AIIB Aims to Build a Green Future People watched closely when China launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) last year. The new multilateral development bank boasted an initial capital of $100 billion, a founding membership of 57 countries (with 24 more waiting to join end of this year), and a mandate to be “lean, clean and green.” After its first annual general meeting and seminars this week, it appears that the AIIB is starting to move in a positive direction. I attended the recent meetings, where I listened to senior bank officials talking about the new bank’s ambition for infrastructure investment. It was clear that AIIB has a huge opportunity to foster green infrastructure and usher in sustainable development in countries around the world. A Need for Green Infrastructure It is well documented that infrastructure is fundamental for socio-economic development, and that infrastructure bottlenecks hinder economic growth. So how is the bank faring so far in living up to expectations and its own goals?
Putting A Computer In Your Brain Is No Longer Science Fiction Like many in Silicon Valley, technology entrepreneur Bryan Johnson sees a future in which intelligent machines can do things like drive cars on their own and anticipate our needs before we ask. What’s uncommon is how Johnson wants to respond: find a way to supercharge the human brain so that we can keep up with the machines. From an unassuming office in Venice Beach, his science-fiction-meets-science start-up, Kernel, is building a tiny chip that can be implanted in the brain to help people suffering from neurological damage caused by strokes, Alzheimer’s or concussions. The medical device is years in the making, Johnson acknowledges, but he can afford the time. “Human intelligence is landlocked in relationship to artificial intelligence — and the landlock is the degeneration of the body and the brain,” he said in an interview about the company, which he had not discussed publicly before. [Tech titans' lastest project: Creating the fountain of youth] [Building an artificial brain]
The Future Of Quantum Computing, AI & More Andy Rubin is not only the co-founder of Android, but also the man who ignited Google's robotics efforts. He did leave Google in 2014, but that does not make him less of a presence in the field of cutting-edge technology. Rubin recently gave a talk at Bloomberg's Tech Conference in San Francisco, where he pointed out the possibilities stemming from merging AI advancements and quantum computing. The biggest promise of such a marriage would be conscious intelligence capable of powering up every piece of technology. "If you have computing that is as powerful as this could be, you might only need one," Rubin says. He goes on to say that the entity "just has to be conscious." Rubin controls the Playground Global investment fund, which bets on companies that put every effort into transforming this idea into a reality. The AI expert notes that there are quantum computing firms that are almost ready to build consumer-ready quantum devices. © 2016 Tech Times, All rights reserved.
Status Quo + Robots Will Create A 'Permanent Underclass' (Pew) Robots are taking all the jobs. But are we, the average, moderately skilled humans, screwed, or aren't we? Let me just get it out of the way now: We are, unless there are drastic, immediate changes to education and economic systems around the world. The dominant narrative going around today about Pew Research's new report on artificial intelligence and the future of jobs is that experts can't really decide whether automation is going to make working obsolete, that it's really a toss up whether robots will simply create new jobs in other sectors as they destroy ones in other. That's true, in one sense: The 1,896 futurists, CEOs, journalists, and university professors questioned for the report were split in half over robots will "displace significant numbers of both blue- and white-collar workers," with 52 percent of respondents agreeing that "human ingenuity will create new jobs, industries, and ways to make a living, just as it has been doing since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution."
UK Copyright Extension Challenges 3D Printing A recent extension of UK copyright for industrially manufactured artistic works represents "a direct assault on the 3D printing revolution," says Pirate Party founder Rick Falkvinge. The UK government last month extended copyright for designs from 25 years to the life of the designer plus 70 years. In practice, this is likely to mean a copyright term of over 100 years for furniture and other designed objects. As Ars reported last year, a consultation was held by the UK government on how long the transitional period for the new rules should be. Writing on the Private Internet Access site, Falkvinge says that the copyright extension will have important consequences for makers in the UK and EU: "This change means that people will be prohibited from using 3D printing and other maker technologies to manufacture such objects, and that for a full century." In an e-mail to Ars, the legal expert Andrew Katz, partner at Moorcrofts LLP, agreed with Falkvinge's view.
Plasma Wings Could Change Aeroplane Design & Flight A scaled-down gale blows over a flat plate set inside the tabletop wind tunnel. Despite the low lighting and hazy Plexiglas view portals, we can clearly see the frenzied fluttering of streamer ribbons, called telltales, in the field of little wind vanes that carpets the exposed test surface inside. At first, each unruly telltale flies every which way, clear evidence of unsteady air flows gusting within. “OK, that’s off,” the researcher says. “Here’s on…” Almost like a sorcerer’s spell, an otherworldly, blue-violet halo emerges at the front of the plate and hovers corona-like, casting peculiar purple shadows onto the walls. “Off,” she says. “Off, off…and on.” A prototype wing equipped with plasma actuators. And for good reason. On airplane wings, for example, tiny plasma actuators could help planes fly more safely, more efficiently, and with greater stability and control. Surprisingly, this unearthly technology is, in fact, most commonly found hiding inside people’s homes. A Plasma Wind
UC Researcher Aims To 3D-Print Synthetic Wood UC researcher aims to 3D-print synthetic wood A University of Canterbury researcher has won Government funding to explore the potential of 3D-printing live plant cells (bio-printing) to create synthetic wood. Associate Professor David Leung is working on creating a new, sustainable industry for synthetic wood manufacture through 3D bio-printing live plant cells that could vastly reduce the need for tree harvesting. If successful the project, which will receive $255,000 over three years, would give the New Zealand manufacturing sector a new, sustainable biomaterial that goes a long way to realise the potential of 3D printing. Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce has today announced the University of Canterbury researcher’s 3D bio-printing project as one of 10 ambitious seed projects to develop disruptive technology for industry, to be funded with $826,000 in 2016 from the Science for Technological Innovation (SfTI) National Science Challenge. © Scoop Media
Solar-Complementary Solutions Coming For High Latitude Countries In places as diverse as Chile, Abu Dhabi, parts of India or the islands of Hawai'i, recent auctions for new electricity generation capacity have demonstrated that solar can beat fossil fuels on price - no subsidy or special favours required. Towards the end of last year, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden made a little-noticed remark. He said that solar would become the "dominant backbone" of the world's energy system. He didn't give a date for his prediction, or indeed define what 'dominant' means, but he accepted that the sun will eventually provide the cheapest energy source across almost all of the world. This is what my new book, The Switch, is about. In some ways, van Beurden's thought is an obvious one. Energy needs will rise - probably doubling in the next 30 years - but even then we will only need to capture three hours' worth of sunshine to provide everybody around the world with as much energy as they need every year. Solar is already beating fossil fuels on price
Blockchains Could Help Restore Trust in Food Companies around the world are exploring blockchain, the technology underpinning digital currency bitcoin. In this Blockchain unleashed series, we investigate the many possible use cases for the blockchain, from the novel to the transformative. If the food industry is not in crisis, it certainly contains an increasing level of complexity and associated risks. A recent analysis suggested 50% of US food production is wasted, with global estimates above 30%. Retailers want perfect produce, leading to wastage occurring throughout the food supply chain. Food scares such as mad cow disease (BSE) and cross contamination mean many consumers have less trust in their food, increasingly seeking information on authenticity and production practices. Over 80% of antibiotics used in the US are used in food production. Recent developments in the digital economy could help. Blockchains are the technology that underpin cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, but they have uses other than currencies.