For the first time, volcanologists reveal to IE real-time observations of the deepest parts of a volcanic system.
Scientists from the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Meteorological Office, Reykjavik, have presented unexpected observations of seismic activity and magma movements before and during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption, according to a pair of papers published in Nature.
The insights could provide a boost in understanding the processes that drove the unusually ‘silent’ eruption and for future monitoring of volcanic activity. This is critical for creating warnings to prevent loss of life and damage to infrastructure. Beboy_ltd.
Neuroscientists have a dizzying array of methods to listen in on hundreds or even thousands of neurons in the brain and have even developed tools to manipulate the activity of individual cells. Will this unprecedented access to the brain allow us to finally crack the mystery of how it works? In 2017, Jonas and Kording published a controversial research article, “Could a Neuroscientist Understand a Microprocessor?” that argues maybe not. To make their point, the authors turn to their “model organism” of choice: a MOS 6502 processor as popularized by the Apple I, Commodore 64, and Atari Video Game System. Jonas and Kording argue that for an electrical engineer, a satisfying description of the processor would break it into modules, like an adder or subtractor, and submodules, like the transistor, to form a hierarchy of information processing. They suggest that, while popular methods from neuroscience might reveal interesting structure in the activity of the brain, researchers often use techniques that would fail to reveal a hierarchy of information processing if applied to the (presumably much simpler) computer processor.
For example, neuroscientists have long used lesions, or turning off or destroying a part of the brain, to try to find links between that brain region and particular behaviors. In one particularly striking experiment, the authors mimicked this classic technique by simulating the processor as it performed one of four “behaviors”: Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Pitfall, and Asteroids. They then systematically removed one transistor, and reported which (if any) of the behaviors could still be performed (i.e. did the game boot?) The elimination of 1,565 transistors have no impact, while 1,560 inhibit all behaviors, and indeed a subset of transistors make only one game impossible. Perhaps these are the Donkey Kong transistors, the authors coyly suggest, before concluding that the “causal relationship” is highly superficial.
Ian Hutchinson’s concerns for existential risk after minute 42.
Ian Hutchinson is a nuclear engineer and plasma physicist at MIT. He has made a number of important contributions in plasma physics including the magnetic confinement of plasmas seeking to enable fusion reactions, which is the energy source of the stars, to be used for practical energy production. Current nuclear reactors are based on fission as we discuss. Ian has also written on the philosophy of science and the relationship between science and religion.
Scientists have shed new light on the timing and likely cause of major volcanic events that occurred millions of years ago and caused such climatic and biological upheaval that they drove some of the most devastating extinction events in Earth’s history.
Surprisingly, the new research, published today in Science Advances, suggests a slowing of continental plate movement was the critical event that enabled magma to rise to the Earth’s surface and deliver the devastating knock-on impacts.
Earth’s history has been marked by major volcanic events, called large igneous provinces (LIPs)—the largest of which have caused major increases in atmospheric carbon emissions that warmed Earth’s climate, drove unprecedented changes to ecosystems, and resulted in mass extinctions on land and in the oceans.
An excellent article rebutting some of common negative reactions to the idea of de-extinction. I applaud George Church, Ben Lamm, and colleagues for their efforts to leverage the genomics revolution to recreate the wooly mammoth and the Thylacine. These represent exciting steps for repairing damaged ecosystems. Such approaches will also most likely have the side benefit of generating new technologies for biomedical applications. I’d love to see similar de-extinction efforts addressing loss of insect and microorganism biodiversity as well! #biotech #future #crispr #techforgood
When mammoths disappeared from the Arctic some 4,000 years ago, shrubs overtook what was previously grassland. Mammoth-like creatures could help restore this ecosystem by trampling shrubs, knocking over trees, and fertilising grasses with their faeces.
Theoretically, this could help reduce climate change. If the current Siberian permafrost melts, it will release potent greenhouse gases. Compared to tundra, grassland might reflect more light and keep the ground cooler, which Colossal hopes will prevent the permafrost from melting.
While the prospect of reviving extinct species has long been discussed by groups such as Revive and Restore, advances in genome editing have now brought such dreams close to reality. But just because we have the tools to resurrect mammoth-like creatures, does this mean we should?
Musk texted a Morgan Stanley banker, two weeks after he publicly announced his intent to buy Twitter.
The potential of World War III appears to be a reason why the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, wanted to call off his buyout offer for Twitter, Business Insider.
Wikimedia Commons.
The Elon Musk saga of the Twitter buyout is entering a crucial phase now, with lawyers for the Tesla CEO looking to push back the trial. Twitter’s lawyers are keen to keep the trial on schedule next month and hope that the court forces Musk to sign off on his offer of $44 billion for the social media outlet.
https://www.timventura.com — Martin Ciupa discusses the existential risks and unintended consequences of AI superintelligence and the Singularity, along with concerns about AI augmentation through Neuralink. We also explore the philosophical underpinnings of The Singularity and how it fulfills a long-standing human need for transcendence in a technologically advanced society.
Martin Ciupa is a subject matter expert on artificial intelligence. Martin is the CEO of Remoscope Inc, an AI-based Telehealth startup, and an advisor & consultant to Mindmaze, a Unicorn Neurotech company focuses on applying advanced neuroscience to everyday life. Martin has decades of experience in computing and artificial intelligence, PhD studies in AI, and a Master’s Degree in Cybernetics. He joins us today to discuss AI Superintelligence and the Singularity.
We previously touched on Ghosts in the Machine in terms of the human qualities we unintentionally build into AI, so today I wanted to focus on “God In The Machine”, especially in regards to AI Superintelligence and the Singularity. Let’s start with a story in Futurism quoting former Google Exec Mo Gawdat as saying that “AI Researchers are creating God”.
The Singularity has scared more than just this researcher: Stephen Hawking has said that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race”. Bill Gates and Elon Musk have also voiced concerns on AI Superintelligence. Gates said, “I am one of those who is concerned about superintelligence. First, machines will do a lot of work for us and they won’t be super smart. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that, they will be smart enough to be a concern.” – and Elon Musk has said that development of artificial intelligence “is the greatest existential threat to humanity”.
We contrast these views against the optimistic view of AI Superintelligence by proponents like Ray Kurzweil, who has said, The pace of change will be so astonishingly quick that we won’t be able to keep up, unless we enhance our own intelligence by merging with the intelligent machines we are creating. What are your thoughts on the positive aspects of this technology?
Finally, speaking in practical terms, the world we live in is becoming increasingly automated and complex, and moving past the ability of people to manage all of these systems. We explore whether human-level or higher AI at some point simply to help run this machine-driven world we’re creating.
