Lifeboat Foundation

A black hole could strip your past and give you infinite futures, according to a new study.

Why does everyone assume that the AI revolution will either lead to a fiery apocalypse or a glorious utopia, and not something in between? Of course, part of this is down to the fact that you get more attention by saying “The end is nigh!” or “Utopia is coming!”

But part of it is down to how humans think about change, especially unprecedented change. Millenarianism doesn’t have anything to do with being a “millennial,” being born in the 90s and remembering Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is a way of thinking about the future that involves a deeply ingrained sense of destiny. A definition might be: “Millenarianism is the expectation that the world as it is will be destroyed and replaced with a perfect world, that a redeemer will come to cast down the evil and raise up the righteous.”

Millenarian beliefs, then, intimately link together the ideas of destruction and creation. They involve the idea of a huge, apocalyptic, seismic shift that will destroy the fabric of the old world and create something entirely new. Similar belief systems exist in many of the world’s major religions, and also the unspoken religion of some atheists and agnostics, which is a belief in technology.

Continue reading “What If the AI Revolution Is Neither Utopia nor Apocalypse, but Something in Between?” »

Another crisis is inevitable, Bill Gates said.

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates is optimistic about the future of the U.S., but he does believe the country will have another financial crisis.

Disney’s immersive Pandora: The World of Avatar park is getting a new addition: a 10-foot-tall walking mech suit, starting April 22nd.

Interested in the long-term investment opportunities that might arise from disruption? Then watch these five disruptive trends in the coming decade, says Morgan Stanley Disruptive Change Researcher Stan DeLaney.

New headset can listen to internal vocalisation and speak to the wearer while appearing silent to the outside world.

Samuel Gibbs

Continue reading “Researchers develop device that can ‘hear’ your internal voice” »

Yosemite Valley will close to the public Friday ahead of a powerful storm that could bring flooding to the area, officials said.

Visitors were asked to leave by 5 p.m. and all overnight reservations were canceled through Saturday night, according to Yosemite National Park officials who say the storm may cause “significant impacts.”

After the storm passes, authorities will assess road and facility conditions to determine when Yosemite Valley, home to many of the park’s picturesque waterfalls and cliffs, can reopen.

Continue reading “Yosemite Valley to close to visitors as powerful storm moves in” »

Across Washington, WA — Hundreds of the virtually un-treatable “superbug” bacteria have been found in the U.S., including in Washington.

Temblor hits at a depth of 61 km (38 miles), about 128 km (80 miles) east of the island’s key city of Davao.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which hit at a depth of 61 km (38 miles), about 128 km (80 miles) east of the island’s key city of Davao.

Continue reading “6.2-earthquake strikes off Mindanao in Philippines” »