Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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April 26 (Reuters) — Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) talked up investments in artificial intelligence (AI) for the second quarter in a row but their results on Tuesday suggested that any substantial additions to sales will be slow.

The tech behemoths have launched an array of products that they promise are packed with generative AI, which creates brand new content — text, image, code — from past data. The term became a buzzword after Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI released ChatGPT, a chatbot that writes human-like responses.

“The world’s most advanced AI models are coming together with the world’s most universal user interface — natural language — to create a new era of computing,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive officer, said in a statement on Tuesday.

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“As a computer scientist, I don’t like the term ” A.I.” In fact, I think it’s misleading—maybe even a little dangerous. Everybody’s already using the term, and it might seem a little late in the day to be arguing about it. But we’re at the beginning of a new technological era—and the easiest way to mismanage a technology is to misunderstand it.

The term artificial intelligence has a long history—it was coined in the nineteen-fifties, in the early days of computers. More recently, computer scientists have grown up on movies like The Terminator and The Matrix, and on characters like Commander Data, from Star Trek: The Next Generation. These cultural touchstones have become an almost religious mythology in tech culture. It’s only natural that computer scientists long to create A.I. and realize a long-held dream.

What’s striking, though, is that many of the people who are pursuing the A.I. dream also worry that it might mean doomsday for mankind. It is widely stated, even by scientists at the very center of today’s efforts, that what A.I. researchers are doing could result in the annihilation of our species, or at least in great harm to humanity, and soon. In a recent poll, half of A.I. scientists agreed that there was at least a ten-per-cent chance that the human race would be destroyed by A.I.

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Researchers identified DNA methylation markers that may indicate the risk of developing schizophrenia later in life in newborns. This breakthrough discovery could allow for early detection and intervention to reduce the impact of the disease. By studying blood samples collected at birth, the team was able to identify unique methylation differences in cell types that could become potential clinical biomarkers for future early detection of schizophrenia.

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While analyzing the genomes of single-celled microbes, a team of researchers made a startling discovery: Thousands of previously unknown viruses were “hidden” within the microbes’ DNA.

The researchers found DNA from more than 30,000 viruses built into genomes of various single-celled microbes, they report in a new study. They explain that viral DNA might enable a host cell to replicate complete, functional viruses.

“We were very surprised by how many viruses we found through this analysis,” says lead author Christopher Bellas, an ecologist who studies viruses at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. “In some cases, up to 10 percent of a microbe’s DNA turned out to consist of hidden viruses.”

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I remember when Gmail launched predictive answers to emails as a quick way to respond to folks. This moment sparked my curiosity about where this kind of technology would lead us. In those first few moments after discovering this feature, I understood that language itself, and perhaps even human thought, were on the brink of a massive transformation.

This was even more evident with predictive text. The idea is that the prediction is accurate, or close enough, so eventually, people will just start using the same small set of responses, with the conversations becoming more homogeneous and less original. Original thought is endangered.

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Said by me, before Bill. really smart kids will probably check out by late 2020s, preferring AI tutors over in person. the idea for everyone who wants to to be able to use an AI tutor will take place mid 2030s. And debate will turn very nasty.

Bill Gates believes AI (artificial intelligence) chatbots like ChatGPT will be able to replace teachers in the near future. There’s a lot of hype surrounding AI and the 67-year-old Microsoft co-founder has been endorsing it lately.

According to Gates, generative AI models including ChatGPT will soon be able to help children learn to read and improve their grades. In other words, the billionaire suggests A.I. chatbots could oust teachers in the near future.

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In March 2023, MIT Technology Review revealed that Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI (ChatGPT), was the mystery investor behind the $180 million investment into stealth startup Retro Biosciences, a biotech company with the ambition of “adding 10 years to the human lifespan.” This investment marks the latest tech entrepreneur expressing their interest in longevity science and a new connection with innovative AI technology.

According to February 2023 reports, AI is continuing to gain traction in healthcare applications. Currently, the market is estimated at $14.6 billion (USD) with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 47.6%, with solutions spread across various healthcare fields, such as patient data and risk analysis, precision medicine, cybersecurity, lifestyle management, and drug discovery.

The increasing convergence of AI technology and longevity science is sparking advancements in the sector, with established businesses, start-ups, and researchers utilizing the technology. Most recently, scientists explored how ChatGPT, an AI-based language model, was able to predict Alzheimer’s in 80% of cases when analyzing speech. However, it is not the only implementation.

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Stem cells (SCs) are undifferentiated cells which can proliferate indefinitely or differentiate into progenitor cells and end-phase differentiated cells (becoming pluripotent) (Mayo, 2021; Slack, 2022). Human embryonic SCs (hE-SCs) are found in the inner cell mass of the blastocyst; h E-SC research raises ethical concerns (Lo and Parham, 2009), and h E-SC transplantation in vivo can lead to the formation of large tumors called teratomas (Blum and Benvenisty, 2008).

Small numbers of adult SCs are found in some organ “niches”, including the bone marrow, where hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) replenish blood and immune cells. In 1958, Mathe et al. (1959) successfully performed the first adult SC therapy on five workers who had received high-dose accidental irradiation at the Vinca Nuclear Institute in Yugoslavia. After transfusions and grafts of homologous adult bone marrow, all workers survived (Mathe et al., 1959).

For years, the human umbilical cord was a waste material and, unlike h E-SCs, its use does not raise ethical concerns. In 1988, Gluckman et al. (1989) successfully performed the first human cord blood transplant in a child with Fanconi’s anemia. Since then, numerous public and private cord blood banks have been established worldwide for the cryopreservation of cord blood in view of its transplantation (Gluckman, 2011).

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In a recent study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, researchers provide an overview of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in treating recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI).

Study: Fecal microbiota transplantation for the treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile (Clostridium difficile). Image Credit: Prrrettty / Shutterstock.com.

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