Lifeboat News #286

• United Nations
• ECOS 2026
• International Longevity Summit Africa (ILSA) 2026
• ISDC 2026 Update
• Richard Stallman Talk
• Seventeenth International Symposium on Neurobiology
• Space Renaissance International IV World Congress Update
• Zann Gill Talks
• Zero G Crew
• Audio
• Papers
• Books
• Blog
• Growing Membership

United Nations

Our Amalie Sinclair represented the Lifeboat Foundation at the UN General Assembly, Outer Space: Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Legal Subcommittee, 65th session, 1101st meeting. (She talks starting at 1:38:20 at https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1j/k1j586wad2.)

ECOS 2026

ECOS 2026 — The 39th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems will be held Jun 28–July 3 in Constanta, Romania.
 
Our Eden Mamut is ECOS 2026 Chairman and our Adrian Bejan is Honorary Chairman.
 
Learn more at https://ecos2026.insae.ro

International Longevity Summit Africa (ILSA) 2026

The International Longevity Summit Africa (ILSA) 2026 will be held August 13–15 at the Shaggar Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
 
Our Chogwu Abdul, Aubrey de Grey, Nadine Hoosen, Íféányí Òkéké, Ósìnàkáchì Ákùmà Kálù, Joel I. Osorio, Jasmine Smith, James Strole, and Natasha Vita-More will be speaking.
 
Learn more at https://conference.taffds.org

ISDC 2026 Update

ISDC 2026 (International Space Development Conference 2026) will be held June 4–7 in McLean, Virginia.
 
Our Caitlin Ahrens, Zaheer Ali, Lee Anderson, Isaac Arthur, Gary Barnhard, Larry Bartoszek, Sherry Bell, David Brin, Chris Cochran, Bernard Foing, Joannes Paulus Tolentino Hernandez, Robert Katz, Ajay Kothari, Jim Plaxco, Rod Pyle, Ken Ruffin, Camisha L. Simmons, Yug Raman Srivastava, Peter A. Swan, Madhu Thangavelu, Luis Torres, James Anthony Wolff, Nancy C. Wolfson, and Aimei Helen Yang will be speaking.
 
Learn more at https://isdc.nss.org

Richard Stallman Talk

Our Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and a pioneer of the modern free software movement, will be speaking at the School of Engineering of FAU in Erlangen, Germany on June 16.
 
Richard has spent decades advocating for software that respects users’ freedom to run, study, modify, and share the programs they use. His work has shaped major initiatives including the GNU Project and has had a lasting impact on computing, digital rights, and technology policy.
 
This special free lecture offers a rare opportunity to hear from one of the most influential and provocative figures in computing.
 
Learn more at https://techrights.org/n/2026/05/12/Ric..._E.shtml

Seventeenth International Symposium on Neurobiology

The Seventeenth International Symposium on Neurobiology and Neuroendocrinology of Aging will be held July 17–22, 2026 in Bregenz, Austria.
 
Our Holly Brown-Borg is organizing this event.
 
Learn more at http://www.neurobiology-and-neuroendocr...ging.org

Space Renaissance International IV World Congress Update

The Space Renaissance International IV World Congress will be held June 30–July 4 in Cyberspace.
 
Our Alfred Anzaldua, Isaac Arthur, Adriano V. Autino, Gary Barnhard, Veronica Chiaravalli, Bernard Foing, Corrinne Graham, Werner Grandl, Michelle Hanlon, Susan Jewell, Robert Katz, Gregg Li, Tom Matula, Haroon Oqab, Joe Pelton, Amalie Sinclair, Madhu Thangavelu, Rick Tumlinson, Paul Werbos, Frank White, Steve Wolfe, and Bob Zubrin will be speaking/participating.
 
Learn more at https://2026.spacerenaissance.space

Zann Gill Talks

Our Zann Gill will be giving a ZOOM talk that describes several decades of work on a theory of collaborative intelligence, which underpins a DANs (Distributed Autonomous Nodes) strategy to address our polycrisis on June 4th at 8:00–9:30 am PDT (5–6:30 pm CET). Participate at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88151974372?p...ObgLJe.1
 
She will also be giving a ZOOM talk about the APR Hypothesis: co-bootstrapping Autonomy-Pattern Recognition (APR) Cycles in the origins of life & mind on June 11th at 8:30–9:30 am PDT (5–6:30 pm CET). Participate at https://us02web.zoom.us/s/6502920751?pw...93606947
 
This talk, based on a paper that she’s coauthoring with Michael Levin (collaborator with Karl Friston, who spoke for Sci FOO) and Tomas Veloz @ the Free University of Brussels proposes a cognitive hypothesis for the origin of life, arguing that this hypothesis reveals a paradigm shift needed in our problem-solving model to save life on Earth.

Zero G Crew

Join the Zero G Crew on August 26th in Bordeaux, France, curated by our Christina Korp.
 
Christina is offering an incredible once in a lifetime chance to fly in zero gravity with 3 astronauts: Charlie Duke – Apollo 16 Moonwalker, 10th man to walk on the Moon; Nicole Stott – NASA astronaut, aquanaut and artist; and Jean-Francois Clervoy – ESA astronaut, Cofounder of Air ZeroG. This is most likely Charlie Duke’s Last Zero Gravity flight. It’s going to be a very special gathering.
 
This is one of the ONLY zero gravity flights available in the entire world for the next year. What an opportunity to walk in lunar gravity with a real Moonwalker. Flip, float, and fly with astronauts like in space, without going to space. It’s not a simulation, it’s real!
 
And to top it off there is a VVIP 3 night stay for a select few to stay with the astronauts and the team at a private chateau with a wine tasting day, Michelin star dinner, and more. Watch the promo video at https://vimeo.com/1152977799.
 
Learn more at https://www.spaceforabetterworld.com

Audio

Listen to the audio book “AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable” by our Roman V. Yampolskiy at https://amzn.to/3QGJgRw

Papers

Read the paper “Are AI Machines Making Humans Obsolete?” by our Matthias Scheutz at https://hrilab.tufts.edu/publications/s...5bmm.pdf
 
Read “Effects of microgravity on human iPSC-derived neural organoids on the International Space Station”, coauthored by our Jeanne F. Loring at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11631337
 
Read the paper “Harmful Traits of AI Companions”, coauthored by our W. Bradley Knox at https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.14972v2
 
Read “Old Centrioles Make Old Bodies” by our Jaba Tkemaladze at https://longevity.ge/rescience/article/view/43/pdf
 
The paradox of organismal aging in the face of continuous cellular turnover remains a central question in biology. This article proposes a novel, integrative hypothesis: the non-renewed, asymmetrically inherited mother centriole in adult stem cells serves as a cumulative damage sensor and a primary driver of aging.
 
Read “Read Profitable AI Data Build Could Be an Enduring Mobilization With 18+% GDP Growth” by our Brian Wang at https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2026/01/p...wth.html
 
Read “Why the Elites Need You to Fear AI” by our Ahmed Bouzid at https://lifeboat.com/pdfs/why.the.elite...r.ai.pdf
 
For all the fretting and the hand wringing about artificial intelligence, it is worth stepping back for a moment and noticing what is quietly (or not so quietly) changing in the background.
 
Much of the public conversation fixates on the risks AI introduces. That focus is justified. In the hands of unbridled corporate giants that already control the political class, artificial intelligence becomes almost inevitably a weapon of mass destruction. To argue otherwise is to drift into irrationality and ignore a basic truth: Power behaves like power.
 
But the conversation often misses a more fundamental shift: The barriers that once determined who could create, who could build, and who could be heard are eroding at a speed that would have been difficult to imagine even a decade ago. This shift is making the privileged and the elites — the so-called 9.9% — very uncomfortable.

Books

Read “AI Designing Tomorrow: A Guide to Futures Literacy, AI Wisdom, and Purposeful Living” by our Salman Khatani at https://kitaabnagar.com/product/ai-desi...tomorrow
 
Read “Futureproofing Humanity: Existential Risk and the Technomyths of Human Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and Our Future among the Stars” by our Robert M. Geraci at https://amzn.to/49iAOOA
 
Read “Non-Axiomatic Logic: A Model of Intelligent Reasoning” by our Pei Wang at https://amzn.to/4tJOJpn
 
Read “The Prospect of a Humanitarian Artificial Intelligence: Agency and Value Alignment” by our Carlos Montemayor at https://amzn.to/3PbNCj6

Blog

Recent interesting blog posts include:
 
“5 Benefits And Risks Of Using AI For Cybersecurity” by Chuck Brooks at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/5-ben...security
 
“A domain-adapted large language model to support clinicians in psychiatric clinical practice” by Cecile G. Tamura at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/a-dom...practice
 
“A Strange Quantum Effect Could Power Future Electronics Without Batteries” by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/a-str...atteries
 
“After 100 years, scientists finally uncover hidden rule behind cosmic rays” by Natalie Chan at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/after...mic-rays
 
“After 50 Years of Mystery, Researchers Identify New Human Blood Group” by Paul Battista at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/after...od-group
 
“Amino Acid Patterns Help Scientists Distinguish Alien Life” by Laurence Tognetti at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/amino...ien-life
 
“Bootstrapping Icarus: Why rockets are hard” by Kaiser Matin at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/boots...are-hard
 
“Breakthrough in experimental light-powered quantum computers could mean scaling them up is now far more viable” by Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/break...e-viable
 
“ChatGPT spits out surprising insight in particle physics” by Nicholi Avery at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/chatg...-physics
 
“Discovery and engineering of retrons for precise genome editing” by Logan Thrasher Collins at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/disco...-editing
 
“Dr. Stuart Hameroff: Consciousness is More than Computation!” by Nikola Danaylov at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/dr-st...putation
 
“Exercise Changes the Heart in a Way Researchers Never Expected” by Paul Battista at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/exerc...expected
 
“Genetically modified marmosets as a model for human deafness provide a foundation for future gene therapies” by Shubham Ghosh Roy at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/genet...herapies
 
“Groove Quantum Demonstrates 18-Qubit Spin Processor and Secures Funding” by Paul Battista at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/groov...-funding
 
“Human heart can regrow muscle after attack, scientists find” by Shailesh Prasad at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/human...sts-find
 
“Humans May Have Hidden Regenerative Powers, New Study Suggests” by Quinn Sena at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/human...suggests
 
“JWST Finds Distant Origins for Rare Exoplanet Pair” by Laurence Tognetti at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/jwst-...net-pair
 
“Living in a flow: the Universe is not where things are, but where they go” by Cecile G. Tamura at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/livin...-they-go
 
“Meet ‘Gabi,’ the Robot That Just Became a Monk at a Buddhist Temple in South Korea. It’s the Latest Robot to Take Up Religious Practice” by Brent Ellman at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/meet-...practice
 
“The “Nanobot” Singularity: Ray Kurzweil’s Terrifying Plan for 2030” by Dan Breeden at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/the-n...for-2030
 
“Neurosurgeons Are Weirdly Optimistic About Cryonics for Life Extension, Survey Finds” by Shailesh Prasad at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/neuro...ey-finds
 
“New magnetic system lets microrobots move without cameras or tracking” by Shailesh Prasad at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/new-m...tracking
 
“New Memory Chip Survives 1300°F, Hotter Than Lava” by Genevieve Klien at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/new-m...han-lava
 
“One-way phonon synchronization could survive noise and defects, theoretical physicists suggest” by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/one-w...-suggest
 
“Printable Artificial Neurons That “Talk” to Living Brain Cells” by Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/print...in-cells
 
“Professor’s bold prediction: AI could help cure all diseases within a decade” by Dan Kummer at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/profe...a-decade
 
“Researchers 3D print key components for a point-of-care mass spectrometer” by Quinn Sena at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/resea...trometer
 
“Scientists Create “Liquid Gears” That Spin Without Touching” by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/scien...touching
 
“Scientists discover how to freeze transplant organs without cracking them” by Genevieve Klien at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/scien...ing-them
 
“Scientists found a giant magnetic “twist” hidden inside the Milky Way” by Natalie Chan at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/06/scien...ilky-way
 
“Scientists Reverse Stroke Damage Using Stem Cells in Breakthrough Study” by Genevieve Klien at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/scien...gh-study
 
“The Singular Mind: All Conscious Beings Are One” by Dan Breeden at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/the-s...-are-one
 
“Stanford CS336: Language Modeling from Scratch” by Cecile G. Tamura at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/stanf...-scratch
 
“Tailored drinks could provide space nutrition” by Laurence Tognetti at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/tailo...utrition
 
“This Gene Is Linked to Lower Alzheimer’s Risk — And We May Finally Know Why” by Quinn Sena at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/this-...know-why
 
“Tiny frozen world unexpectedly appears to have an atmosphere” by Shubham Ghosh Roy at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/tiny-...mosphere
 
“Training compute of frontier AI models grows by 4–5x per year” by Logan Thrasher Collins at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/train...per-year
 
“The universe isn’t just expanding—it may be spinning” by Josh Seeherman at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/the-u...spinning
 
“What a Neutron Star Is Really Made Of” by Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/what-...-made-of
 
“What if humans could regrow tissue? New study moves science closer” by Shubham Ghosh Roy at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/what-...e-closer
 
“Why Some People Have Endless Energy (And Others Never Will)” by Michael LaTorra at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/why-s...ver-will
 
“Zuckerberg Trying to Simulate Human Biology at the Cellular Level” by Dan Breeden at https://lifeboat.com/blog/2026/05/zucke...ar-level