Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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This is, in my opinion, the real point of rebutting objections to rejuvenation.

If you’ve hung around here long enough, you probably know I have two pet peeves: ageing and money. If we assume the saying ‘Only two things are certain in life: death and taxes’ is true, then we’re forced to conclude that I advocate for the (indirect) elimination of the only two certainties in life. So, if you came here looking for certainties, I’m afraid you’re in the wrong place.

I’m (mostly) not joking. Lately I’ve been working a lot on the Answers to objections section, which together with a few discussions I’ve had on the Internet, got me thinking about the point of rebutting objections to rejuvenation. Generally, when I discuss the subject with somebody who’s not at all sold on the idea of rejuvenating people, I get the feeling they expect me to prove beyond doubt that nothing can possibly go wrong, either along the way between here and an ageless world or once that world has been reached. If my feeling is correct, opposers to rejuvenation may expect that my rebuttals are meant to prove that neither a post-ageing world, nor the journey to it, will present any problems or challenges.

This expectation is utterly unrealistic. It’s actually worse than that—it’s completely wrong. There’s no way in hell I (or anyone else) could guarantee that we won’t have a dictator ruling a nation for six centuries, or that environmental problems won’t be exacerbated, etc. The reason I can’t promise none of the above will happen is the very same reason why rejuvenation opposers can’t promise any of the above will happen: Nobody can actually predict the future.

Continue reading “The point of rebutting objections to rejuvenation” | >

Virtual Reality is not a new technology, it’s been around in various forms for decades, but enthusiasts believe it’s now on the cusp of a golden age. Driven by an increase in research money and significant advances in picture resolution and technical functionality, interest in the potential of VR is going well beyond the games and entertainment industry. The pairing of these developments with an exponential growth in certain technology sectors evokes scenarios of the future taken from the pages of sci-fi literature. VR pioneer Cosmo Scharf will paint his vision of our shared future.

More information on http://www.tedxvienna.at

Cosmo Scharf co-founded VRLA, the world’s largest virtual reality expo, the Proto Awards, the first award show for VR, and Visionary VR, a start-up building software for storytelling in VR.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Continue reading “What if we could live in the Matrix?” | >

In Brief The success of this work will help healthcare professionals diagnose more accurately and efficiently, and it will allow for more diagnostic care in areas with limited healthcare services and providers.

In early August, IBM announced that it will acquire Merge Healthcare Inc., a company that sells systems that help medical professionals access and store medical images. This move is a critical step in IBM’s plan to put AI to work medically by training its Watson software to identify maladies like heart disease and cancer.

Merge is valuable to IBM because it owns 30 billion images, including computerized tomography, X-rays, and magnetic-resonance-imaging scans. The company can use these images in its deep learning training program. IBM is hoping that the same kind of software that lets Flickr recognize your face or a dog in your photos can help Watson identify symptoms of diseases.

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TEL AVIV, Jan 21 — Israel has upgraded its missile defence system so that the country can be protected from the ground to outer space.

The latest addition, the Arrow 3, became operational on Wednesday. The system has a range up to 2,400 km and can be used as an anti-satellite weapon. It was co-developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing Co.

An 'Arrow 3' ballistic missile interceptor is seen during its test launch near Ashdod, Israel December 10, 2015. — Reuters picAn ‘Arrow 3’ ballistic missile interceptor is seen during its test launch near Ashdod, Israel December 10, 2015. — Reuters picThe bottom tier of Israel’s missile defence system is the Iron Dome interceptor, which is designed to destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired up to 70 km away. The second tier of the system is David’s Sling, which is designed to shoot down mid-range, lower-altitude missiles. The Arrow 2 is designed to intercept missiles in low to high atmosphere.

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This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

Microsoft’s HoloLens hologram headset systems are already being used in the Australian, Ukrainian and Israeli military forces, and now the US military is also finding a use for Microsoft’s most advanced technology.

In recent exercises, forces from the Marines held a weeklong exercise called Spartan Emerging Technology and Innovation Week at North Carolina. The event featured various training technologies – from quadcopters to augmented reality developed with support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to accelerate the development of decision-making skills.

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I am still waiting for mine. I cannot wait to the day I use my smart lenses to take pics, videos, login to view work email, etc. BTW — I look forward to day we eliminate email too.

Google may have shelved Google Glass, its failed attempt to persuade the world that internet-connected spectacles were the next big thing, but it has not given up on the concept of smart eyeware.

The internet giant’s Verily Life Sciences unit has been working on connected contact lenses – or rather, eye implants – for some time, and Google founder Sergey Brin dropped a hint at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the technology may soon see the light of day.

Interviewed on stage at Davos, Brin said that Verily had started working on a glucose sensing contact lens project some time ago, and hinted that the first products may come to market soon.

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