Category Archives: Futurism

Bill Nye the Educational Guy

Bill Nye, everyones favorite science guy, recently released a public video message for the current administration. Through his organization, The Planetary Society, Bill has stated (and included a written reportof) his official recommendations for the government in relation to their plans for NASA. The Planetary Society gave their 16-page report directly to the NASA transition team.

As many have already read and discussed, the current administration has their sights set on returning to the Moonand pushing forward the goal to put humans on Mars. In fact, many members of the House Science Committee think that not only should sending humans to Mars be an absolute priority, but we should be reaching this goal much sooner (something thatthose like Tom Young, a past director of Goddard Spaceflight Center, think is currently unrealistic). However, they have also decided that many other efforts of NASA, like climate change research, are less than necessary. In fact, recently, the President-Elect has announced possible plans to defund NASAs Earth Science Division.

Bill Nye, a longtime supporter of correct, up-to-date scientific information, has shown the current administration how they can tailor their plans to be less 1960s moonshot flashback and more scientifically-minded space research. Bill has laid out these recommendations fully and thoughtfully, and has specified fivekey suggestions (which he goes into great detail to explain). These suggestions are as follows:

1. Maintain the exploration of Mars as the organizing principle for NASAs human spaceflight program; 2. Direct NASA to plan an executable, affordable path for sending humans to Mars orbit by 2033; 3. Expand NASAs highly successful science portfolio; 4.Annual five percent increases to NASAs budget for five years; and 5. Continue to grow and support the commercial space industry.

These recommendations seem simple enough, but if followed correctly could be the key to a brighter (and scientifically-sound) future. Going far beyond the simple we want to get humans to Mars, this plan sincerely outlines and develops ways that could advance and modernize current NASA plans. As both government and private space organizations race to release the most exciting developments to help us achieve our goals of space exploration, guidelines like these will allow all of the excitement and planning to become more grounded in reality.

Unfortunately, and especially currently, there are many who do not see value or validity in science. Even those who are in charge of funding scientific programs and research are not always well-versed in the importance of science. Thankfully, these recommendations by Bill Nye avoid any condescending attitude or overly-technical terminology. It is a helpful guide that can be easily interpreted and implemented.

If these suggestions are followed, NASA will be able to continue searching for life outside of Earth, create safe and viable ways to extend the possibilities of human space travel, and support ongoing research. The James Webb Space Telescope, the Mars 2020 rover, Solar Probe Plus, and the Europa Multi-Flyby Mission are just a few of the many projects and programs that will be able to continue to flourish under these guidelines.

These recommendations will hopefully be viewed and taken seriously by the current administration. While many dismiss NASA and think that missions to space are somehow frivolous, the research that NASA has done in the past has been the basis for a huge percentage of modern innovation. From health and medicine to smartphone technology, NASA researchers have had an irreplaceable impact on scientific advancement. Additionally, as the realities of climate change grow more pressing, the data that NASA scientists obtain and analyze is crucial in understanding how we can improve the harsh truths of our environment.

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Bill Nye Just Wrote an Open Letter to the Trump Administration About NASA - Futurism

In Brief

In case you hadnt noticed, there are a lot of agencies and companies working hard to get humans to Mars. SpaceX says it will definitely launch their crewed mission by 2020. NASA has a mandate to get the US to Mars by 2033.

China will launch its first Mars probe by 2020 with the aim of becoming a frontrunner in space exploration by 2030. While that hasnt included explicit plans for Mars yet, other frontrunners in space will be there in the 2030s. Mars Ones goal is to establish a permanent human colony on the Red Planet. The UAE has also stated that it plans to place a human colony on Mars, with a safety goal date of 2117.

While getting to Mars may be the initial hurdle to overcome, the challenges wont stop oncewe get there. Humans living on Mars must be equipped to handlethe necessarysocial disruptions, potential emotional turmoil, medical dangers, and other potential hardships. Life on Marswould demand that humans adapt to the planet rather than expecting Mars to adapt to their presence. Physical health problems that arise on Mars could well beuntreatable, depending on the type of expertise, equipment, or other resources that would be needed to treat them. Further complications could arise on a genetic basis, as concerns of consanguinitycould be a threat to colonies if an insufficient number of people for propagation made the journey.

Mental health concerns could be even more salient for Mars colonies, which would essentially be cut off from the life they knew on Earth. Although results from NASAs HI-SEAS isolation experiment which seals off small crews near the top of Hawaiis Mauna Loa volcano have been promising, many believe that there is really no way to truly prepare humans mentally for life on Mars while theyre still on Earth.

The real, and perhaps simplest, answer may be that life on Mars wont be for everyone. Neither is life in New York City, or tattoos, or any number of lifestyles or practices. The beauty in the diversity of human experience is that all those things have theirloyal adherents and so will off-world living.

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Space Agencies Want to Put Humans on Mars by 2033, but Will Humans Be Ready to Go? - Futurism

In Brief

The laws of thermodynamics, a cornerstone of modern physics, help to explain how physical quantities act under certain conditions and in certain circumstances. These laws have mostly gone unchallenged, except for the third law. It was developed by chemist Walther Nernst between 190612. Scientists have long questioned the validity of this law, which states:

The entropy of any pure substance in thermodynamic equilibrium approaches zero as the temperature approaches zero (Kelvin), or conversely, the temperature (Kelvin) of any pure substance in thermodynamic equilibrium approaches zero when the entropy approaches zero.

And, in a recent development, researchers from the University College London (UCL) published a paper in nature communications that proves that absolute zero cannot be reached (in a finite number of steps) in a system where entropy cannot reach zero. According to one member of the research team, Lluis Masanes, We show that you cant actually cool a system to absolute zero with a finite amount of resources and we went a step furtherWe then conclude that it is impossible to cool a system to absolute zero in a finite time, and we established a relation between time and the lowest possible temperature. Its the speed of cooling.

These and other scientists are hopeful that this research will make people take the third law of thermodynamics more seriously. They also hope, and believe, that this progress could have seriously incredible implications. Understanding cooling and the rate at which we can actually cool could help to further current quantum computing research.

Quantum computing has advanced immeasurably in recent months and years. Some, like IBM, even have their sights set on commercializing quantum computing (something many have seen as more of a sci-fi fantasy than a possible reality). Understanding the third law of thermodynamics and how (and the rate at which) cooling occurs could help to advance this quantum research even further, since overheating is a main concern in such high-level computing.

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It's Official. Cooling to Absolute Zero Is Mathematically Impossible - Futurism

In Brief

If you ever got into an accident and needed a transfusion, its important that you receive the right blood type, or it can lead to serious, potentially fatal, consequences.

Right now, it takes about 10 to 20 minutes to verify someones blood type using available methods. To avoid possible mismatches, its typical for emergency departments to keep a steady supply of type O, which is known as the universal donor blood. However, this produces extreme demand for this particular blood type.

A more efficient solution has been developed by researchers from the Third Military Medical University in China. Using a paper-based test, the team is able to verify a patients blood type without using specialized equipment or training in just 30 seconds. This means hospitals can easily determine specific blood types in life-or-death situations and ease the demand for type O.

The test relies on chemical reactions between blood serum proteins and common dye. Once it is applied on a test strip that contains antibodies that can recognize blood types, the strip changes colorteal if a blood group antigen is present in the sample and brown if not. The method was tested on3550 samples of human blood and was returned more than 99.9% accurate results.

Apart from finding use in emergency units, the test could be very useful in war zones or other remote areas where there are no labs to test patient blood types.

via New Scientist

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A New Paper-Based Test Can Determine Your Blood Type in Just ... - Futurism

In Brief

If youre familiar with HBOs comedy series Silicon Valley, then you might know a thing or two about the importance of shrinking file sizes. Google clearly understands the value of file compression as they havedeveloped a new algorithm that takes it to the next level.

Guetzli is an open source JPEG encoder developed by Google Research, and the algorithm it employs can produce JPEGs that are 35 percent smaller while retaining the same level of clarity. To accomplish this,Guetzli trades visual quality for a smaller file size at the quantization stage of image compression.

According to Google, the psychovisual modeling of Guetzli approximates color perception and visual masking in a more thorough and detailed way than what is achievable in existing methods. Ultimately, that means these smaller images will look just as good to the average person. In fact, in experiments comparing compressed images, human raters preferred the Guetzli-produced images over those created by libjpeg, even when the latters images were a larger file size.

Guetzlis files are smaller, yes, but it takes the encoder a bit longer than other compression methods to shrink images. However, were left with smaller-sized images that dont sacrifice quality, and these compressed images will shrink the time it takes Google to load websites and services, which is a good thing for both internet users and Google.

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Google Has a New Algorithm That Shrinks JPEGs by 35% - Futurism

Kurzweils Predictions

Ray Kurzweil, Googles Director of Engineering, is a well-known futurist with a high-hitting track record for accurate predictions. Of his 147 predictions since the 1990s, Kurzweil claimsan 86 percent accuracy rate. Earlier this week, at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas, Kurzweil made yet another prediction: the technological singularity will happen sometime in the next 30 years.

In a communication to Futurism, Kurzweil states:

2029 is the consistent date I have predicted for when an AI will pass a valid Turing test and therefore achieve human levels of intelligence. I have set the date 2045 for the Singularity which is when we will multiply our effective intelligence a billion fold by merging with the intelligence we have created.

By 2029, computers will have human-level intelligence, Kurzweil saidin an interview with SXSW.

The singularity is that point in time when all the advances in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), willlead to machines that are smarter than human beings. Kurzweilstimetable for the singularity is consistentwith other predictions, notably those of Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, who predicts that the dawn of super-intelligent machines will happen by 2047. But for Kurzweil, the process towards this singularity has already begun.

That leads to computers having human intelligence, our putting them inside our brains, connecting them to the cloud, expanding who we are. Today, thats not just a future scenario, Kurzweil said. Its here, in part, and its going to accelerate.

We all know it is coming sooner or later, but the question in the minds of almost everyone is: should humanity fear the singularity? Everyone knows that when machines become smarter than human beings, they tend to take over the world. Right? Many of the worlds science and technology bigwigs like Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and even Bill Gates warn about this kind of future.

Well, Kurzweil doesnt think so. In fact, he isnt particularly worried about the singularity. It would be more accurate to say that hes been looking forward to it. What science fiction depicts as the singularity at which point a single brilliant AI enslaves humanity is just that: fiction.

Thats not realistic, Kurzweil said during hisinterview with SXSW. We dont have one or two AIs in the world. Today we have billions.

For Kurzweil, the singularity is an opportunity for humankind to improve. He envisions the same technology that will make AIs more intelligent giving humans a boost as well.

Whats actually happening is [machines] are powering all of us, Kurzweil said during the SXSW interview. Theyre making us smarter. They may not yet be inside our bodies, but, by the 2030s, we will connect our neocortex, the part of our brain where we do our thinking, to the cloud.

This idea is similar to Musks controversial neural laceand to XPRIZE Foundation chairman Peter Diamandis meta-intelligence concept.Kurzweil expounded on how this technology could improve human lives.

Were going to get more neocortex, were going to be funnier, were going to be better at music. Were going to be sexier, Kurzweil said during the SXSW interview. Were really going to exemplify all the things that we value in humans to a greater degree.

To those who view this cybernetic society as more fantasy than future, Kurzweil pointing out that there are people with computers in their brains today Parkinsons patients. Thats how cybernetics is just getting its foot in the door, Kurzweil said.And, because its the nature of technology to improve, Kurzweil predicts that during the 2030s some technology will be invented that cango inside your brain and help your memory.

So, instead of the machines-taking-over-the-world vision of the singularity, Kurzweil thinks itll be a future of unparalleled human-machine synthesis.

Ultimately, it will affect everything, Kurzweil said during the SXSW interview. Were going to be able to meet the physical needs of all humans. Were going to expand our minds and exemplify these artistic qualities that we value.

Editors note: This article has been updated to correct errors. A previous version of this article stated that Kurzweil predicted the singularity by 2029, rather than the date an AI will pass a valid Turing test.

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Kurzweil Claims That the Singularity Will Happen by 2029 - Futurism - Futurism