The folks at Gizmodo are on the case, writing How We Can Prepare for Catastrophically Dangerous AI–and Why We Can’t Wait. There are many extreme scenarios that come to mind. Armed with superhuman powers, an ASI [artificial superintelligence] could destroy our civilization, either by accident, misintention, or deliberate design. For instance, it could turn our […]
The Monumental Effort To Rid The World’s Oceans From Plastic | VICE on HBO
VICE’s Isobel Yeung traveled to the shores of Hawaii and the coast of the North Sea to see the deployment of Slat’s prototype and discuss the feasibility of saving our world’s oceans.
Latest Google employee revolt is over capitulation to Chinese search censorship
Google employees signed on to an “open letter” demanding the company cease work on a project called Dragonfly, which they say is a search engine that will incorporate Chinese government censorship in its results and provide data to the government that may lead to greater oppression and human rights abuses. Ars Technica reports. Google shut […]
Make a Good Future
Better to make a good future than predict a bad one.
Climate change on pace to cost economy $500B a year
By the end of the century, warming on our current trajectory would cost the US economy upward of $500 billion a year in crop damage, lost labor, and extreme weather damages, according to a report of the U.S. Global Change Research Program which the White House released on the day after Thanksgiving. The Great Recession […]
Beijing’s 22M residents will be graded on “social credit” scores come 2020
Internet speeds, quality of jobs and schools, and pet ownership are among the things at risk if residents don’t keep up a good “social credit” score. Plans were announced in 2014 to implement a nationwide system by 2020, but such an ambitious program largely does not exist at present. Beijing will however become the largest […]
Insurers using CPAP machine (non-)usage data to deny payments
That data your doctor uses to see how your sleep apnea machine is helping you? The same data might be shared with your insurance company, and if you’re not using the device as directed, they might refuse to pay for it.
Army-funded research tackles how to use real-time social media monitoring to predict protests
Social media activity is a bellwether for mobilization before an anti-government protest, and U.S. Army-funded research explores how to use real-time social media monitoring to predict future protest activity, according to a paper reviewed by Motherboard. The publication also reviewed official documents and patent applications to paint a broad picture of the effort to predict […]
Lifehacker’s comprehensive guide to quitting Google
Despite all the convenience and quality of Google’s sprawling ecosystem, some users are fed up with the fishy privacy policies the company has recently implemented in Gmail, Chrome, and other services. If you’re ready to ditch Google, or even just reduce its presence in your digital life, this guide is here to help.