks about the Future of Longevity Research (Clips with
S/T in Spanish)” by Andrés Grases at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/david...-spanish
“Disremembering-Prelude” by Liliana Alfair at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/disre...-prelude
“The Disturbing Reality of Cobalt Mining for Rechargeable Batteries” by
Nicholi Avery at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/the-d...atteries
“Dogs Cry Tears of Joy: Study” by Raphael Ramos at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/dogs-...oy-study
“‘Dynamic Soaring’ Could See Interstellar Probes Reach Super Speeds” by
Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/dynam...r-speeds
“Engineers solve a mystery on the path to smaller, lighter batteries” by
Saúl Morales Rodriguéz at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/engin...atteries
“Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system”
by Nicholi Avery at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/fasti...e-system
“Four-million-mile battery is now a reality” by Quinn Sena at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/four-...-reality
“Gene expression data point to exercise as the most effective treatment
for Alzheimer’s disease” by Genevieve Klien at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/gene-...-disease
“Has anyone heard of atmospheric water generators?” by Omuterema
Akhahenda at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/has-a...nerators
“Ikea Is Replacing Styrofoam Packaging With Compostable Mushroom-Foam”
by Raphael Ramos at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/ikea-...oom-foam
“Lab-grown nerve cells to replace those destroyed by Parkinson’s in
breakthrough treatment” by Gemechu Taye at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/lab-g...estroyed
“Laser satellite shatters space-to-Earth data transmission speed record”
by Genevieve Klien at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/laser...d-record
“Life on Mars? Scientists confirm that Mars’ Jezero Crater was full of
organic materials” by Gemechu Taye at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/life-...aterials
“Meet The Bioprinted Pancreas That Could End Diabetes” by Quinn Sena at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/meet-...diabetes
“Millions of ‘Silent Synapses’ Could Be The Key to Lifelong Learning” by
Paul Battista at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/milli...learning
“Mysterious object shines 570 billion times more powerful than the Sun”
by Shubham Ghosh Roy at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/myste...-the-sun
“New CRISPR-based tool inserts large DNA sequences at desired sites in
cells” by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/new-c...in-cells
“New Molecule Destroys Alzheimer’s-Causing Amyloid Tangles” by Genevieve
Klien at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/new-m...-tangles
“Nuclear fusion triggers an overreaction” by Ken Otwell at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/nucle...reaction
“Overpopulation myth — Having kids will not destroy the planet. Perhaps
it can even help” by Ron Friedman at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/01/overp...ven-help
“Pulsar Fusion — In orbit assembly of nuclear fusion rocket” by Jose
Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/pulsa...n-rocket
“Scientists Are Investigating Signs of Ancient Human Civilization
Underwater” by Josh Seeherman at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/scien...derwater
“Scientists Created an Artificial Neuron That Actually Retains
Electronic Memories” by Kelvin Dafiaghor at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/scien...memories
“Scientists find material with highest toughness ever recorded” by
Future Timeline at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/scien...recorded
“Scientists have provided a solution for humans to achieve immortality
and come back from the dead” by Dan Breeden at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/scien...the-dead
“Study finds DNA repair declines with age, limiting fertility” by Saúl
Morales Rodriguéz at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/study...ertility
“Tesla reportedly places massive order of next-gen self-driving chips
with TSMC” by Eric Klien at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/tesla...ith-tsmc
“These gloves can teach you to play the piano. And maybe heal your
brain” by Raphael Ramos at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/these...ur-brain
“This is Huge: Scientists Successfully ‘Warp’ Time In The Lab, Based On
Einstein’s Theory” by Dan Breeden at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/this-...s-theory
“Ukraine receives 41 hospital generators from Kazakhstan” by Eric Klien
at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/ukrai...zakhstan
“US scientists reach long-awaited nuclear fusion breakthrough, source
says” by Claudio Soprano at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/us-sc...rce-says
“What Happens When Everyone Realises We Can Live Much Longer? We May
Find Out As Soon As 2025” by Paul Battista at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/what-...-as-2025
“World’s largest wave power plant to be built in Turkey” by Gemechu Taye
at
https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/12/world...n-turkey
Growing Membership
We now have over 5,500 donors!
Recent donations/pledges we have received since our last newsletter:
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Camp Peavy: $50,
Sam Gutterman: $50,
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Amy Fletcher: $25,
Alexia Idoura: $25,
Matthew L. McGuirl: $25,
Anonymous: $10,
Paul Bronstein: $10,
Rebecca R. Cooper: $10,
Susan Cutforth: $10,
FunSeaker Yachting: $10,
Anthony L. Haynor: $10,
Richard Kane: $10,
Tommy Ledbetter: $10,
Aaron Mayzes: $10,
Craig Olschansky: $10,
The Platta Law Firm: $10,
Patrik Sandin: $10,
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Airquee Inflatables: $5,
Insta Photo Booth Rental: $5,
Lanarkshire Law Practice: $2,
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