By: Bryan Nelson — MNN
FUTURISM UPDATE (November 10, 2014)
Posted in futurism
FUTURISM UPDATE (November 10, 2014)
MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Google ALSO Wants to Store Your Genome. For $25 a year, Google will keep a copy of any genome in the cloud. http://lnkd.in/dAjHdHj
POPULAR SCIENCE: Bionic Bird Drone May Fool Actual Birds. This biomimetic flying device can be controlled by a smartphone, to entertain people and cats alike. http://lnkd.in/d2Mcz9R
NEW YORK TIMES: A Strategy for Rich Countries: Absorb More Immigrants http://lnkd.in/dJUabhh
WASHINGTON POST: HP’s bold plan to become the first mainstream 3D printing company http://wapo.st/1ttYWiZ
THE ECONOMIST: America’s crackdown on tax evasion: Weil walks http://econ.st/1vTJRsK
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370? THE ECONOMIST: Hacking aircraft. Remote control http://lnkd.in/d9wd_-Y
CHINA DAILY USA: Canada becomes first yuan clearance hub in Americas http://ow.ly/E1NmW
ENGADGET: 3D Robotics is building the drones that just about anyone can fly http://lnkd.in/d45qtd8
THE ATLANTIC: This Cyborg Cockroach Could Save Your Life Someday. Bugs backpacked with microphones could be deployed to disaster zones in the future. http://lnkd.in/dD_yQ9r
THE ECONOMIST: It is the 0.01% in America who are really getting richer http://econ.st/1uG8hLx
BLOOMBERG MARKET: Jack Ma, China’s richest man, plans to make #Alibaba the go-to global marketplace: http://bloom.bg/1ynfCgl
FINANCIAL TIMES: China’s answer to Warren Buffett, Guo Guangchang, talks tai chi over #LunchwiththeFT http://on.ft.com/1EbpEmH
PHYS ORG: ‘Big data’ takes root in the world of plant research http://lnkd.in/dSRtJJJ
THE ECONOMIST: James Lord of Morgan Stanley, a bank, labelled Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey the “fragile five” http://econ.st/1zA1K6k
COMPUTERWORLD: An Internet sales tax would cost online shoppers billions http://lnkd.in/dfyQ57k
WALL STREET JOURNAL: How China’s new trade routes center it on the geopolitical map http://on.wsj.com/1ymYcR0
WIRED: A Military-Grade Drone That Can Be Printed Anywhere http://lnkd.in/dYyDeJH
BBC: 3D printing helps make drones faster. 3D printing has been described as the “future of manufacturing” and is increasingly being used to make everything from film props to food. The technology is also being used to make unmanned aerial vehicles as the parts can be designed quicker and made…more http://lnkd.in/dnGtkQZ
BBC: Parkinson’s stem cell ‘breakthrough’. Stem cells can be used to heal the damage in the brain caused by Parkinson’s disease, according to scientists in Sweden. http://lnkd.in/d_hCySg
THE ECONOMIST: East Asian firms in China: Taiwan, Japan and South Korea employ huge numbers of mainland Chinese http://lnkd.in/dYt_MrX
REUTERS: Samsung Electronics near license for new $3 billion Vietnam mobile phone plant http://lnkd.in/dxeEcH5
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
http://connect.FORWARDMETRICS.com/profile/1649/Andres-Agostini.html
Written By: Jason Dorrier — Singularity Hub
Not long ago, robots were largely confined to books and movies. Then they started showing up on YouTube, and robot fear became a viral thing. There was that terrifying video of a Boston Dynamics robot wearing fatigues and gas mask. Another Boston Dynamics video showed a cheetah robot that could outpace the swiftest human sprinter.
Back then, it was easy enough to imagine being run down by a robot—particularly because Boston Dynamics was funded by the military. But there was no good reason to fear them. Not yet. Why? They were all powered by internal combustion engines. Imagine being stalked by a car with no muffler. You’d hear it a mile off and climb a tree.
Well, all you robot fearing folk, the era of insanely noisy robots may be nearing an end—MIT’s stealthy electric robot cheetah is here to prowl your nightmares. (Sure, it looks friendly and playful, gamboling care-free on the quad—but don’t be fooled.)
FUTURISM UPDATE (November 09, 2014)
Posted in futurism
FUTURISM UPDATE (November 09, 2014)
NEW YORK TIMES: Home Depot Says Hackers Also Stole Email Addresses http://lnkd.in/dmDSkuK
NEW YORK TIMES: International Raids Target Sites Selling Contraband on the ‘Dark Web’ http://lnkd.in/dc2jZdC
BUSINESS STANDARD: 50% of occupations today will no longer exist in 2025: Report. Workspaces with row of desks will become completely redundant, not because they are not fit for purpose, but simply because that purpose no longer exists, the report predicts http://lnkd.in/dFyWwk2
BUSINESSWEEK: David Cameron kept Scotland in the U.K., but the rise of right-wing nationalists could cost him his job: http://buswk.co/1uKH4H5
FOREIGN POLICY: Asian countries are wary about Beijing’s growing power, but China still brings home the bacon. http://atfp.co/1z9Tkje
NBC: Gorbachev Warns World is on Brink of ‘New Cold War’ http://nbcnews.to/1uNQBhh
BBC NEWS: Ex-USSR leader Gorbachev: World on brink of new Cold War http://lnkd.in/dtwysHG
The Huffington Post: Why Gorbachev Feels Betrayed By The Post-Cold War West http://lnkd.in/dCPTsiV
MARKET WATCH: Gorbachev says don’t pick on Putin http://lnkd.in/dWSK9xS
FOREIGN POLICY: Emerging market economies are in a lot more trouble than investors want to believe. http://atfp.co/1wECOYU
Discover Magazine: The mystery of the Virgin Galactic pilot’s error: http://bit.ly/1uafHEX
BIGTHINK: Your Brain Peforms Better When It Slows Down, with Steven Kotler http://lnkd.in/dgvCMxY
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Big Data Gets Master Treatment at B-Schools. One-Year Analytics Programs Cater to Shift in Students’ Ambitions http://lnkd.in/dWznGnn
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Elon Musk’s Next Mission: Internet Satellites. SpaceX, Tesla Founder Explores Venture to Make Lighter, Cheaper Satellites http://lnkd.in/d4vN-AM
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
http://connect.FORWARDMETRICS.com/profile/1649/Andres-Agostini.html

Originally published in Issue 13 of The Venus Project Magazine
Written By: Jason Dorrier — Singularity Hub
As a concept, the Internet of Things has been around for awhile. In theory, as chips get smaller and cheaper, we should be able to embed them in everyday items. Appliances, lighting, doors, climate control—all these things (and many more) get a chip and an internet connection. They can send data and receive commands.
In short, a world of dumb, inanimate objects wakes up to do our bidding.
But there are usually more than a few roadblocks between concept and execution. And two of the biggest challenges for the Internet of Things are power and cost.
Written By: David J. Hill — Singularity Hub
While computers scientists find new ways to supercharge computers, a team of plant scientists have demonstrated that they can supercharge a plant.
Hoping to speed up plant photosynthesis, researchers from the US and UK have successfully upgraded a carbon-fixing enzyme vital to photosynthesis in a tobacco plant with two enzymes from cyanobacteria, which function at a faster rate. If photosynthesis can be performed more efficiently, plants would grow larger and crops could have higher yields, possibly as high as 60% according to computer models.
“This is the first time that a plant has been created through genetic engineering to fix all of its carbon by a cyanobacterial enzyme,” said Cornell Professor Maureen Hanson, a co-author of the study, in the release. She added, “It is an important first step in creating plants with more efficient photosynthesis.”
The audio in this archive file was compiled from a 1984 meeting of futurists, transhumanists & progressives. The main topic of the meeting was the most appropriate ways to engage or advance these philosophies within government. For example, one significant point of discussion centered around whether running for office was an effective way to drive change.
The excerpts in this archive file collect many of futurist FM 2030’s thoughts over the course of the discussion.
About FM 2030: FM 2030 was at various points in his life, an Iranian Olympic basketball player, a diplomat, a university teacher, and a corporate consultant. He developed his views on transhumanism in the 1960s and evolved them over the next thirty-something years. He was placed in cryonic suspension July 8th, 2000.
Written By: Steven Kotler — Singularity Hub
Big Brother is feeling you—literally.
A few months back, I wrote about Ellie, the world’s first AI-psychologist. Developed by DARPA and researchers at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, Ellie is a diagnostic tool capable of reading 60 non-verbal cues a second—everything from eye-gaze to face tilt to voice tone—in the hopes of identifying the early warning signs of depressions and (part of the long term goal) stemming the rising tide of soldier suicide.
And early reports indicate that Ellie is both good at her job and that soldiers like talking to an AI-psychologist more than they like talking to a human psychologist (AI’s don’t judge).