Scientists have shed new light on the timing and likely cause of major volcanic events that occurred millions of years ago and caused such climatic and biological upheaval that they drove some of the most devastating extinction events in Earth’s history.
Surprisingly, the new research, published today in Science Advances, suggests a slowing of continental plate movement was the critical event that enabled magma to rise to the Earth’s surface and deliver the devastating knock-on impacts.
Earth’s history has been marked by major volcanic events, called large igneous provinces (LIPs)—the largest of which have caused major increases in atmospheric carbon emissions that warmed Earth’s climate, drove unprecedented changes to ecosystems, and resulted in mass extinctions on land and in the oceans.
An excellent article rebutting some of common negative reactions to the idea of de-extinction. I applaud George Church, Ben Lamm, and colleagues for their efforts to leverage the genomics revolution to recreate the wooly mammoth and the Thylacine. These represent exciting steps for repairing damaged ecosystems. Such approaches will also most likely have the side benefit of generating new technologies for biomedical applications. I’d love to see similar de-extinction efforts addressing loss of insect and microorganism biodiversity as well! #biotech #future #crispr #techforgood
When mammoths disappeared from the Arctic some 4,000 years ago, shrubs overtook what was previously grassland. Mammoth-like creatures could help restore this ecosystem by trampling shrubs, knocking over trees, and fertilising grasses with their faeces.
Theoretically, this could help reduce climate change. If the current Siberian permafrost melts, it will release potent greenhouse gases. Compared to tundra, grassland might reflect more light and keep the ground cooler, which Colossal hopes will prevent the permafrost from melting.
While the prospect of reviving extinct species has long been discussed by groups such as Revive and Restore, advances in genome editing have now brought such dreams close to reality. But just because we have the tools to resurrect mammoth-like creatures, does this mean we should?
Musk texted a Morgan Stanley banker, two weeks after he publicly announced his intent to buy Twitter.
The potential of World War III appears to be a reason why the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, wanted to call off his buyout offer for Twitter, Business Insider.
Wikimedia Commons.
The Elon Musk saga of the Twitter buyout is entering a crucial phase now, with lawyers for the Tesla CEO looking to push back the trial. Twitter’s lawyers are keen to keep the trial on schedule next month and hope that the court forces Musk to sign off on his offer of $44 billion for the social media outlet.
https://www.timventura.com — Martin Ciupa discusses the existential risks and unintended consequences of AI superintelligence and the Singularity, along with concerns about AI augmentation through Neuralink. We also explore the philosophical underpinnings of The Singularity and how it fulfills a long-standing human need for transcendence in a technologically advanced society.
Martin Ciupa is a subject matter expert on artificial intelligence. Martin is the CEO of Remoscope Inc, an AI-based Telehealth startup, and an advisor & consultant to Mindmaze, a Unicorn Neurotech company focuses on applying advanced neuroscience to everyday life. Martin has decades of experience in computing and artificial intelligence, PhD studies in AI, and a Master’s Degree in Cybernetics. He joins us today to discuss AI Superintelligence and the Singularity.
We previously touched on Ghosts in the Machine in terms of the human qualities we unintentionally build into AI, so today I wanted to focus on “God In The Machine”, especially in regards to AI Superintelligence and the Singularity. Let’s start with a story in Futurism quoting former Google Exec Mo Gawdat as saying that “AI Researchers are creating God”.
The Singularity has scared more than just this researcher: Stephen Hawking has said that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race”. Bill Gates and Elon Musk have also voiced concerns on AI Superintelligence. Gates said, “I am one of those who is concerned about superintelligence. First, machines will do a lot of work for us and they won’t be super smart. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that, they will be smart enough to be a concern.” – and Elon Musk has said that development of artificial intelligence “is the greatest existential threat to humanity”.
We contrast these views against the optimistic view of AI Superintelligence by proponents like Ray Kurzweil, who has said, The pace of change will be so astonishingly quick that we won’t be able to keep up, unless we enhance our own intelligence by merging with the intelligent machines we are creating. What are your thoughts on the positive aspects of this technology?
Finally, speaking in practical terms, the world we live in is becoming increasingly automated and complex, and moving past the ability of people to manage all of these systems. We explore whether human-level or higher AI at some point simply to help run this machine-driven world we’re creating.
We are at the starting line of an exponential technological change. In the coming decades we will experience the dematerialization of technology. Computers will abandon desks to be installed in eyes, in walls and in everything that surrounds us. Chips will be integrated in virtually everything around us, transmitting vital information. The quality of life and the average life expectancy will increase astoundingly, and aging will be delayed. We will have the capacity to choose genes for our children and to create new forms of life. In 2007, a smartphone had more power than the computers NASA used to take man to the moon in 1969. In 2077 it’s likely that we will control the objects around us through our thought. The opinion that the revolution under way is the biggest and fastest ever is unanimous, with the interception of genetics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. The consequences are many and cross-cutting, with great impact on our health. However, the rise of the machine raises unprecedented challenges, even the possibility of the extinction of Humankind itself. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Subscribe Free Documentary Channel for free: https://bit.ly/2YJ4XzQ Instagram: https://instagram.com/free.documentary/ Facebook: https://bit.ly/2QfRxbG Twitter: https://bit.ly/2QlwRiI ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #FreeDocumentary #Documentary #2077 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Free Documentary is dedicated to bringing high-class documentaries to you on YouTube for free. With the latest camera equipment used by well-known filmmakers working for famous production studios. You will see fascinating shots from the deep seas and up in the air, capturing great stories and pictures from everything our beautiful and interesting planet has to offer.
Enjoy stories about nature, wildlife, culture, people, history and more to come.
Where are all the aliens?! This is the essence to the Fermi Paradox. It’s most popular solution is the “Great Filter.” What is the obstacle that life and/or intelligent species are unlikely to survive? Let’s discuss.
00:00 Cold Open. 00:18 Introduction. 00:48 History of the Fermi Paradox. 02:48 Fermi Paradox Explained. 03:55 Drake Equation Explained. 07:04 The Great Filter. 09:56 Rare Earth Hypothesis. 10:53 Geologic Time in Galactic Years. 14:48 Evolution of Intelligent Life. 17:03 Conclusions. 19:11 Poll Results. 19:47 Outro. 20:10 Featured Comment.
Nick Lucid — Host/Writer/Editor/Animator. Natalie Wells — Researcher.
The findings could revolutionize how we study potential collisions.
Asteroids pass by our planet all the time and even sometimes land here, causing much devastation. Understanding how often these kinds of impacts happened in the past and how they influenced the environment both then and today is crucial to protecting Earth.
Now, new research published by the Estonian Research Council on Friday has shown that analyzing bodies of organisms killed by an impact of asteroids can teach us how much damage occurs at the spot of such a cosmic collision.
Researchers dugout trenches in rims of four craters (Kaali Main and Kaali 2/8 in Estonia, Morasko in Poland, and Whitecourt in Canada) located on two different continents that formed thousands of years apart to analyze their content and draw conclusions about the effects of the collisions on our planet.
Why do we think that reducing risks from AI is one of the most pressing issues of our time? There are technical safety issues that we believe could, in the worst case, lead to an existential threat to humanity.
Circa 2016 This gives more exacting detail of the Tasmanian devils resistance to cancer.
A recently emerged infectious cancer has caused the near extinction of the Tasmanian devil, but some populations persist. Here, Epstein et al. provide evidence for possible resistance via rapid evolution in two genomic regions that contain cancer-related immune response genes.
