A newly discovered pink-colored object is the most-distant body ever observed in the solar system—and the first object ever found orbiting at more than 100 times the distance from Earth to the sun.
The pink-colored object is nearly four times more distant from the sun than Pluto, and hints at the possibility of an as-yet-undiscovered giant planet farther out.
Can machines make moral choices?
A massive new survey developed by MIT researchers reveals some distinct global preferences concerning the ethics of autonomous vehicles, as well as some regional variations in those preferences.
The survey has global reach and a unique scale, with over 2 million online participants from over 200 countries weighing in on versions of a classic ethical conundrum, the “Trolley Problem.” The problem involves scenarios in which an accident involving a vehicle is imminent, and the vehicle must opt for one of two potentially fatal options. In the case of driverless cars, that might mean swerving toward a couple of people, rather than a large group of bystanders.
“The study is basically trying to understand the kinds of moral decisions that driverless cars might have to resort to,” says Edmond Awad, a postdoc at the MIT Media Lab and lead author of a new paper outlining the results of the project. “We don’t know yet how they should do that.”
On #NewYearsEve, our New Horizons spacecraft will fly within 2,220 miles of this object, providing the first close-up look at such a pristine building block of the solar system. Get the latest update: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/
Power suits, robotaxis, Leonardo da Vinci mania—just a few of the things to look out for in 2019. But what else will make our top ten stories for the year ahead?
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What will be the biggest stories of the year ahead?
00:35 — 10 — Powered Clothing.
The Space Force would constitute the sixth branch of the US armed forces.
The news: During a meeting with the National Space Council today, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to begin work on the creation of the Space Force. He stated, “‘We are going to have the Air Force and we’re going to have the Space Force, separate but equal.”
Some background: This isn’t the first time Trump has brought up this idea. He has continued to express interest in the idea during visits to West Point and in speeches to military members.
2019 is off to a great start.
A Danish startup called Organic Basics claims its underwear will remain fresh through weeks of wear, eliminating the need for frequent washing.
And this could be a boon for the environment — if it’s actually true.
When your sweat meets your clothing, it creates an ideal environment for bacteria. It’s this bacteria that actually produces a foul-smelling odor.
A computing system that mimics neural processing could make artificial intelligence more efficient — and more human.
People (including myself) love slow-motion videos and we also tend to love watching things being destroyed. Lawnmowers are really, really good at destroying things, but capturing its destructive power with a high-speed lens isn’t the easiest thing in the world… unless you flip it upside down and strap the camera right to the blade.
Now, I wouldn’t want to be the one to tackle such a project, but the good news is that a YouTuber by the name of Tesla500 has already done all the hard work. The over 20-minute-long video shows the building of the rig itself as well as lots and lots of random household objects meeting their end in super slow motion.
