Lifeboat Foundation

Some of the world’s richest and most powerful people are convinced that we are living in a computer simulation. And now they’re trying to do something about it.

At least two of Silicon Valley’s tech billionaires are pouring money into efforts to break humans out of the simulation that they believe that it is living in, according to a new report.

Philosophers have long been concerned about how we can know that our world isn’t just a very believable simulation of a real one. But concern about that has become ever more active in recent years, as computers and artificial intelligence have advanced.

Continue reading “Tech billionaires convinced we live in the Matrix are secretly funding scientists to help break us out of it” »

When the engineers had at last finished their work, Eugenia Kuyda opened a console on her laptop and began to type.

“Roman,” she wrote. “This is your digital monument.”

It had been three months since Roman Mazurenko, Kuyda’s closest friend, had died. Kuyda had spent that time gathering up his old text messages, setting aside the ones that felt too personal, and feeding the rest into a neural network built by developers at her artificial intelligence startup. She had struggled with whether she was doing the right thing by bringing him back this way. At times it had even given her nightmares. But ever since Mazurenko’s death, Kuyda had wanted one more chance to speak with him.

Continue reading “When her best friend died, she used artificial intelligence to keep talking to him” »

In an age when digital information can fly around the connected networks of the world in the blink of an eye, it may seem a little old timey to consider delivering messages by hand. But that’s precisely what Panasonic is doing at CEATEC this week. The company is demonstrating a prototype communication system where data is transmitted from one person to another through touch.

There’s very little information on the system available, but Panasonic says that the prototype uses electric field communication technology to move data from “thing-to-thing, human-to-human and human-to-thing.” Data transfer and authentication occurs when the objects or people touch, with digital information stored in a source tag instantaneously moving to a receiver module – kind of like NFC tap to connect technology, but with people in the equation as well as devices.

Continue reading “Panasonic uses human touch to transfer data” »

Lee Teschler

Executive Editor

@dw_LeeTeschler

Continue reading “Robots will build spacecraft in orbit” »

Circa News, a millennial site, did a story on transhumanism and my campaign. There are 3 videos embedded into this article (a general one on transhumanism, one on using tech to help the environment, and one on a Universal Basic Income):

WATCH | Zoltan Istvan thinks all sentient beings — including, but not limited to humans, artificial intelligence and cyborgs — have the right to be immortal. And that right should be protected under law.

Which is why, naturally, he decided to run for president of the United States.

Continue reading “Meet the 2016 presidential candidate who believes humans will eventually live forever” »

DULLES, Va.—(BUSINESS WIRE)— Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, and Stratolaunch Systems today announced a multi-year production-based partnership that will offer significant cost advantages to air-launch customers. Stratolaunch Systems, in cooperation with Vulcan Aerospace, is responsible for realizing Paul G. Allen’s vision for space.

“The combination of our extensive air-launch experience and the Stratolaunch aircraft has the potential to provide innovative and cost-effective options for commercial launch customers.” Tweet this

Under this partnership, Orbital ATK will initially provide multiple Pegasus XL air-launch vehicles for use with the Stratolaunch aircraft to provide customers with unparalleled flexibility to launch small satellites weighing up to 1,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. Pegasus has carried out 42 space launch missions, successfully placing more than 80 satellites into orbit for scientific, commercial, defense and international customers.

Continue reading “Orbital ATK and Stratolaunch Systems Partner to Offer Competitive Space Launch Opportunities” »

I said on here the other day about TV’s that would turn into windows.

Panasonic showed off a prototype version at the CES technology conference this year, but it used LED technology, and the screen was so dim it had to be underlit to work.

The new version is bright and clear — coming to life with the press of a button or the wave of a hand.

Continue reading “Panasonic unveils TV which ‘disappears’ — turning into a pane of glass when you switch off” »

In Brief.

Researchers have a new way to deliver antiobesity drugs to specific locations of the body by using nanoparticles, effectively stimulating weight loss without any harmful side effects.

Researchers from MIT, Brigham, and Women’s Hospital have recently tested a new way to stimulate fat loss through a pair antiobesity drugs. In this novel method, they made use of nanoparticles to deliver them to specific areas of the body.

Continue reading “Antiobesity Drugs In Nanoparticles Target Fat Cells Like Missiles” »

In Brief.

The ESA’s Rosetta comet orbiter has found complex, solid organic molecules in dust particles that came of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, lending credence to the theory that organic compounds, or even life itself came from the stars.

Over the past few months, the ESA’s Rosetta orbiter has been feeding us valuable data on comets: where they come from, what they’re made of, how they work, and so on. But its time is nearly at an end, with a kamikaze dive towards the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko scheduled for later this month.

Continue reading “First-Ever Discovery: Complex Organic Molecules Found on Rosetta’s Comet” »