Lifeboat Foundation

Interestingly enough, although Elon Musk’s Neuralink received a great deal of media attention, early in 2023, Synchron published results from its first-in-human study of four patients with severe paralysis who received its first-generation Stentrode neuroprosthesis implant. The implant allowed participants to create digital switches that controlled daily tasks like sending texts and emails, partaking in online banking, and communicating care needs. The study’s findings were published in a paper in JAMA Neurology in January 2023. Then, before September, the first six US patients had the Synchron BCI implanted. The study’s findings are expected by late 2024.

Let’s return to Upgrade. “One part The Six Million Dollar Man, one part Death Wish revenge fantasy” was how critics described the movie. While Death Wish is a 1974 American vigilante action-thriller movie that is partially based on Brian Garfield’s 1972 novel of the same name, the American sci-fi television series The Six Million Dollar Man from the 1970s, based on Martin Caidin’s 1972 novel Cyborg, could be considered a landmark in the context of human-AI symbiosis, although in fantasy’s domain. Oscar Goldman’s opening line in The Six Million Dollar Man was, “Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man… Better than he was before. Better—stronger—faster.” The term “cyborg” is a portmanteau of the words “cybernetic” and “organism,” which was coined in 1960 by two scientists, Manfred Clynes and Nathan S Kline.

At the moment, “cyborg” doesn’t seem to be a narrative of a distant future, though. Rather, it’s very much a story of today. We are just inches away from becoming cyborgs, perhaps, thanks to the brain chip implants, although Elon Musk perceives that “we are already a cyborg to some degree,” and he may be right. Cyborgs, however, pose a threat, while the dystopian idea of being ruled by Big Brother also haunts. Around the world, chip implants have already sparked heated discussions on a variety of topics, including privacy, the law, technology, medicine, security, politics, and religion. USA Today published a piece headlined “You will get chipped—eventually” as early as August 2017. And an article published in The Atlantic in September 2018 discussed how (not only brain chips but) microchip implants, in general, are evolving from a tech-geek curiosity to a legitimate health utility and that there may not be as many reasons to say “no.” But numerous concerns about privacy and cybersecurity would keep us haunted. It would be extremely difficult for policymakers to formulate laws pertaining to such sensitive yet quickly developing technology.

Humanity’s quest to explore—and, perhaps eventually, colonize—outer space has prompted a great many ideas about how precisely to go about it.

While conventional wisdom suggests that space launch via rockets is the best way to send human beings into orbit, other “non-rocket” methods have been proposed, including a futuristic “space elevator.”

The concept of a space elevator—essentially a sky-high cable that would let humans climb into space—has been championed by some industry experts as a way to overcome the astronomical costs associated with sending people and cargo into space by rocket, says Alberto de la Torre, assistant professor of physics at Northeastern.

This next-gen collider could redefine the boundaries of physics, but it comes with an astronomical cost.

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In this clip from our 2017 event titled ‘Evolution of the Mind, Consciousness and AI,’ the esteemed philosopher and cognitive scientist, Daniel Dennett is joined by a group of panellists to explore how much we understand about the human mind, and what the creation of artificial consciousness means for our future. Watch and let us know in the comments if you think Dennett’s theories still hold true in light of the rapid developments in AI since he joined us.

See the full session here: • Daniel Dennett on the Evolution of th…

Continue reading “Consciousness, AI and the Future of Humanity” »

What experiments with animal groups can tell us about the possible future of human society.

John Calhoun studied behavior during overcrowding in mice and rats.

The potential applications of Neuralink are vast and could potentially change humanity in many ways. While there are potential drawbacks, the potential benefits make the development of this technology an exciting prospect.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has already gotten closer to the sun than any other human-made object. Yet, later this year, the star-skimming spacecraft will get even closer — all while traveling faster than its previous top speed.

The solar observatory — which, on Dec. 28, 2023, completed its 18th close flyby of the sun — will once again approach our star on Dec. 24, 2024. During this encounter, it will come within around 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the photosphere, which can be roughly considered the sun’s surface. (The sun is a ball of gas, so it doesn’t really have a surface.) To do so, the spacecraft will brave temperatures of around 2,550 degrees Fahrenheit (1,400 degrees Celsius).

“We are basically almost landing on a star,” Nour Raouafi, an astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe mission, told BBC News. “This will be a monumental achievement for all humanity. This is equivalent to the Moon landing of 1969.”

In a major step towards returning humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently announced they will be providing the airlock for NASA’s Lunar Gateway, which is the planned space station that will be in orbit around the Moon and responsible for ferrying future astronauts to and from the lunar surface.

Artist’s rendition of the Lunar Gateway (left) and a potential future airlock provided by the UAE (right). (Credit: NASA)

“The United States and the United Arab Emirates are marking a historic moment in our nations’ collaboration in space, and the future of human space exploration,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We are in a new era of exploration through Artemis – strengthened by the peaceful and international exploration of space. The UAE’s provision of the airlock to Gateway will allow astronauts to conduct groundbreaking science in deep space and prepare to one day send humanity to Mars.”