Menu

Blog

Page 10975

Dec 8, 2015

New US space mining law to spark interplanetary gold rush

Posted by in categories: alien life, materials

Flashing some interplanetary gold bling and sipping “space water” might sound far-fetched, but both could soon be reality, thanks to a new US law that legalizes cosmic mining.

In a first, President Barack Obama signed legislation at the end of November that allows commercial extraction of minerals and other materials, including water, from asteroids and the moon.

That could kick off an extraterrestrial gold rush, backed by a private aeronautics industry that is growing quickly and cutting the price of .

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

Can The Existential Risk Of Artificial Intelligence Be Mitigated?

Posted by in categories: ethics, existential risks, futurism, government, human trajectories, robotics/AI

It seems like every day we’re warned about a new, AI-related threat that could ultimately bring about the end of humanity. According to Author and Oxford Professor Nick Bostrom, those existential risks aren’t so black and white, and an individual’s ability to influence those risks might surprise you.

Image Credit: TED

Image Credit: TED

Bostrom defines an existential risk as one distinction of earth originating life or the permanent and drastic destruction of our future development, but he also notes that there is no single methodology that is applicable to all the different existential risks (as more technically elaborated upon in this Future of Humanity Institute study). Rather, he considers it an interdisciplinary endeavor.

“If you’re wondering about asteroids, we have telescopes, we can study them with, we can look at past crater impacts and derive hard statistical data on that,” he said. “We find that the risk of asteroids is extremely small and likewise for a few of the other risks that arrive from nature. But other really big existential risks are not in any direct way susceptible to this kind of rigorous quantification.”

Continue reading “Can The Existential Risk Of Artificial Intelligence Be Mitigated?” »

Dec 7, 2015

In a Sudbury mine, physicists probe secrets of dark matter

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

Buried two kilometres underground in an active ore mine, DEAP-3600 is the most sensitive dark matter detector of its kind. Scientists are hoping to shine a light (so to speak) on one of the deepest mysteries of physics.

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

Russia planning to build permanent base on the moon

Posted by in category: space

Watch the video Russia planning to build permanent base on the moon on Yahoo News. The Kremlin plans to build a permanent base on the surface of the moon by 2030, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS.

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

Amazon Reveals New Delivery Drone

Posted by in categories: drones, transportation

The future of delivery, where drones bring your package in 30 minutes or less. http://voc.tv/1P6L9zh

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

Modular Robotic Car

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Who else wants one?

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

Largest destroyer built for Navy headed to sea for testing

Posted by in categories: futurism, military

BATH, Maine (AP) — The largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy headed out to sea for the first time Monday, departing from shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and carefully navigating the winding Kennebec River before reaching the open ocean where the ship will undergo sea trials.

More than 200 shipbuilders, sailors and residents gathered to watch as the futuristic 600-foot, 15,000-ton USS Zumwalt glided past Fort Popham, accompanied by tugboats.

Kelley Campana, a Bath Iron Works employee, said she had goose bumps and tears in her eyes.

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

Deep learning, machine learning advancements highlight Microsoft’s research at NIPS 2015

Posted by in categories: computing, robotics/AI

http://blogs.technet.com/b/inside_microsoft_research/archive…-2015.aspx

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

China Aims to Retool Its Manufacturing Industry with Robots

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI

China needs advanced robotics to help balance its economic, social, and technological ambitions with continued growth.

Read more

Dec 7, 2015

Tiny dark matter stars would harbour particles that act as one

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

A certain dark matter candidate could clump into stars where it would behave like the Borg race in Star Trek – and this might make it observable.

Read more