Lifeboat Foundation

Today we’re talking to Christopher Williamson, Global Director Of Technology at TUI. We discuss Chris’s methodology of going from idea to project, the ways in which AI is being utilized to further TUI’s technology, and the ways that Joel and Chris approach technology for their kids and the next generation.

Italian fashion start-up Cap_able has launched a collection of knitted clothing that protects the wearer’s biometric data without the need to cover their face.

Named Manifesto Collection, the clothing features various patterns developed by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to shield the wearer’s facial identity and instead identify them as animals.

Cap_able designed the clothing with patterns – known as adversarial patches – to deceive facial recognition software in real-time.

Architecture studio Snøhetta has released photos showing how its underwater restaurant, Under, has become covered in marine life since reaching completion in Norway three years ago.

Located in the remote Lindesnes area, the 495-square-metre structure is submerged off of a craggy shoreline and now doubles as an artificial reef.

The Norwegian studio designed Under as a concrete tube that is intended to resemble a sunken periscope. The concrete was left exposed externally, forming a rough finish onto which algae and molluscs can latch.

“There were times when I felt a real emptiness,” Son told shareholders. “I had a big cry. The tears didn’t stop for days.”

Biologists usually define ‘life’ as an entity that reproduces, responds to its environment, metabolizes chemicals, consumes energy, and grows. Under this model, ‘life’ is a binary state; something is either alive or not.

This definition works reasonably well on planet Earth, with viruses being one notable exception. But if life is elsewhere in the universe, it may not be made of the same stuff as us. It might not look, move, or communicate like we do. How, then, will we identify it as life?

Continue reading “Radical New Theory Gives a Very Different Perspective on What Life Is” »

Data science has been around for a long time. But the failure rates of big data projects and AI projects remain disturbingly high. And despite the hype, companies have yet to cite the contributions of data science to their bottom lines.

Why is this the case? In many companies, data scientists are not engaging in enough of softer, but more difficult, work, including gaining a deep understanding of business problems; building the trust of decision makers; explaining results in simple, powerful ways; and working patiently to address concerns among those impacted.

Managers must do four things to get more from their data science programs? First, clarify your business objectives and measure progress toward them. Second, hire data scientists best suited to the problems you face and immerse them in the day-in, day-out work of your organization. Third, demand that data scientists take end-to-end accountability for their work. Finally, insist that data scientists teach others, both inside their departments and across the company.

Significantly improved electric vehicle (EV) batteries could be a step closer thanks to a new study led by University of Oxford researchers, published today in Nature. Using advanced imaging techniques, this revealed mechanisms which cause lithium metal solid-state batteries (Li-SSBs) to fail. If these can be overcome, solid-state batteries using lithium metal anodes could deliver a step-change improvement in EV battery range, safety and performance, and help advance electrically powered aviation.

One of the co-lead authors of the study Dominic Melvin, a PhD student in the University of Oxford’s Department of Materials, said: ‘Progressing solid-state batteries with lithium metal anodes is one of the most important challenges facing the advancement of battery technologies. While lithium-ion batteries of today will continue to improve, research into solid-state batteries has the potential to be high-reward and a gamechanger technology.’

Li-SSBs are distinct from other batteries because they replace the flammable liquid electrolyte in conventional batteries with a solid electrolyte and use lithium metal as the anode (negative electrode). The use of the solid electrolyte improves the safety, and the use of lithium metal means more energy can be stored. A critical challenge with Li-SSBs, however, is that they are prone to short circuit when charging due to the growth of ‘dendrites’: filaments of lithium metal that crack through the ceramic electrolyte. As part of the Faraday Institution’s SOLBAT project, researchers from the University of Oxford’s Departments of Materials, Chemistry and Engineering Science, have led a series of in-depth investigations to understand more about how this short-circuiting happens.

Cells in the human body, the building blocks of life, are arranged in a precise way. That’s necessary because pathways and spaces provide a means for cells to communicate, collaborate and function within the specific tissue or organ. Changes in cell arrangement can lead to uncontrolled cell growth, cell death and diseases, including cancer.

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence method, called Spatially Informed Artificial Intelligence (SPIN-AI). This new deep-learning technique can analyze the genetic information of individual cells to reconstruct the precise layout of the cells in a tissue, without preexisting knowledge of how the cells are organized.

The new study detailing SPIN-AI is published in Biomolecules.

If we connect SpaceX Starships for space stations and rotate them for artificial gravity then we have to make sure they are rotationally stable.

A Space Station with three SpaceX Starships with one in the center for docking is not rotationally stable. A two SpaceX Starship system is rotationally stable. The central structure for docking that is balanced when rotating.