Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 19

In this episode, we return to the subject of existential risks, but with a focus on what actions can be taken to eliminate or reduce these risks.

Our guest is James Norris, who describes himself on his website as an existential safety advocate. The website lists four primary organizations which he leads: the International AI Governance Alliance, Upgradable, the Center for Existential Safety, and Survival Sanctuaries.

Previously, one of James’ many successful initiatives was Effective Altruism Global, the international conference series for effective altruists. He also spent some time as the organizer of a kind of sibling organization to London Futurists, namely Bay Area Futurists. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a triple major in psychology, sociology, and philosophy, as well as with minors in too many subjects to mention.

Selected follow-ups:

• James Norris website (https://www.jamesnorris.org/)
• Upgrade your life & legacy (https://www.upgradable.org/) — Upgradable.
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (https://www.franklincovey.com/courses… (Stephen Covey)
• Beneficial AI 2017 (https://futureoflife.org/event/bai-2017/) — Asilomar conference.
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In this talk, Klaus Mainzer explores the connections between the Leibniz’ Monadology, the structure and function of the brain, and recent developments in quantum computing. He reflects on the nature of complexity, intelligence, and the possibilities of quantum information technologies.

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Scientists using living human brain tissue have shown for the first time how a toxic form of a protein linked to Alzheimer’s can stick to and damage the connections between brain cells.

Small pieces of healthy —collected during routine neurosurgery operations—were exposed to the protein, known as amyloid beta.

Unlike when subjected to a normal form of the protein, the brain tissue did not attempt to repair damage caused by the toxic form of amyloid beta, experts say.

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Background and ObjectiveSeveral studies have shown that idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) can mimic other neurodegenerative disorders, particularly progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). In this study, we investigated iNPH clinical and…

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A research team has uncovered a previously unknown type of immune signaling molecule—a novel compound combining histidine and ADP-ribose—produced by bacteria’s Thoeris II defense system in response to viral infection. This finding expands our understanding of bacterial immunity and may pave the way for innovative tools in biotechnology, gene editing, and antimicrobial therapy.

The paper, titled “TIR domains produce histidine-ADPR as an immune signal in bacteria,” is published in the journal Nature, and the team includes scientists at Vilnius University’s Life Sciences Centre (VU LSC), together with colleagues from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) and Harvard Medical School.

The discovery sheds light on how bacteria, much like humans, communicate viral threats at the molecular level—in this case, triggering a self-sacrificing response to halt virus spread and protect bacterial populations. Beyond its fundamental significance, the finding opens exciting avenues for rethinking immune mechanisms and virus-host interactions.

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Machine learning automates the control of a large and highly connected array of semiconductor quantum dots.

Even the most compelling experiment can become boring when repeated dozens of times. Therefore, rather than using artificial intelligence to automate the creative and insightful aspects of science and engineering, automation should focus instead on improving the productivity of researchers. In that vein, Justyna Zwolak of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland and her colleagues have demonstrated software for automating standard parts of experiments on semiconductor quantum-dot qubits [1]. The feat is a step toward the fully automated calibration of quantum processors. Larger and more challenging spin and quantum computing experiments will likely also benefit from it [2].

Semiconductor technology enables the fabrication of quantum-mechanical devices with unparalleled control [3], performance [4], reproducibility [5], and large-scale integration [6]—exactly what is needed for a highly scalable quantum computer. Classical digital logic represents bits as localized volumes of high or low electric potential, and the semiconductor industry has developed efficient ways to control such potentials—exactly what is needed for the operation of qubits based on quantum dots. Silicon or germanium are nearly ideal semiconductors to host qubits encoded in the spin state of electrons or electron vacancies (holes) confined in an electric potential formed in a quantum dot by transistor-like gate electrodes.

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