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FUTURISM UPDATE (December 18, 2014) — Mr. Andres Agostini, Amazon, LinkedIn

0 a JEFF JEFF JEFF

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Stanford to host 100-year study on artificial intelligence http://www.kurzweilai.net/stanford-to-host-100-year-study-on…telligence

WHITE SWAN BOOK: Stanford engineers invent radical ‘high-rise’ 3D chips http://www.kurzweilai.net/stanford-engineers-invent-radical-high-rise-3d-chips

WHITE SWAN BOOK: 5 reasons you should care about Russia’s falling ruble https://lnkd.in/ehGZnFb

WHITE SWAN BOOK: Lessons From an Outbreak: How Ebola Shaped 2014 https://lnkd.in/edc_Fai

WHITE SWAN BOOK: Saudi Arabia’s Oil Strategy Is About More Than Destroying The US Shale Business https://lnkd.in/ebXihrY

WHITE SWAN BOOK: Antibiotic Resistance Will Kill 300 Million People by 2050 https://lnkd.in/ejzpSNK

The Moscow Times- Putin’s Fear of China Weakens Russia’s Asia Pivot https://lnkd.in/euPt-Dn

THE ECONOMIST: World economy. Past and future tense. The world economy in 2015 will carry troubling echoes of the late 1990s https://lnkd.in/e5e2_ex

Billion Dollar Desalination Plants – Is this the Answer to California’s Prolonged Drought? http://www.21stcentech.com/billion-dollar-desalination-plant…d-drought/

THE ECONOMIST: A new tech bubble seems to be inflating. But when it pops, it should cause less damage than the dotcom crash of 2000 https://lnkd.in/e8fjB-d

BY MR. ANDRES AGOSTINI

White Swan Book Author (Source of this Article)

http://www.LINKEDIN.com/in/andresagostini

http://www.AMAZON.com/author/agostini

http://www.appearoo.com/aagostini

Written By: — Singularity Hub

http://cdn.singularityhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/jason-silva-real-virtuality-41.jpg

Jason Silva calls technologies of media “engines of empathy.” They allow us to look through someone else’s eyes, experience someone else’s story—and develop a sense of compassion and understanding for them, and perhaps for others more generally.

But he says, while today cinema is the “the cathedral of communication technology,” looking to the future, there is another great medium looming—virtual reality.

Read more

elon.musk

The Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award is annually bestowed upon a respected scientist or public figure who has warned of a future fraught with dangers and encouraged measures to prevent them.

The 2014 Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award has been given to Elon Musk in recognition of his warnings about artificial intelligence, his promotion of space exploration including the creation of self-sustaining space colonies, and his efforts to improve our environment with electric cars and to expand solar energy generation.

Elon is often likened to a real-life Tony Stark from Marvel’s Iron Man comics for his role in cutting-edge companies including SpaceX, a private space exploration company that holds the first private contracts from NASA for resupply of the International Space Station, and the electric car company Tesla Motors. Watch Elon in Iron Man 2!

Artificial Intelligence

Elon recently described his investments in AI research as “keeping an eye on what’s going on” rather than aiming for a viable return on capital. He said, “I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful.”

Considering that oversight of AI development by governmental and nongovernmental agencies is about zero, it is helpful for Elon to bring attention to this matter. For example, thanks to warnings like his, Google now has an AI Ethics Board. (This matters since Google is putting a lot of resources into creating smarter and smarter AIs.)

Self-Sustaining Space Colonies

There are many existential risks that could be survived if we had self-sustaining colonies outside of the Earth. Elon said, “What matters is being able to establish a self-sustaining civilization on Mars, and I don’t see anything being done but SpaceX. I don’t see anyone else even trying.” He also said, “Sooner or later, we must expand life beyond this green and blue ball — or go extinct.”

Elon is CEO and CTO of SpaceX. Historic achievements by SpaceX, among others, include the first privately funded, liquid-fueled rocket (Falcon 1) to reach orbit in September 2008; the first privately funded company to successfully launch (Falcon 9), orbit, and recover a spacecraft (Dragon) in December 2010; and the first private company to send a spacecraft (Dragon) to the International Space Station in May 2012. The launch of SES-8 in December 2013 was the first SpaceX delivery into geosynchronous orbit.

Sustainable Energy

Elon is CEO, Chairman, and Product Architect of Tesla Motors. Tesla first gained widespread attention following their production of the Tesla Roadster, the first fully electric sports car. The company’s second vehicle is the Model S, a fully electric luxury sedan, and its next two vehicles are the Models X and 3 respectively.

Tesla also markets electric powertrain components, including lithium-ion battery packs to automakers including Daimler and Toyota. Elon has said that he envisions Tesla as an independent automaker, aimed at eventually offering electric cars at prices affordable to the average consumer.

Elon is Chairman of SolarCity, the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. Continuing its strong growth, the United States installed 1,354 megawatts of solar photovoltaics in Q3 2014, up 41 percent over the same period last year. Only 440 megawatts had been installed in all of 2009 to show how fast this market is growing.

FUTURISM UPDATE (December 17, 2014) — Mr. Andres Agostini, Amazon, LinkedIn

0   GRANULARS

ENGINEERING: US Navy Tests GhostSwimmer, an Autonomous Sub http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles…s-Sub.aspx

NEW YORK TIMES: As Robots Grow Smarter, American Workers Struggle to Keep Up https://lnkd.in/eg9Y8fV

ENGINEERING: Is A Quantum Internet on the Horizon? https://lnkd.in/ezBsRbM

CNNMoney- Who loses if Russia implodes? https://lnkd.in/eRHu85V

Newsweek- Cheap Oil Puts Russia’s Economy in Tailspin http://www.newsweek.com/2014/12/26/russias-oil-fire-292090.html

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: 12 Reasons Robots Will Always Have An Advantage Over Humans https://lnkd.in/e_H3Ujm

Forbes- Rouble Rout Means Capital Controls Could Be On The Cards For Russia https://lnkd.in/eMrMTkM

ABC News- China Raises Estimate of Size of Economy, possibly moving closer to passing the United States as the biggest economy. https://lnkd.in/ew36KmS

BBC News- Is China’s economy really the largest in the world? https://lnkd.in/eKMbTMa

Nasdaq- 3D Printing Expert Weighs in on Hewlett-Packard Company’s 3D Printer https://lnkd.in/e8ue9CM

THE GUARDIAN: Plans for a secure quantum internet take a leap forward. The ability to ‘sculpt’ individual photons is a crucial step towards a secure network of powerful quantum computers https://lnkd.in/e-SwizV

BY MR. ANDRES AGOSTINI

White Swan Book Author (Source of this Article)

http://www.LINKEDIN.com/in/andresagostini

http://www.AMAZON.com/author/agostini

http://www.appearoo.com/aagostini

Written By: — Singularity Hub

UPDATE: To read more about how workers will be affected by automation technology, check out Hub’s follow up post Burger Robot Poised to Disrupt Fast Food Industry

No longer will they say, “He’s going to end up flipping burgers.” Because now, robots are taking even these ignobly esteemed jobs. Alpha machine from Momentum Machines cooks up a tasty burger with all the fixins. And it does it with such quality and efficiency it’ll produce “gourmet quality burgers at fast food prices.”

With a conveyor belt-type system the burgers are freshly ground, shaped and grilled to the customer’s liking. And only when the burger’s finished cooking does Alpha slice the tomatoes and pickles and place them on the burger as fresh as can be. Finally, the machine wraps the burger up for serving.

And while you fret over how many people you invited to the barbecue, Alpha churns out a painless 360 hamburgers per hour.

Read more

FUTURISM UPDATE (December 16, 2014) — Mr. Andres Agostini, Amazon, LinkedIn

INTRO

Forbes- Edward Snowden and the Downside to the Industrial Internet of Things https://lnkd.in/eGp_3qr

REUTERS: Wall Street dips in volatile trade; oil prices fall further https://lnkd.in/ejZ9XyY

REUTERS: Google faces $18 million fine for web privacy violations: Dutch watchdog https://lnkd.in/e7sBr8h

Seeking Alpha- Will The Plunge In Oil Crash Markets? http://seekingalpha.com/article/2756495-will-the-plunge-in-oil-crash-markets

CBCNEWS: Oil slips below $56 US after OPEC says it’s waiting on market. Canadian dollar trading at 85 cents US as crude markets continue rout https://lnkd.in/etu7BJQ

FINANCIAL TIMES: Oil price fall threatens $1tn of projects http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b3d67518-845f-11e4-bae9-00…z3M03HtF6K

New York Times- Wall St. Sinks as Oil Resumes Its Slide http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?_r=0

Washington Post- Australia’s jihadist problem is much bigger than Sydney’s hostage crisis https://lnkd.in/eRbVvy7

New York Daily News- Top 7 jobs robots can potentially replace in following years https://lnkd.in/ePM4J_r

The Huffington Post UK : Gorbachev Warns That America And Russia Are Preparing For ‘Many Years Of Confrontation’. “With such emotions running so high, as we have now, we may not survive through these years. Somebody may just lose control of himself. We must do our best to overturn this tendency.” https://lnkd.in/eBXf2MF

POPULAR SCIENCE: NASA ENGINEERS PROPOSE COMBINING A RAIL GUN AND A SCRAMJET TO FIRE SPACECRAFT INTO ORBIT https://lnkd.in/ePr5hsk

JAPANESE GLOBAL CORPORATIONS ARE (a) RISK ADVERSE AND (b) RISK-MANAGEMENT AVERSE. Wired- Sony Hackers Threaten to Release a Huge ‘Christmas Gift’ of Secrets https://lnkd.in/ewaB5ET

IGNORAMUSES THINK THIS CANNOT HAPPEN SOON. The Guardian- Fears for Russian rouble as plunging oil price dents markets. Investors are concerned that the freefalling oil price and its effects on energy-dependent Moscow will further harm the world economy https://lnkd.in/ex6gi7G

FINANCIAL TIMES: Scandinavians warn Russia after air near-miss https://lnkd.in/e2XXSQ5

Fox News- Threat forces evacuation of Amazon’s Seattle headquarters https://lnkd.in/e7j8U8N

Wall Street Journal- Google Shopping to Counter Amazon. Google Inc. plans to push deeper into online commerce by enhancing its Google Shopping service with features that more directly challenge Amazon.com Inc. https://lnkd.in/ensWE57

Telegraph.co.uk- How the Lima climate change talks failed. Lima has underscored what we already knew: that the official negotiators are just not capable of cracking the issues on the table https://lnkd.in/eT4QXZr

PHYS ORG: Switching to vehicles powered by electricity from renewables could save lives https://lnkd.in/eRu23cC

WHY RELATIONS OF THE WEST WITH GERMANY ARE SO DEFUSED? DER SPIEGEL: NSA Spying Scandal: SPIEGEL Stands Behind Merkel Cell Phone Spying Report https://lnkd.in/e2phbpC

The National Interest Online (blog)- India’s ‘Annihilator of Enemies’ Submarine Begins Sea Trials https://lnkd.in/eNvJAKG

ASK SONY! — JAPANESE GLOBAL CORPORATION’S ABJECT RISK AVERSION AND OUTRIGHT REJECTION TO BEST-IN-CLASS AMERICAN-LIKE RISK MANAGEMENT AS THEY BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY THING IMPORTANT IS THE “…ASSEMBLY LINE…” AND THE “…WORK SHOP…” BENCH, OVER-FOCUSED ON THE IGNORANT CERTAINTY THAT THE IN-HOUSE OPERATIONALS FACADES WILL NOT GET EXTERNAL THREATS, EXTERNAL THREATS THAT DESTROY EVERY CANONICAL MILESTONE(S) ACHIEVED BY KAISEN OR TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM (TPS).

Washington Post- As Ukraine truce holds, Russia vows economic pain https://lnkd.in/echway7

BBC News- Denmark challenges Russia and Canada over North Pole http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30481309

BY MR. ANDRES AGOSTINI

White Swan Book Author (Source of this Article)

http://www.LINKEDIN.com/in/andresagostini

http://www.AMAZON.com/author/agostini

http://www.appearoo.com/aagostini

Written By: — Singularity Hub

bitcoin-binary-code-1

Bitcoin is a decentralized, digital currency. It was invented by a mysterious individual known by the handle, Satoshi Nakamoto. A bitcoin is volatile but is currently worth about $380; regulators are increasingly interested; retailers too—true believers believe.

These headlines you’ve likely read. But where the hell do bitcoins come from anyway? They’re mined by computers making calculations lightning fast—or in this case, by a man with sixteen minutes’ free time, a pencil, and pad of paper.

Read more

FUTURISM UPDATE (December 15, 2014) — Mr. Andres Agostini, Amazon, LinkedIn

0  COMMON SENSE

BUSINESS INSIDER: Dubai Crashed, Qatar Crashed, And The Rest Of The Gulf States Got Smoked http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-gulf-stocks-reel-on-slidi…z3Lu9XTWzd

InfoWorld- Google wants you to design the Internet of things. Impatient for the Internet of things, Google is providing seed money for researching new technologies https://lnkd.in/eRFnwpp

Wired- Butterflies, Ants and the Internet of Things https://lnkd.in/eKQiFVG

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Bankers, watch out for the robots: Goldman Sachs has invested in a company that could use algorithms instead of analysts https://lnkd.in/ecfWW-n

CNNMoney- China wants to build a train system near you https://lnkd.in/ea_3-t7

SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY: Scientists Discover Children’s Cells Living in Mothers’ Brains https://lnkd.in/ewBTqsq

REUTERS: Asian shares fall to nine-month low as oil prices sink https://lnkd.in/eiaES3y

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: How cheap oil changes the world https://lnkd.in/e4gxzFG

BY MR. ANDRES AGOSTINI

White Swan Book Author (Source of this Article)

http://www.LINKEDIN.com/in/andresagostini

http://www.AMAZON.com/author/agostini

http://www.appearoo.com/aagostini