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Dec 10, 2015
The insanely fast Hyperloop will soon begin testing in Nevada
Posted by Dan Kummer in category: transportation
Plans to build a test track for a Hyperloop are moving ahead. Hyperloop Technologies will build a major test center near Las Vegas to explore linear electric motor designs and evaluate its implementation.
Dec 10, 2015
The first plasma: the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device is now in operation
Posted by Julius Garcia in category: nuclear energy
Start of operation and first plasma in the Wendelstein 7-X fusion research device at IPP Greifswald.
Dec 10, 2015
Can You Own Part of an Asteroid? How Asteroid Mining Is Changing Space Law
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: energy, finance, space
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pIY_fmvFDhM
Coal miners mine coal; diamond miners mine diamonds; gold miners mine gold; space miners (will) mine space—and anything in it that has precious metals or compounds that can be whisked into rocket fuel. But, just like the first three kinds of “resource extraction,” the celestial kind will face more than a few philosophical, financial, and regulatory complications.
Dec 10, 2015
The Art of Flying in the Movies — By A. O. Scott | The New York Times Magazine
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in category: media & arts
“What if we could counterfeit reality so completely that the representation would partake of the essence of the original, closing the gap between the world and our imagination of it? What if we could fly?”
Dec 10, 2015
Watch A Computer Make Obama Talk Like Bush
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: computing, robotics/AI
Machine learning now allows us to project a particular voice onto someone else’s face, which makes for some pretty hilarious pairings. http://voc.tv/1P6L9zh
Dec 10, 2015
The CraveCast visits the future with U.S. Presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan
Posted by Zoltan Istvan in categories: geopolitics, life extension, transhumanism
An Immortality Bus campaign report today on CNET from South Carolina and transhumanism discussed. http://www.cnet.com/videos/the-cravecast-visits-the-future-w…an-istvan/ And here’s the original story: http://www.cnet.com/news/the-cravecast-welcomes-the-presiden…he-robots/
The Transhumanist Party candidate called in from the campaign trail and his “Immortality Bus” to help us look forward to 2016… and to 2050.
Dec 9, 2015
AI will replace smartphones within 5 years, Ericsson survey suggests
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: biotech/medical, mobile phones, robotics/AI
(credit: Ericsson ConsumerLab)
Artificial intelligence (AI) interfaces will take over, replacing smartphones in five years, according to a survey of more than 5000 smartphone customers in nine countries by Ericsson ConsumerLab in the fifth edition of its annual trend report, 10 Hot Consumer Trends 2016 (and beyond).
Smartphone users believe AI will take over many common activities, such as searching the net, getting travel guidance, and as personal assistants. The survey found that 44 percent think an AI system would be as good as a teacher and one third would like an AI interface to keep them company. A third would rather trust the fidelity of an AI interface than a human for sensitive matters; and 29 percent agree they would feel more comfortable discussing their medical condition with an AI system.
Dec 9, 2015
The Lovely Chinese Watchtowers Built with Proceeds from the California Gold Rush — By Veronique Greenwood | Atlas Obscura
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in category: architecture
“Three hours out of the Chinese mega-city of Guangzhou, through the sugarcane and banana plantations and deep into the rice paddies, strange things start to rise from the fields. Called diaolou, or watchtowers, they have an oddly Western look, frosted with arches and spires and little domes that contrast with the straight lines of many traditional Chinese houses. There are more than 1,800 of these towers standing today, reaching five, six, seven stories tall.”
Dec 9, 2015
8 Tech Trends to Watch in 2016 — By Amy Webb | Harvard Business Review
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in category: business
“To identify emerging trends, I use a six-part methodology beginning with seeking out those on the fringes doing unusual experimentation or research. Next I look for patterns using my CIPHER model, where I identify previously unseen contradictions, inflections, practices, hacks, extremes, and rarities. Then I ask practical questions, mapping trajectories, building scenarios, and pressure-testing my conclusions.”
