Oct 2, 2020
Will World War III Be Fought by Robots?
Posted by Jim Brownfield in categories: existential risks, robotics/AI
What happens when autonomous machines have “to choose between various shades of wrong?”
What happens when autonomous machines have “to choose between various shades of wrong?”
The first Super Heavy prototype has entered assembly operations, with the forward barrel sleeved and the fuel stack section spotted. The LR1600/2 crane (aka Tankzilla) continued to grow, and Orbital Launch Pad construction continued with more concrete being pumped into the legs. Starships SN5 and 6 remain outside after having been moved out of the High Bay yesterday, and work continued around the site.
Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Brady Kenniston (@TheFavoritist).
Continue reading “SpaceX Boca Chica — Super Heavy Forward Dome Sleeved” »
Scientists have created a device which could make it easier to harness super-fast quantum computers for real-world applications, a team at Finland’s Aalto University said on Wednesday.
Quantum computers are a new generation of machines powered by energy transfers between so-called “artificial atoms”—electrical circuits a fraction of a millimetre across.
Scientists believe the devices will eventually be able to vastly outperform even the world’s most powerful conventional supercomputers.
In a new study, researchers describe a ‘smart’ fabric that can react to environmental cues and fold itself.
This robot is smaller than the width of a hair 🤯 And scientists hope it will be used to hunt down and destroy cancer cells.
ESA’s new exoplanet mission, Cheops, has found a nearby planetary system to contain one of the hottest and most extreme extra-solar planets known to date: WASP-189 b. The finding, the very first from the mission, demonstrates Cheops’ unique ability to shed light on the Universe around us by revealing the secrets of these alien worlds.
Launched in December 2019, Cheops (the Characterising Exoplanet Satellite) is designed to observe nearby stars known to host planets. By ultra-precisely measuring changes in the levels of light coming from these systems as the planets orbit their stars, Cheops can initially characterize these planets — and, in turn, increase our understanding of how they form and evolve.
The new finding concerns a so-called ‘ultra-hot Jupiter ’ named WASP-189 b. Hot Jupiters, as the name suggests, are giant gas planets a bit like Jupiter in our own Solar System; however, they orbit far, far closer to their host star, and so are heated to extreme temperatures.
Might as well make it a movie!
This is the first time ever in my life that I felt frightened while writing a story on Medium. Then, I proofread it and I started sweating all of sudden. Find out for yourself and let me know how you feel! Anyway, recently, I wrote how Elon Musk’s Starlink could potentially take over the whole telecommunications industry, how it can eventually change the digital landscape, and how it can connect our blueprint to the universe. Today, I’m writing how Starlink, along with the right planning, execution, and zero technological compromises, can create not just a new technology, but a whole new way of living.
Imagine wandering the Sahara desert on a weekend trip and suddenly, you feel the urge to capture the moment. So, you pick up your iPhone and take a panoramic picture. Then, imagine sharing that same picture to your friends, to your family, right in that exact moment. Your family decides to FaceTime you and you talk to them for an entire hour while blindly walking around the Sahara desert, drenching in sweat. That’s what it’s like to be Starlink connected. There are no limits to what Starlink can do. Online, wherever you go.
The world’s first shipment of blue ammonia is on its way from Saudi Arabia to Japan, where it will be used in power stations to produce electricity without carbon emissions.
Saudi Aramco, which made the announcement Sunday, produced the fuel, which it does by converting hydrocarbons into hydrogen and then ammonia, and capturing the carbon dioxide byproduct. Japan will receive 40 tons of blue ammonia in the first shipment, Aramco said.
Austin startup Lift Aircraft calls Hexa, its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft the future of personal flight. So far, it’s been compared to a drone and a flying car.
Hexa is essentially a recreational vehicle for the air, able to fly in 15-minute intervals at low altitudes. Lift plans to market them to millennials with disposable income and anyone chasing adrenaline, because a pilot’s license isn’t required. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed plans, but Lift still says it will be touring locations across the US where anyone meeting height, weight, and age requirements can pay to fly. As of November 2019, Lift says it had more than 15,000 flights on a waitlist to ride Hexa.
The company is also selling a small number of Hexas to buyers who will then rent them out. They cost $495,000, and only five are still available.