Tag: Technology

Americans keen on space exploration, less so on paying for it | Pew Research Center

Many Americans are optimistic about the future of space travel, but they don’t necessarily want to pay for it. It’s been that way for some time, actually. A Harris survey taken in 1970 – less than a year after the first moon landing – showed that a majority (56%) thought the landing was not worth the money spent. … Continue reading Americans keen on space exploration, less so on paying for it | Pew Research Center →

The Dream Chaser: What the Space Shuttle should have been

This video shows the Dream Chaser spacecraft.  Similar to the old Space Shuttle, it glides down to Earth, although it's a much smaller vehicle, and would launch on top of a rocket rather than the dangerous side mount that the Shuttle used.  In many ways, it's what the Space Shuttle should have been, had it … Continue reading The Dream Chaser: What the Space Shuttle should have been →

Is our tech making the world too complex? – Samuel Arbesman – Aeon

For centuries, humans have been creating ever-more complicated systems, from the machines we live with to the informational systems and laws that keep our global civilisation stitched together. Technology continues its fantastic pace of accelerating complexity — offering efficiencies and benefits that previous generations could not have imagined — but with this increasing sophistication and … Continue reading Is our tech making the world too complex? – Samuel Arbesman – Aeon →

Brainlike computers, learning from experience | NDTV.com

Computers have entered the age when they are able to learn from their own mistakes, a development that is about to turn the digital world on its head. The first commercial version of the new kind of computer chip is scheduled to be released in 2014. Not only can it automate tasks that now require … Continue reading Brainlike computers, learning from experience | NDTV.com →

Google’s Android Dreams: Annoying, Not Apocalyptic : The New Yorker

A couple of weeks ago, shortly after the Amazon C.E.O. Jeff Bezos unveiled, on “60 Minutes,” that his company plans to deliver packages to customers with a swarm of autonomous, flying drones, Google made an announcement that seemed far less explosive: Andy Rubin, the former head of Android, would lead an “effort to create a … Continue reading Google’s Android Dreams: Annoying, Not Apocalyptic : The New Yorker →

Why Life Does Not Really Exist | Brainwaves, Scientific American Blog Network

Why is defining life so frustratingly difficult? Why have scientists and philosophers failed for centuries to find a specific physical property or set of properties that clearly separates the living from the inanimate? Because such a property does not exist. Life is a concept that we invented. On the most fundamental level, all matter that … Continue reading Why Life Does Not Really Exist | Brainwaves, Scientific American Blog Network →

BBC – Future – Technology – Is it OK to torture or murder a robot?

In the discussion on my post on computer consciousness from the other day, my friend amanimal just provided the following link: BBC - Future - Technology - Is it OK to torture or murder a robot?. I think this powerfully corroborates my thesis in that post, but it also illustrates that I might have been … Continue reading BBC – Future – Technology – Is it OK to torture or murder a robot? →

The struggling space age

The Washington Post has an interesting summary of the state of the space industry, contrasting the "New Space", private companies, with "Old Space", Nasa.  The article is interlaced with interesting photos and is well worth the time investment.  Another article on NBC talks about the White House's new space transportation policy. I'm a space enthusiast. … Continue reading The struggling space age →