My new story on the Alt-Right vs. transhumanism!
In his first of a five-part essay series on transhumanism, a leader of the movement, Zoltan Istvan, discusses what lies behind the heightened interest in transhumanist ideas.
The Big Bang is the name we have given to the moment at which the Universe began. While the idea is well known, it is often badly misunderstood. Even people with a good grasp of science have misconceptions about it. For instance, a common question is, “Where did the Big Bang happen?” And the answer to that question is a surprising one. So, let’s dive into it and try to understand where the misunderstanding arises.
When people are told of the Big Bang, they are commonly told that “all of the mass of the universe was packed into a point with zero volume called a singularity.” The singularity then “exploded,” expanding and cooling and eventually resulting in the Universe we see today. People draw from their own experience and analogize the Big Bang with something like a firecracker or a grenade — an object that sits in a location, then explodes, dispersing debris into existing space. This is a completely natural and reasonable mental image. It is also completely wrong.
Continue reading “Where is the center of the Universe? Here, there, and everywhere” »
First Publicly Known. Expect to see most countries have one by 2030. In Charge, 2050s.
Romanians will be able to send their ideas through an accompanying website (ion.gov.ro) as well as on social media and some in-person locations. Ion will then synthesize their contributions for the government to consider, according to the coordinator of the research team, Nicu Sebe. Users won’t, however, receive a response from Ion itself.
Instead, Research and Innovation Minister Sebastian Burduja, whose office is overseeing the project, explained that Ion will analyze the information it receives and draw up reports about Romanians’ priorities.
Continue reading “OK Computer: Romania debuts ‘world’s first’ AI government adviser” »
The firm’s strategists broke down why AI is about to “revolutionize everything” with a similar impact to Steve Jobs’ smartphone.
My music score for Rotwang’s robot in the silent German expressionist film METROPOLIS by Fritz Lang. 1927.
This film had a major influence on me, but that would come later. When I saw it for the first time I was 9 years old. Little did I know, this scene in particular would haunt me to this day.
Continue reading “Rotwang’s Creation: a tribute to Metropolis” »
A new study from Sanford Burnham Prebys has discovered a drug that can spur liver regeneration in patients with Alagille syndrome.
For the first time, research conducted by Associate Professor Duc Dong, Ph.D. has revealed that the detrimental effects of Alagille syndrome, a genetic disorder that has no cure, can be reversed using a single drug. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have the potential to revolutionize the treatment approach for this rare condition, and could also shed light on more widespread diseases.
“Alagille syndrome is widely considered an incurable disease, but we believe we’re on the way to changing that,” says Dong, who is also the associate dean of admissions for Sanford Burnham Prebys’ graduate school. “We aim to advance this drug into clinical trials, and our results demonstrate its effectiveness for the first time.”
According to a recent study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, a protein that prepares DNA
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).
Summary: Examining the cognitive abilities of the AI language model, GPT-3, researchers found the algorithm can keep up and compete with humans in some areas but falls behind in others due to a lack of real-world experience and interactions.
Source: Max Planck Institute.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen have examined the general intelligence of the language model GPT-3, a powerful AI tool.
“Internet memes serve as excellent checkpoints to ensure humans have the upper hand over machines,” an expert tells us.
Adding evidence to the importance of early development, a new study links neutral maternal behavior toward infants with an epigenetic change in children related to stress response.
Epigenetics are molecular processes independent of DNA that influence gene behavior. In this study, researchers found that neutral or awkward behavior of mothers with their babies at 12 months correlated with an epigenetic change called methylation, or the addition of methane and carbon molecules, on a gene called NR3C1 when the children were 7 years old. This gene has been associated with regulating the body’s response to stress.
“There is evidence of a relationship between the quality of maternal-infant interaction and methylation of this gene though these are small effects in response to a relatively small variation in interaction,” said Elizabeth Holdsworth, a Washington State University biological anthropologist and lead author of the study published in the American Journal of Human Biology.
