Lifeboat News: The Blog – Safeguarding Humanity

This Desalination System Uses Waves To Create Drinking Water

Posted by Montie Adkins in futurism, innovation

Nov 2
2016

The best of tech and science innovation, shaping our future.

If You Upload Your Mind to the Cloud—Would You Still Be You?

Nov 2
2016

From time to time, the Singularity Hub editorial team unearths a gem from the archives and wants to share it all over again. It’s usually a piece that was popular back then and we think is still relevant now. This is one of those articles. It was originally published January 25, 2015. We hope you enjoy it!

SoftBank Is Investing in a Microchip to Make the Singularity a Reality

Posted by Elmar Arunov in existential risks, robotics/AI, singularity

Nov 2
2016

In Brief:

As part of a strategy to prepare for the Singularity, Japanese telecom multinational SoftBank spent $31 billion to acquire microprocessing company ARM.
This hypothetical day in the future when machine intelligence surpasses that of humanity may not be the doomsday it is portrayed as in much of pop culture.

CenturyLink Buys Level 3 for $34 Billion

Posted by Roman Mednitzer in internet

Nov 1
2016

CenturyLink is buying Level 3 in a transaction valued at $34 billion; the combined company will boast 450,000 route miles of fiber.

Physicists might have found a way to break the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Posted by Shane Hinshaw in energy, quantum physics, space

Nov 1
2016

The laws of thermodynamics are some of the most important principles in modern physics, because they define how three fundamental physical quantities — temperature, energy, and entropy — behave under various circumstances.

But now physicists say they’ve found a loophole in one of these laws, and it could create scenarios in which entropy — or disorder — actually decreases with time.

Thanks to modern physics, almost everything in the Universe can be explained according to two theories: general relativity for the big stuff like stars, galaxies, and the Universe itself; and quantum mechanics, for behaviours on the atomic scale.

The future of America is driverless — By Tamara Warren | The Verge

Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in policy, transportation

Nov 1
2016

“In his final months on the job, US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx has been vocal about the pressing need to repair America’s broken infrastructure, and all the ways in which technology will fundamentally change the way we move.”

Google’s A.I. Learns How to Encrypt Itself

Posted by Elmar Arunov in education, encryption, robotics/AI

Nov 1
2016

And how to keep secrets.

Can you judge a person

Posted by Elmar Arunov in computing

Nov 1
2016

First impressions count, but they’re notoriously subjective. Now computers have learned to make snap judgments just like humans do.

What the Transhumanist candidate learned from the election

Posted by Zoltan Istvan in policy, transhumanism

Nov 1
2016

My new interview on Engadget, which goes over a lot of transhumanist and political policy terrain:

Zoltan Istvan wants to create a movement, not a moment.

Fixtureless smart panels illuminate with Lego-like construction

Posted by Shane Hinshaw in internet

Nov 1
2016

When it comes to the placement of interior lighting, much of the thought involved tends to relate to reaching nearby outlets. But the latest lights Toronto-based Nanoleaf may end up providing creative individuals one extra element to puzzle over. The Nanoleaf Aurora Smarter Kit is designed to be a modular lighting solution, featuring WiFi-controlled, color-adjustable, triangular panels that snap together like Lego.