Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: economics – Page 17

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don’t see a clear way to slow the devastating virus.

The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of millions of domesticated birds and spread to wildlife all over the globe. This virus isn’t thought to be a major threat to humans, but its spread in farming operations and wild ecosystems has caused widespread economic turmoil and environmental disruptions.

Seals and sea lions, in places as far apart as Maine and Chile, appear to be especially vulnerable to the disease, scientists said. The virus has been detected in seals on the east and west coasts of the U.S., leading to deaths of more than 300 seals in New England and a handful more in Puget Sound in Washington. The situation is even more dire in South America, where more than 20,000 sea lions have died in Chile and Peru and thousands of elephant seals have died in Argentina.

Read more | >

This apparent paradox has a simple yet surprising explanation, according to Meredith Whitney: Employers are finally exacting revenge on remote workers who’ve secretly had a second job.

The veteran researcher, who became known as the “Oracle of Wall Street” for her early warnings about banks before the financial crisis, is no stranger to thinking outside the box about everything from the housing market to the economy, and this theory is no exception.

But there’s evidence to support Whitney’s thesis that many of the job cuts made have been to remote positions that were filled by people working at multiple companies under the radar.

Read more | >

A universal basic income pilot program that would sprinkle $100 million across the state in the form of no less than $500 monthly cash payments to certain low-income Minnesotans — including illegal immigrants — advanced in a state House committee on Tuesday.

Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, introduced HF2666 last year. The bill didn’t receive a hearing amidst a historic legislative session where Democrats spent down a $17.5 billion surplus and increased the state budget by more than 38 percent. But with news earlier this month that the state has a projected $3.7 billion surplus, Hollins’ bill received a hearing in the House Children and Families Committee.

The bill passed through the committee on a voice vote. Its next stop is the House Human Services Finance Committee. Its Senate companion bill is sponsored by five Senate Democrats and has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.

Read more | >

Investors know that most startups fail, but something that may be less understood is how few mobile apps actually make money. According to a new analysis of the subscription app economy from mobile subscription toolkit provider RevenueCat, the top 5% of apps generate 200 times the revenue of the bottom quartile after their first year, while the median monthly revenue an app generates after 12 months is less than $50 USD.

The “State of Subscription Apps” report offers a bird’s-eye view into the subscription app universe, as RevenueCat has nearly 30,000 apps using its platform’s tools to manage their monetization. Outside of Apple and Google, that makes RevenueCat the largest collection of subscription app developers on one platform.

This report specifically looks at data from over 29,000 apps and over 18,000 developers who collectively generate over $6.7 billion in tracked revenue and have over 290 million subscribers.

Read more | >

When will AI match and surpass human capability? In short, when will we have AGI, or artificial general intelligence… the kind of intelligence that should teach itself and grow itself to vastly larger intellect than an individual human?

According to Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNet, that time is very close: only 3 to 8 years away. In this TechFirst, I chat with Ben as we approach the Beneficial AGI conference in Panama City, Panama.

We discuss the diverse possibilities of human and post-human existence, from cyborg enhancements to digital mind uploads, and the varying timelines for when we might achieve AGI. We talk about the role of current AI technologies, like LLMs, and how they fit into the path towards AGI, highlighting the importance of combining multiple AI methods to mirror human intelligence complexity.

We also explore the societal and ethical implications of AGI development, including job obsolescence, data privacy, and the potential geopolitical ramifications, emphasizing the critical period of transition towards a post-singularity world where AI could significantly improve human life. Finally, we talk about ownership and decentralization of AI, comparing it to the internet’s evolution, and envisages the role of humans in a world where AI surpasses human intelligence.

Continue reading “AGI in 3 to 8 years” | >

and this means humans will use brain computer interface to transact, but where will the AGI’s economy take shape, and how will you take part?

AI Marketplace: https://taimine.com/
Deep Learning AI Specialization: https://imp.i384100.net/GET-STARTED

AI news timestamps:
0:00 Everyone’s wrong.
1:57 Future of money.
3:04 The economy of AGI
5:35 Brain computer interface transactions.
6:26 Methods of income.

#ai #technology #tech

Continue reading “Artificial intelligence will use cryptocurrency to transform human society” | >

The downscaling of electronic devices, such as transistors, has reached a plateau, posing challenges for semiconductor fabrication. However, a research team led by materials scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently discovered a new strategy for developing highly versatile electronics with outstanding performance using transistors made of mixed-dimensional nanowires and nanoflakes.

This innovation paves the way for simplified chip circuit design, offering versatility and low power dissipation in future electronics. The findings, titled “Multifunctional anti-ambipolar electronics enabled by mixed-dimensional 1D GaAsSb/2D MoS2 heterotransistors,” were published in the journal Device.

In recent decades, as the continuous scaling of transistors and integrated circuits has started to reach physical and economic limits, fabricating in a controllable and cost-effective manner has become challenging. Further scaling of transistor size increases current leakage and thus power dissipation. Complex wiring networks also have an adverse impact on power consumption.

Read more | >

Star Trek is the most popular and longest running Sci-Fi franchise in American history. Created by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek follows the various crew of Starfleet in their missions across the galaxy.

This presentation showcases the inspiration behind Star Trek, how the Federation came to be, examines the post-scarcity economy featured in their future Earth society, and explores the philosophies of all of the major alien cultures shown throughout the Star Trek series.

00:00 — Intro.
09:38 — The Augments.
14:06 — World War 3
15:13 — Post Atomic Horror.
15:45 — First Contact.
17:47 — The Vulcans.
23:30 — Post-Scarcity Economy.
33:24 — The Federation.
45:22 — The Maquis.
48:26 — The Romulans | The Cardassians | The Klingons.
52:00 — The Ferengi.
1:00:00 — The Dominion.
1:06:08 — The Borg.
1:13:34 — Conclusion.
1:16:01 — Outro

Read more | >