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Mar 16, 2022

A talk by David Pearce for the Stepping into the Future conference 2022

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, evolution, health, neuroscience, transhumanism

Synopsis: No sentient being in the evolutionary history of life has enjoyed good health as defined by the World Health Organization. The founding constitution of the World Health Organization commits the international community to a daringly ambitious conception of health: “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing”. Health as so conceived is inconsistent with evolution via natural selection. Lifelong good health is inconsistent with a Darwinian genome. Indeed, the vision of the World Health Organization evokes the World Transhumanist Association. Transhumanists aspire to a civilization of superhappiness, superlongevity and superintelligence; but even an architecture of mind based on information-sensitive gradients of bliss cannot yield complete well-being. Post-Darwinian life will be sublime, but “complete” well-being is posthuman – more akin to Buddhist nirvana. So the aim of this talk is twofold. First, I shall explore the therapeutic interventions needed to underwrite the WHO conception of good health for everyone – or rather, a recognisable approximation of lifelong good health. What genes, allelic combinations and metabolic pathways must be targeted to deliver a biohappiness revolution: life based entirely on gradients of well-being? How can we devise a more civilized signalling system for human and nonhuman animal life than gradients of mental and physical pain? Secondly, how can genome reformists shift the Overton window of political discourse in favour of hedonic uplift? How can prospective parents worldwide – and the World Health Organization – be encouraged to embrace genome reform? For only germline engineering can fix the problem of suffering and create a happy biosphere for all sentient beings.

https://www.scifuture.org/the-end-of-suffering-genome-reform…id-pearce/

Mar 16, 2022

Russia’s war will remake the world

Posted by in category: business

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication.

Mar 15, 2022

Machine Learning Reimagines the Building Blocks of Computing

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

Traditional algorithms power complicated computational tools like machine learning. A new approach, called algorithms with predictions, uses the power of machine learning to improve algorithms.

Mar 15, 2022

Student tracking ‘Putin’s jets’ warned life at risk but says he’s ’pretty safe‘

Posted by in category: Elon Musk

EXCLUSIVE 19-year-old Jack Sweeney famous for keeping tabs on the private jets of Elon Musk and the world’s wealthy elite reveals why he isn’t afraid of Russian president Vladimir Putin after setting up new jet tracker dailystar.

Mar 15, 2022

Mathematical discovery could shed light on quantum gravity

Posted by in categories: cosmology, mathematics, quantum physics

How can Einstein’s theory of gravity be unified with quantum mechanics? It is a challenge that could give us deep insights into phenomena such as black holes and the birth of the universe. Now, a new article in Nature Communications, written by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and MIT, U.S., presents results that cast new light on important challenges in understanding quantum gravity.

A grand challenge in modern theoretical physics is to find a “unified theory” that can describe all the laws of nature within a single framework—connecting Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which describes the universe on a large scale, and quantum mechanics, which describes our world at the . Such a theory of “” would include both a macroscopic and microscopic description of nature.

“We strive to understand the laws of nature and the language in which these are written is mathematics. When we seek answers to questions in physics, we are often led to new discoveries in mathematics too. This interaction is particularly prominent in the search for quantum gravity—where it is extremely difficult to perform experiments,” explains Daniel Persson, Professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Chalmers university of technology.

Mar 15, 2022

Mapping how the 100 billion cells in the brain all fit together is the brave new world of neuroscience

Posted by in categories: mapping, neuroscience

These steps are repeated for each cell type, creating a richer and more complete map of the brain with each run-through.

Working together to build a brain map

Continue reading “Mapping how the 100 billion cells in the brain all fit together is the brave new world of neuroscience” »

Mar 15, 2022

Future cities could be 3D Printed using Recycled Glass

Posted by in categories: futurism, materials

Future cities could be 3D printed – using concrete made with recycled glass.

3D printed concrete may lead to a shift in architecture and construction. Because it can be used to produce new shapes and forms that current technologies struggle with, it may change the centuries-old processes and procedures that are still used to construct buildings, resulting in lower costs and saved time.

Mar 15, 2022

NASA System Predicts Impact of Small Asteroid

Posted by in category: space

Asteroid 2022 EB5 was too small to pose a hazard to Earth, but its discovery marks the fifth time that any asteroid has been observed before impacting into the atmosphere.

Mar 15, 2022

Blue Origin NS-20: Launch date, passenger list, flight details for Pete Davidson trip

Posted by in categories: innovation, space travel

In the long term, Bezos hopes to develop the infrastructure that could enable humanity’s biggest goals in spaceflight — similar to how Amazon used innovations like the postal service to power its dreams decades later.

Bezos envisions giant orbiting cities, located close to Earth, that could enable humanity to expand to 1 trillion humans. The cities could feature leisure and recreation, or heavy industry that avoids polluting Earth nearby.

It could all start with flights like NS-20. Here’s what you need to know.

Mar 15, 2022

AI voices include subtleties of speech

Posted by in categories: entertainment, robotics/AI

The video surprises viewers when it’s revealed that, while the woman on screen is a real person, the main character speaking is an AI. It aims to demonstrate how entertainment studios can leverage AI to create highly convincing romantic encounters. This marks a significant milestone for Sonantic as its technology is now able to recreate subtle emotions and non-speech sounds, while also opening up new creative possibilities for studios.

The voice models, which already express a range of human emotions from happiness to sadness, can now convey subtleties such as flirty, coy, and teasing, amongst other new “Style” options. They also have the ability to capture non-speech sounds – such as breaths, scoffs, and laughs. This combination of advances in speech synthesis makes Sonantic’s platform more comprehensive than ever before, helping entertainment studios create life-like performances in record time.

“Human beings are incredibly complex by nature and our voices play a critical role in helping us connect with the world around us,” said Zeena Qureshi, CEO. “Sonantic is committed to capturing the nuances of the human voice, and we’re incredibly proud of these technological breakthroughs that we have brought to life through ‘What’s Her Secret?’. From flirting and giggling, to breathing and pausing, this is the most realistic romantic demo we’ve created to date, helping us inch closer to our vision of being the CGI of audio.”