software – Lifeboat News: The Blog https://lifeboat.com/blog Safeguarding Humanity Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:05:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 Digital Doubles and Second Selves https://lifeboat.com/blog/2022/11/digital-doubles-and-second-selves Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:05:23 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=149731

This time I come to talk about a new concept in this Age of Artificial Intelligence and the already insipid world of Social Networks. Initially, quite a few years ago, I named it “Counterpart” (long before the TV series “Counterpart” and “Black Mirror”, or even the movie “Transcendence”).

It was the essence of the ETER9 Project that was taking shape in my head.

Over the years and also with the evolution of technologies — and of the human being himself —, the concept “Counterpart” has been getting better and, with each passing day, it makes more sense!

Imagine a purely digital receptacle with the basics inside, like that Intermediate Software (BIOS(1)) that computers have between the Hardware and the Operating System. That receptacle waits for you. One way or another, it waits patiently for you, as if waiting for a Soul to come alive in the ether of digital existence.

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NASA, partners launch virtual hackathon to develop COVID-19 solutions https://lifeboat.com/blog/2020/05/nasa-partners-launch-virtual-hackathon-develop-covid-19-solutions Sat, 09 May 2020 07:55:48 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=106824

The U.S. space agency National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to participate in a virtual hackathon May 30–31 dedicated to putting open data to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge, participants from around the world will create virtual teams that – during a 48-hour period – will use Earth observation data to propose solutions to COVID-19-related challenges ranging from studying the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and its spread to the impact the disease is having on the Earth system. Registration for this challenge opens in mid-May.

“There’s a tremendous need for our collective ingenuity right now,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “I can’t imagine a more worthy focus than COVID-19 on which to direct the energy and enthusiasm from around the world with the Space Apps Challenge that always generates such amazing solutions.”

The unique capabilities of NASA and its partner space agencies in the areas of science and technology enable them to lend a hand during this global crisis. Since the start of the global outbreak, Earth science specialists from each agency have been exploring ways to use unique Earth observation data to aid understanding of the interplay of the Earth system – on global to local scales – with aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak, including, potentially, our ability to combat it. The hackathon will also examine the human and economic response to the virus.

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Dengue case predictor mapping system wins the 2019 NASA global hackathon https://lifeboat.com/blog/2020/04/dengue-case-predictor-mapping-system-wins-the-2019-nasa-global-hackathon Wed, 22 Apr 2020 08:08:18 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=105855
Upper row Associate American Corner librarian Donna Lyn G. Labangon, Space Apps global leader Dr. Paula S. Bontempi, former DICT Usec. Monchito B. Ibrahim, Animo Labs executive director Mr. Federico C. Gonzalez, DOST-PCIEERD deputy executive director Engr. Raul C. Sabularse, PLDT Enterprise Core Business Solutions vice president and head Joseph Ian G. Gendrano, lead organizer Michael Lance M. Domagas, and Animo Labs program manager Junnell E. Guia. Lower row Dominic Vincent D. Ligot, Frances Claire Tayco, Mark Toledo, and Jansen Dumaliang Lopez of Aedes project.

MANILA, Philippines — A dengue case forecasting system using space data made by Philippine developers won the 2019 National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s International Space Apps Challenge. Over 29,000 participating globally in 71 countries, this solution made it as one of the six winners in the best use of data, the solution that best makes space data accessible, or leverages it to a unique application.

Dengue fever is a viral, infectious tropical disease spread primarily by Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes. With 271,480 cases resulting in 1,107 deaths reported from January 1 to August 31, 2019 by the World Health Organization, Dominic Vincent D. Ligot, Mark Toledo, Frances Claire Tayco, and Jansen Dumaliang Lopez from CirroLytix developed a forecasting model of dengue cases using climate and digital data, and pinpointing possible hotspots from satellite data.

Sentinel-2 Copernicus and Landsat 8 satellite data used to reveal potential dengue hotspots.

Correlating information from Sentinel-2 Copernicus and Landsat 8 satellites, climate data from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PAGASA) and trends from Google search engines, potential dengue hotspots will be shown in a web interface.

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AI swarm intelligence https://lifeboat.com/blog/2020/01/ai-swarm-intelligence Sun, 26 Jan 2020 17:55:30 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=101409 Photo:
Photo:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/01/23/ar…ngularity/

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Was SHA-256 cracked? Don’t buy into retraction! https://lifeboat.com/blog/2019/09/was-sha-256-cracked-dont-buy-into-retraction https://lifeboat.com/blog/2019/09/was-sha-256-cracked-dont-buy-into-retraction#comments Mon, 16 Sep 2019 20:03:44 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=96305 SHA-256 is a one way hashing algorithm. Cracking it would have tectonic implications for consumers, business and all aspects of government including the military.

It’s not the purpose of this post to explain encryption, AES or SHA-256, but here is a brief description of SHA-256. Normally, I place reference links in-line or at the end of a post. But let’s get this out of the way up front:  

One day after Treadwell Stanton DuPont claimed that a secret project cracked SHA-256 more than one year ago, they back-tracked. Rescinding the original claim, they announced that an equipment flaw caused them to incorrectly conclude that they had algorithmically cracked SHA-256.

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Can I Check Web Sites Visited by my Kids/Staff? https://lifeboat.com/blog/2019/07/can-i-check-web-sites-visited-by-my-kids-staff Sun, 14 Jul 2019 14:17:29 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=93591 Early this morning, I was asked this question at Quora. It’s a pretty basic request of network administrators, including parents, schools and anyone who administers a public, sensitive or legally exposed WiFi hot spot.

Is there a quick and easy way to view, log, or otherwise monitor the web sites visited by people on your home or office network?

Yes. It’s free and and it is pretty easy to do.

It gets a bit trickier, if the individual on your network is using a VPN service that they have configured on their device.[1] A VPN does not stop you from logging their browsing, but all of their activity will point to the VPN address instead of the site that they are actually visiting. In that case, there is another way to monitor their activity. See note #1, below.

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Futurist Gray Scott: We Can’t Ignore Our Psychological Future https://lifeboat.com/blog/2017/08/futurist-gray-scott-we-cant-ignore-our-psychological-future Thu, 10 Aug 2017 17:44:32 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=71859

Why are we often so wrong about how the future and future technology will reshape society and our personal lives? In this new video from the Galactic Public Archives, Futurist Gray Scott tells us why he thinks it is important to look at all aspects of the future.

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]]> A Net Neutrality Nightmare? / Part II (Future A to Z) https://lifeboat.com/blog/2017/06/a-net-neutrality-nightmare-part-ii-future-a-to-z Fri, 02 Jun 2017 19:44:27 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=57861

The recent efforts to remove Net Neutrality have given many a sense of impending doom we are soon to face. What happens to an Internet without Net Neutrality? Advocates have a vision of the possible results — and it is quite the nightmare! In this segment of Future A to Z, The Galactic Public Archives takes a cheeky, yet compelling perspective on the issue.

Part 1 / Part 2

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]]> JPMorgan Software Does in Seconds What Took Lawyers 360,000 Hours — By Hugh Son | Bloomberg https://lifeboat.com/blog/2017/03/jpmorgan-software-does-in-seconds-what-took-lawyers-360000-hours-by-hugh-son-bloomberg Thu, 09 Mar 2017 14:05:58 +0000 http://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=35192

“At JPMorgan Chase & Co., a learning machine is parsing financial deals that once kept legal teams busy for thousands of hours.”

Read more

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MIT is working on 3 BIG Blockchain Ideas https://lifeboat.com/blog/2017/02/mit-is-working-on-3-big-blockchain-ideas Sat, 18 Feb 2017 16:06:31 +0000 http://lifeboat.com/blog/?p=34667 MIT has never stood stand still in the presence of change and opportunity. Their Media Lab Currency Initiative is at the forefront of Blockchain and Bitcoin research. With the fracture of the founding core team, MIT stands to become the universal hub for research and development.

The initiative now has a team of 22 people and at least
seven ongoing research projects, and it nurtures three startups that use cryptocurrencies and the underlying technology in a variety of ways. Blockchain research now sits alongside transparent robots that eat real-world fish, solar nebula research, and other imaginative, futuristic projects in progress at the university.

The initiative has already funded the work of bitcoin protocol developers and has supported research, going far beyond bitcoin—even partnering with Ripple Labs and developing enterprise data projects.

Now, the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative is working on 3 big Blockchain ideas:

  1. Shattering online ‘echo chambers’
  2. Improving blockchain privacy
  3. Building central bank currencies

The DCI is led by former White House advisor and research director Neha Narula. Read about the three BIG blockchain projects at CoinDesk.


Philip Raymond co-chairs Crypsa & Bitcoin Event, columnist & board member at Lifeboat, editor
at WildDuck and will deliver the keynote address at Digital Currency Summit in Johannesburg.

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