Lifeboat Foundation

A new film, I AM HUMAN, explores the state of neurotechnology today: Its challenge, promise, and the issues it raises.

Researchers at Tencent recently detailed an AI system capable of defeating teams of professionals in Honor of Kings, a MOBA game with a large fanbase.

Still with the galactic good guys, as “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” opened with a massive estimated take of $175.5 million in North America, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

The Disney film scored the third biggest December debut ever, behind only the two earlier chapters in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi,” according to Variety.

“Rise of Skywalker,” directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac, blew away the weekend’s competition.

Site called iStreamItAll offered access to a vast trove of pirated movies and TV shows, ripping off copyright owners.

Open-source software powers nearly all the world’s major companies. This software is freely available, and is developed collaboratively, maintained by a broad network that includes everyone from unpaid volunteers to employees at competing tech companies. Here’s how giving away software for free has proven to be a viable business model.

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Human intelligence is not linear. Machine intelligence can be summed up in three words; efficiency, efficacy and trade off. The more we automate human thinking, the less we need humans. Get it?

From the subtle advancements in technology to the birth of SKYNET!!!! Join us as we explore facts about the Technological Singularity.
11. What is the Technological Singularity?
What’s that? You don’t know what it is? No worries, it is a pretty scientific term.
To quote Wikipedia, the Technological Singularity, “is a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization.“
What’s more, this is NOT a new theory or idea. And it honestly wasn’t proposed by various sci-fi movies. In fact, it was proposed by a book in 1993 via Vernor Vinge in The Coming Technological Singularity. What’s more, while this may seem like a “sci-fi future”, there are many who actually believe that not only will this come, but it could come to bear as soon as 2050.
10. Where Are We Now In The Technological Singularity?
To fully understand how the Technological Singularity could happen, we need to understand where we are as a society that could lead us to the Technological Singularity future that many fear.
9. Intelligence Boom
The key word here to note is “IntelligenceBoom”. No, I don’t mean like our own brains exploding (that would be bad…), but rather, an boom of potential via Artificial Intelligence. This is one of the potential “outcomes” of a Technological Singularity.
Think of it like this. Every generation of computer we make is technically better than the next, right? The difference between what we do and what an Intelligence Boom is, is that the A.I. is the one “making” the next generation. That’s a scary thought, huh? And that’s actually a reason why many are opposed to the research on super-intelligent (and always evolving) A.I’s. This included the late Stephen Hawking and current eccentric Billionaire Elon Musk. They feel that humanity will be doomed because of A.I’s. Whether it be through Intelligence Boom, or something of our own making.
8. Making A “Better Tomorrow“
There is another way that many dispute the Technological Singularity will come via A.I. and that’s simply by creating an A.I. ourselves that goes far beyond what we intended it to be. Which may not be as far-fetched as you might think.
If I were to say the names Alexa, Siri, and Watson, you’d recognize them as various machines with various intelligence, right? Well technically, they’re all A.I., just with different levels of intelligence. Siri came first and could react to certain things on your iPad or iPhone. Some think that we are very close to that point. Including a man named Ray Kurzweil, who believes that we could be at the Singularity point by 2045 at the earliest.
7. The Predictions Of Ray Kurzweil Part 1
If you’re not familiar with ray kurzweil, you honestly should read up on him, he’s not just another guy predicting the end of civilization, he’s actually an engineer at Google, and sees himself as a Futurist. One who has made predictions in the past about technologies advances with accuracy.
6. Robotics
When you think of the “future” that humanity “wants” and that various sci-fi and movies have “predicted”, the obvious things you see are robots and people with robotic appendages. Let’s look at robots first. The Technological Singularity notes that as robots get more advanced, humans will become less and less important. All part of the “A.I. Overlord” scenarios if you will. Then again, WE could be the robots, not unlike another robotic race with brilliant intelligence: The Borg.
5. Artificial Limbs and Cyborgs
One of the biggest and most worrying things about a person in regards to their life is the chance that they could lose a limb. The loss of a limb is something that cannot be overcome simply.
4. The Predictions Of Ray Kurzweil Part 2 ( ray kurzweil 2019)
But again, the question becomes, “How far are we from that future?” If Ray Kurzweil is to be believed, not as far as you think. For he believes a key part of the singularity will come in 2029, a mere decade in the future.

Continue reading “Technological Singularity — Artificial Intelligence (AI)” »

Is a film based on a video game with fleeting mentions of a biotech buzzword compelling sci-fi? No. But I liked Rampage anyway.

The use of CRISPR to edit genes is perhaps the only novel plot point in this latest monster movie. An evil head of a biotech company subverts a scientist’s work to fashion a bioweapon that revs up the growth hormone gene, and more, in three unfortunate animals. Cue Godzilla, King Kong, and the beast in Lake Placid.

But the screenwriters seem to confuse gene editing with an infectious bioweapon, like anthrax. The tagline at IMDb reveals the befuddlement: “When three different animals become infected with a dangerous pathogen, a primatologist and a geneticist team up to stop them from destroying Chicago.” Infectious disease, genetic modification, or both?

These could definitely exist and their fuel is everywhere.

The dark-matter engines are engines created by Professor Farnsworth for the Planet Express ship. Fueled by dark matter, the engines allow the ship to travel vast distances very quickly by moving the universe around the ship (rather than the ship around the universe). The Professor also has an emergency engine, though he may have pawned it. As of Bender’s Game these have been converted to use whale oil.

The case for creating a United States Space Force is compelling. The United States military’s ability to wage war has become increasingly reliant on satellites. Navigation, reconnaissance, and communications are all handled by space assets. The world economy has become dependent on space satellites. The Internet consists of servers throughout the world linked by satellite constellations. Knock out those satellites and commercial companies’ ability to do business becomes seriously compromised. The space version of Pearl Harbor could reduce the United States to developing-world status in a single blow.

China and Russia, the main enemies of the United States in a potential conflict, are busily developing weapons systems to destroy America’s space infrastructure. Indeed, remote jamming may well do the job without resorting to a direct strike. The potential for jamming is a reason why Pence mentioned the development of jam-proof satellites in his speech. In all, Pence proposed an investment of $8 billion in new space systems during the next five years. The money is likely to be just a down payment for creating a new military branch that would achieve President Trump’s dream of achieving American space dominance.

The idea of a United States Space Force brings science fiction visions of American military personnel doing battle against an enemy in space. Indeed, the joke that has become common on social media is that President Trump is proposing to create nothing less than Star Fleet, the organization made famous in the Star Trek franchise of movies and TV shows.