Category Archives: Transhuman News

In Brief

Dubai-based construction firmCazza Technologies has announced plans to build the worlds first 3D printed skyscraper.

When we first thought of implementing 3D printing technologies, we were mostly thinking of houses and low-rise buildings. Developers kept asking us if it was possible to build a 3D printed skyscraper. This led us to begin researching how we could adapt the technologies for taller structures, Chris Kelsey, CEO of Cazza,explained to Construction Week Online.

The companys large robotic 3D printers already allow them to construct architecturally complex buildings at unprecedented speeds.All of the essential structural components for tall buildings, including reinforcements with steer rebar, can be 3D printed using this system.

For the skyscraper project, the system will simply be merged with existing cranes, which means theres no need to build specialized cranes from scratch. Any construction elements for the skyscraper that cant be 3D printed will be completed using traditional construction methods.

While Cazza has confirmed that the first 3D printed skyscraperusing its novel construction method will be built in Dubai, details such as the buildings height or when the project will begin are still under wraps.

3D printing technology has already established a foothold in numerous fields. Its particularly prevalent in the medical industry, where it is being used to build organs and human cells, but the techs application in housing and construction hasnt exactly been moving at the same rate. Nevertheless, ambitious 3D projects such as Cazzas are set to shine a spotlight on the technologys potential. Once others see this potential for speed and cost efficiency, they will be more likely toadopt the tech themselves.

Cazza may be the first company to attempt to 3D print a skyscraper, but others have successfully completed smaller projects, includinga tiny guesthouse in Amsterdam and aSuzhou-style Chinese villain Binzhou. As more projects such as those are undertaken, the technology will become cheaper, further speeding up the pace of adoption. It is all about economies of scale where the initial high technology costs will reduce as we enter the mass-production phase, explains Kelsey.Eventually, 3D printed skyscrapers could be the norm.

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Dubai is Going to Be Home to the World's First 3D Printed Skyscraper - 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 2045 - Futurism

Automation Boom

Dismissing vague warnings that robots are coming for our jobs is pretty easy. Not so easy? Dismissing hard evidence that theyve already arrived and are doing those jobs better and more cheaply than we ever could.

Those are the facts the workers of the world faced when news broke earlier this year that a Chinese factory increased its production by 250 percent and dropped its defect rate by 80 percent by replacing 90 percent of its human workforce with automated machines. In fact, the transition to machines has been so successful, the plant may soon cut its remaining workforcefrom 60 to just 20 human workers.

Experts are predicting that up to 47 percent of jobs in the United States may be replaced by automated systemsand thats all in the next decade. If thats not enough, manufacturing jobs arent the only ones at risk. Automated systems are proving that they are capable of handling everything from low-skill work like

If thats not enough, manufacturing jobs arent the only ones at risk. Automated systems are proving that they are capable of handling everything from low-skill work like flipping burgers and driving taxis to white-collar professions like managing hedge fundsandpreparing tax returns.

Researcher after researcherhas concluded the same thing automation is going to put a lot of people out of work very soon but what people cant agree on is what we should do about it.

Some, like President Barack Obama, recommend focusing on education and training to prepare people to take on new types of jobs once their jobs are replaced. Others recommend putting systems in place that would make having a job a guarantee.

Still others think a tax on robots could be the solution. Perhaps the most seriously discussed option, however, is universal basic income (UBI).

So what exactly is it?

The idea behind a UBI system is that every member of a society regularly receives a set amount of unconditional money from the government or a public institution. How much money, how often it is given, who supplies it, and other variables are all open to interpretation.

Proponents of such a system say its benefits would be multifold. With so many people expected to lose their jobs in the coming decades, UBI would be a way for the government of a country to ensure it doesnt see a drastic increase in poverty due to unemployment. They point to the encouraging results of past studies in their support of UBI, noting how some trials have revealeda link between UBI and better health, while others have noted a drop in the usage of temptation goods like alcohol and tobacco in societies with a UBI in place, particularly if those societies are in underdeveloped nations.

While notable figures such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Y Combinator president Sam Altman, andeBayfounder Pierre Omidyar have all expressed their support for UBI, just as many people remain on the other side of the debate.

Business mogul Mark Cubansimply called UBI one of the worst possible responses to automation,philanthropist Bill Gatessaid even the richest countries couldnt afford such a system, and the Obama administrationreleased a report stating that job training and job search assistance are much more likely to mitigate the potential unemployment situation than UBI. Others argue that UBI would discourage people from working, wouldnt be enough to lift them out of poverty, and would result inimmigration problems for countries that enact such systems.

Until recently, weve had very few examples of UBI systems to look to for definitive proof of their potential benefits or burdens. Those examples we did have involved smaller groups of people for relatively short durations of time. What we need to move forward are more extensive trials involving larger groups, and thankfully,thats what were finally getting.

This year,Finlandkicked of a two-year UBI trial in which 2,000 randomly selected citizens each receive the equivalent of $587 a month. Each participant wasalready receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy from the government that they would lose if they started earning outside income. The hope is that the UBI will encourage those people to take chances on potentially risky job offers, like those at tech startups, knowing theyll still have an income to fall back on.

Once the two-year trial is over, the government plans to compare the data it collects from the 2,000 participants and173,000 non-participants from a similar background to determine if a larger UBI system would be economically worthwhile.

GiveDirectlyis poised to launch the largest UBI program to date this spring. With the support of investorslike Omidyar, the nonprofit will provide UBI to more than26,000 Kenyans, with the total amount dispersed expected to hit around$30 million. The company is spreading the money across200 villages, with recipients grouped into one of three potential systems. Some will receive 12 years of basic income, some will receive two years of it, and others will receive two years worth of income as a single lump sum.

Kenyans in 100 villages will act as the control group against which the results of the trial will be judged. GiveDirectly is hoping to learn a great deal about UBI from the study,including how it affects a persons economic status, willingness to take risks, and their gender relations, particularly in terms of female empowerment.

Canada has its own UBI project set to launch this year. In December, the state legislature of Prince Edward Island (PEI) approved an initiative to test out a UBI program, with leaders of all four political parties in the province approving the measure. The details still need to be hashed out and the plan implemented, but with150,000 citizens, the small Canadian province could prove to be the perfect setting for a UBI pilot program large enough to provide a validsample size but small enough to be logistically feasible.

With so many projects in place, 2017 is being touted as the year well finally find out if a UBI system could work, and really, we have no time to waste. That Chinese factory may have been one of the first, but it certainly wont be the last example of automations superiority in the workplace.

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Experts Think UBI Is the Solution to Automation. This Year, We'll Find Out. - Futurism

Budget Cuts

The new administration has big plans for space research and travel. It seems however, that NASA has some serious belt tightening to do, given that the 2017 budget proposal released by the White House will see $200 million cut from the space agencys current funding.

The budgetwould basically allotNASA $19.1 billion for the 2018 fiscal year. Thats $200 million less than the $19.3 the agency received last year.NASA administrator Robert Lightfoot did not seem surprised by the White House announcement in thestatementhe released.

While more detailed budget information will be released in May, we have received a top line budget number for the agency as part of an overall government budget roll out of more than $19 billion, Lightfoot said in the statement. This is in line with our funding in recent years, and will enable us to effectively execute our core mission for the nation, even during these times of fiscal constraint.

Lightfoot expressed hisconfidence that NASA will be able to continue with itswork, sustain research, and develop technologies that will broadenthe agencys capabilities to send humans deeper into space, even given the funding cut in the proposed budget.

While NASA isnt facing budgetary cuts as drastic as other federal agencies, the cuts do have implications on NASAsEarth science and education programs.

Overall science funding is stable, although some missions in development will not go forward and others will see increases, Lightfoot said. We remain committed to studying our home planet and the universe, but are reshaping our focus within the resources available to us a budget not far from where we have been in recent years, and which enables our wide ranging science work on many fronts.

Under the proposal, the Earth science division would take a$102 million cut compared to what it received in 2017. The budget would effectively end several Earth science initiatives, such as NASAs carbon monitoring program and NASAs involvement in the DSCOVR program.

Some of the other notable missions that are up for cancellation underthe new budget proposal includes NASAs Asteroid Redirect Missionand a mission to land on Europa, one of Jupiters moons. NASAs education program, which the proposal described asredundant to other parts of the agency, would now be completely be scrapped. The agencys human spaceflight program, fortunately, would mostly stay on track.

Despite these defunded programs andmissions, the new budget request does draw focus to other NASA initiatives, such as commercial space travel.

The budget supports our continued leadership in commercial space, which has demonstrated success through multiple cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station, and is on target to begin launches of astronauts from U.S. soil in the near future, Lightfoot said in the statement.

According to the proposal, NASAwill continue to support and expand private-public partnerships that hope to grow civilian space travel. It seems that the new budget would be opening options for NASA to engage incollaboration with industry in terms of running the space station and developing deep-space habitats.

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NASA Poised to Lose $200 Million in Funding Under the Trump Administration - Futurism