Science Alert April 28, 2018 According to reports China is building thousands of fuel-burning chambers high up on the Tibetan mountains, that could increase rainfall in the region by up to 10 billion cubic metres a year. The chambers burn solid fuel to produce silver iodide, a cloud-seeding agent with a crystalline structure much like ice. The chambers stand on steep mountain ridges facing the moist monsoon from South Asia. As wind hits the mountain, it produces an upward draft and sweeps the particles into the clouds to induce rain and snow. Total area of about 1.6 million square kilometres […]
Tag Archives: S&T Policy
The “Black Mirror” scenarios that are leading some experts to call for more secrecy on AI
MIT Technology Review February 21, 2018 A report, “The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation” authored by a team of more than 20 researchers in the UK, warns that AI creates new opportunities for criminals, political operatives, and oppressive governments—so much so that some AI research may need to be kept secret. The report includes four dystopian vignettes involving artificial intelligence to illustrate just a handful of the risks – the smarter phishing scam, the malware epidemic, the robot assassin, and a bigger Big Brother. It recommends more research and debate on the risks of AI and […]
DARPA Seeks to Expand Real-Time Radiological Threat Detection to Include Other Dangers
DARPA News February 20, 2018 DARPA announced its SIGMA+ program, an expansion of the existing SIGMA program. The program calls for the development of highly sensitive detectors and advanced intelligence analytics to detect minute traces of various substances related to WMD threats. SIGMA+ will use a common network infrastructure and mobile sensing strategy. The detection network would be scalable to cover a major metropolitan city and its surrounding region. The program is structured around two Phases. The first phase focuses on developing novel sensors for chemicals, explosives, and biological agents, the second phase focuses on network development, analytics, and integration. […]
Governance of emerging technologies: Aligning policy analysis with the public’s values
Eurekalert February 20, 2018 This special report, published as a supplement to the Hastings Center Report, volume 48, issue 1, is the product of a research project, Values in Impact Assessment, conducted at The Hastings Center from 2014 to 2018. The ideas in these essays were initially presented to a working group… read more. Open Access Report
The USA is no longer guaranteed future military technology dominance
Next Big Future February 17, 2018 According to the IISS 2018 Military Balance, annual assessment of the military capabilities and defense economics of 171 countries, the West no longer has a monopoly on world-leading defense innovation and production or the funds to enable these. Indeed, China might be the one to leap ahead. For the past three decades, air dominance has been a key advantage for the US and its allies. This can no longer be assumed. The availability of affordable and competitive military technology will also be exported to other countries…read more.
Artificial intelligence is the weapon of the next Cold War
Physorg January 29, 2018 During the Cold War, the weapon of choice was nuclear missiles. Today it is software, whether it is used for attacking computer systems or targets in the real world. AI may be the way Russia can rebalance the power shift created by the U.S. outspending Russia nearly 10-to-1 on defense each year. AI can also be used to control non-nuclear weapons including unmanned vehicles like drones and cyberweapons. Countries might agree to a proposed Digital Geneva Convention to limit AI conflict. But that won’t stop AI attacks by independent nationalist groups, militias, criminal organizations, terrorists and […]
Biomining the elements of the future
The Conversation January 29, 2018 Biomining takes place within large, closed, stirred-tank reactors (bioreactors). These devices generally contain water, microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, or fungi), ore material, and a source of energy for the microbes. The source of energy required depends on the specific microbe necessary for the job. Biomining uses little energy and produces few microbial by-products such as organic acids and gases. Countries such as Finland, Chile, and Uganda are increasingly turning to biomining. Chile has exhausted much of its copper rich ores and now utilizes biomining. Biomining offers a way to obtain the rare earth elements resources, critical […]
Beijing Is Getting a $2.1 Billion AI District
MIT Technology Review January 4, 2018 China is gearing up to build a technology park in Beijing entirely dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence. The endeavor is just the latest sign of China’s remarkable ambition to master and dominate artificial intelligence by 2020. The plan will apparently establish a “national AI research center” and will include efforts to form partnerships with foreign research institutions and companies. China’s AI masterplan seems to have been inspired, in part, by the the U.S. government report at the very end of the Obama administration, PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Related document National […]