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Archive for the ‘existential risks’ category: Page 20

Sep 12, 2023

4 Reasons Why Becoming a Type 2 Civilization Is a Bad Idea

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, energy, existential risks, military

The year one hundred two thousand twenty-three. A giant meteorite the size of Pluto is approaching the Solar System. It flies straight to Earth. But as the meteorite crosses Saturn’s orbit, a swarm of miner probes approaches it. The scan revealed no minerals on the object, so the searches returned with nothing.

Meanwhile, the Space Security Center in Alaska military personnel are setting up a laser. The Solar System witnesses a sudden flare and nothing remains of the dwarf-sized meteorite. Now, unless hydrogen miners on Jupiter post videos of another annihilation on social media… This is what the world will look like when humanity finally becomes a Type Two civilization on the Kardashev scale. We’ll have almost infinite energy reserves, the ability to prepare for interstellar flights, or to instantly destroy any threat. But will humanity really be safe? And what can ruin a Type Two civilization?

Sep 8, 2023

Did Elon Musk prevent a Russia-Ukraine nuclear war?

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, existential risks, internet, military, satellites, sustainability

New details of Musk’s involvement in the Ukraine-Russia war revealed in his biography.

Elon Musk holds many titles. He is the CEO of Tesla SpaceX and owns the social media company X, which was recently rebranded from Twitter. Going by an excerpt of his biography, published in the Washington Post.

According to the excerpt from Walter Isaacson’s book, Musk disabled his company Starlink’s satellite communication networks, which were being used by the Ukrainian military to attack the Russian naval fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, sneakily. The Ukrainian army was using Starlink as a guide to target Russian ships and attack them with six small… More.

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Sep 8, 2023

Asteroid behaving weirdly after NASA crash

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

The mission was successful, and Dimorphos’ orbit was shortened by 33 minutes in the weeks after the impact.

However, a team of high school students led by teacher Jonathan Swift at Thacher School in California have discovered that Dimorphos’ orbit continued to shrink by another minute more than a month after the collision.

‘The number we got was slightly larger, a change of 34 minutes,’ said Mr Swift. ‘That was inconsistent at an uncomfortable level.’

Sep 8, 2023

The Fermi Paradox: Digital Empires & Miniaturization

Posted by in categories: computing, existential risks, food

Many believe the future of humanity is to go Digital, uploading our minds to computers, living in virtual worlds that are vastly more efficient and compact. If we might do this, might distant alien empires too? And if so, might this be the reason we don’t see them?

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Sep 6, 2023

The Berserker Hypothesis: The Darkest Explanation Of The Fermi Paradox

Posted by in categories: alien life, existential risks

Look, we write rather a lot about the Fermi Paradox, so trust us when we say that the Berserker Hypothesis may be the darkest explanation out there. Not only would it mean that the universe is a dead, lifeless husk, but it would also imply that our own destruction is imminent.

The Fermi Paradox at its most basic is, given the high probability that alien life exists out there (bearing in mind the vastness of space and that we keep finding planets within habitable zones), why has nobody got in touch yet?

Sep 5, 2023

North Korean hackers have allegedly stolen hundreds of millions in crypto to fund nuclear programs

Posted by in categories: blockchains, business, cryptocurrencies, cybercrime/malcode, existential risks, military

North Korea-linked hackers have stolen hundreds of millions of crypto to fund the regime’s nuclear weapons programs, research shows.

So far this year, from January to Aug. 18, North Korea-affiliated hackers stole $200 million worth of crypto — accounting for over 20% of all stolen crypto this year, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.

“In recent years, there has been a marked rise in the size and scale of cyber attacks against cryptocurrency-related businesses by North Korea. This has coincided with an apparent acceleration in the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” said TRM Labs in a June discussion with North Korea experts.

Sep 5, 2023

North Korea stages tactical nuclear attack drill

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military, nuclear weapons

SEOUL, Sept 3 (Reuters) — North Korea conducted a simulated tactical nuclear attack drill that included two long-range cruise missiles in an exercise to “warn enemies” the country would be prepared in case of nuclear war, the KCNA state news agency said on Sunday.

KCNA said the drill was successfully carried out on Saturday and two cruise missiles carrying mock nuclear warheads were fired towards the West Sea of the Korean peninsula and flew 1,500 km (930 miles) at a preset altitude of 150 meters.

Pyongyang also said it would bolster its military deterrence against the United States and South Korea.

Sep 5, 2023

Asteroid the size of 81 bulldogs to pass Earth on Wednesday

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Asteroid 2021 JA5 is around the size of 81 bulldogs, the symbol of the college football team of the University of Georgia. But it won’t hit us – hopefully the Bulldog team will have better luck.

Sep 4, 2023

OpenAI’s Moonshot: Solving the AI Alignment Problem

Posted by in categories: existential risks, robotics/AI

Jan Leike explains OpenAI’s effort to protect humanity from superintelligent AI.

Sep 3, 2023

The Godfather in Conversation: Why Geoffrey Hinton is worried about the future of AI

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, existential risks, robotics/AI

“It’s a time of huge uncertainty,” says Geoffrey Hinton from the living room of his home in London. “Nobody really knows what’s going to happen … I’m just sounding the alarm.”

In The Godfather in Conversation, the cognitive psychologist and computer scientist ‘known as the Godfather of AI’ explains why, after a lifetime spent developing a type of artificial intelligence known as deep learning, he is suddenly warning about existential threats to humanity.

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