Lifeboat Foundation

What about the Chinese Room thought experiment by Searle, doesn’t that disprove true AI and mind uploading?

The Chinese Room Argument is a thought experiment designed by philosopher John Searle and published in his article, Can Computers Think? This experiment is in opposition to strong-artificial intelligence (AI), specifically to claims that computers may someday be able to have cognitive states. Searle argues that cognitive states must have semantic content, yet programs are purely syntactic, and that computers are constrained by structures that disallow them from creating their own meaning.

To make this argument, Searle imagines a “Chinese Room” in which a person receives a string of Chinese characters, and using a computer, returns the appropriate response in Chinese. The person has no understanding of the Chinese language yet using syntactic and instructions, the person is able to mimic an understanding of Chinese. Searle demonstrates that an ability to follow formal instructions and produce appropriate responses does not equate to an understanding, due to the lack of semantic content. Similarly, a computer that substitutes for said person, would not understand Chinese.

Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker (https://nancybrinker.com/) is Founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (https://www.komen.org/) and Co-Founder of the Promise Fund of Florida (https://www.promisefundofflorida.org/).

Amb. Brinker is a three-time Ambassador and New York Times best-selling author who is regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement. Her journey began with a promise to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything possible to end the shame, pain, fear, and hopelessness caused by this disease. In one generation, the organization that bears Susan’s name has changed the world.

Continue reading “Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker — Leading A Global Movement To End Breast Cancer” »

Just a matter of time for people.

Anti-Aging interview with David Sinclair by Mr. Myllet.

Continue reading “The Aging Process Is Unstoppable, Or Is It…?” »

The helicopter has been scouting the red planet for over a year.

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter went from being a proof of concept for off-world flight to becoming a fully-fledged aerial scout for NASA’s Perseverance mission.

The helicopter wasn’t alone, as per a blog post from NASA. Images from the chopper show a flowing debris object, resembling a piece of a plastic bag, for part of its journey.

Continue reading “NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flew with a ‘foreign’ piece of debris attached to its foot” »

Circa 2022 😀

New mathematical formulation means huge paradigm shift in physics would not be necessary.

Although today’s rocket engines are advanced and powerful, they tend to rely on traditional — and naturally volatile — fuels. Firehawk Aerospace has a safer and more stable new solid fuel, new engines, and millions in new funding to take it through the next round of tests to its first in-atmosphere demonstration launch.

Firehawk appeared on the scene two years ago with a fresh take on hybrid engines; the breakthrough made by CEO Will Edwards and chief scientist Ron Jones was to give that fuel a structure and 3D print it in a specially engineered matrix.

The structured, solid fuel grain is more stable and easier to transport than other fuels, and burns in a very predictable way. The company designed engines around this concept and tested them at smaller scales, though they have also been working on the kind of engine you might actually use if you were going to space. But the company has said that one of the strengths of the system is its adaptability.

Our universe may be fundamentally unstable. In a flash, the vacuum of space-time may find a new ground state, triggering a cataclysmic transformation of the physics of the universe.

Or not. A new understanding inspired by string theory shows that our universe may be more stable than we previously thought.

Within the first microseconds of the Big Bang, the universe underwent a series of radical phase transitions. The four forces of nature — electromagnetism, gravity, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force — were at one time unified into a single force. Physicists do not know the character or nature of this force, but they do know that it didn’t last long.

Microgrids are the right solution for rural and remote energy production and distribution because they are grids designed for smaller populations.

In the United States, there are at least 60,000 people who have no access to electricity. It is not a large number but poses for this population a barrier to participating in the modern world. You cannot find a job working from home without electricity and Internet access. You cannot visit your doctor virtually. You cannot use electricity to light and heat your home.

But with microgrids that can operate autonomously from the main power grid, rural and remote communities can do everything that people living in big cities can do leading to a better quality of life for those living there.

Continue reading “How Microgrids are an Ideal Energy Solution for Rural and Remote Communities” »

A comprehensive analysis of bacterial communities from Deception Island, an active volcano in Antarctica, highlights the potential for using heat-loving bacteria to clean up oil contamination, new research led by KAUST researchers shows.

Júnia Schultz recently joined KAUST as a postdoc working with Alexandre Rosado. She has set her sights on characterizing the microbiome of extreme terrestrial environments in Saudi Arabia, including volcanoes, deserts and geothermal sites. These extremophiles, bacteria that grow in the world’s most extreme environments, including those that love heat (thermophiles), hold immense potential for a myriad of biotechnology applications.

“Extremophiles thrive under a multitude of hostile conditions and have adapted to remain metabolically active in challenging circumstances,” says Schultz. “They exhibit versatile, diverse metabolic and physiological capabilities and often synthesize valuable bioproducts.”