Category: Technology

Military, Politics, Technology, WarLeave a comment

Who needs butter when you got guns? World arms spending reaches $2.5 trillion

Fernando Kaskais

Between wars and increased tensions, every region saw increases By JIM LOBE Total military spending by nations reached a record high of $2.443 trillion in 2023, according to a new report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI. Across the globe, military expenditures increased by 6.8% in real terms over 2022, the steepest rise since 2009, according to the Swedish think tank which has tracked the military spending by countries based on open sources since the 1960s. Every region saw an increase, but Europe, Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East saw the greatest growth.. “The unprecedented rise … Continue reading Who needs butter when you got guns? World arms spending reaches $2.5 trillion

AI, Freak U.S.A, Military, Technology, WarLeave a comment

The Pentagon is flirting with the dark side of AI

Fernando Kaskais

As DOD integrates artificial intelligence into military operations, concerns rise over ethics, transparency, and unintended consequences JANET ABOU-ELIAS, LILLIAN MAULDIN AND WILLIAM HARTUNG Rhetoric from the Pentagon and the arms industry suggests that integrating artificial intelligence, or AI, into U.S. weapons, communications, and surveillance systems will improve efficiency, innovation, and national security. The Pentagon is beginning to back its rhetoric on emerging technology with resources. The department’s Office of Strategic Capital now has the authority to grant executive loans and loan guarantees to invest in firms researching and developing 14 “critical technologies,” including hypersonics, quantum computing, microelectronics, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence. … Continue reading The Pentagon is flirting with the dark side of AI

AI, Health, Psychology, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

Opinion: Do ‘Griefbots’ Help Mourners Deal With Loss?

Fernando Kaskais

Visual: iStock/Getty Images Plus Bereaved people should temper their expectations when chatting with AI-driven simulations of their lost loved ones. BY TIM REINBOTH Various commercial products known as “griefbots” create a simulation of a lost loved one. Built on artificial intelligence that makes use of large language models, or LLMs, the bots imitate the particular way the deceased person talked by using their emails, text messages, voice recordings, and more. The technology is supposed to help the bereaved deal with grief by letting them chat with the bot as if they were talking to the person. But we’re missing evidence that … Continue reading Opinion: Do ‘Griefbots’ Help Mourners Deal With Loss?

Freak U.S.A, Military, Politics, Technology, WarLeave a comment

Not enough war on the ground, the US is taking it to space

Fernando Kaskais

The military industrial complex is suiting up for a new arms race, far beyond the stratosphere By STAVROULA PABST Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX recently secured a classified contract to build an extensive network of “spy satellites” for an undisclosed U.S. intelligence agency, with one source telling Reuters that “no one can hide” under the prospective network’s reach. While the deal suggests the space company, which currently operates over half the active satellites orbiting Earth, has warmed to U.S. national security agencies, it’s not the first Washington investment in conflict-forward space machinery. Rather, the U.S. is funding or otherwise supporting a range of defense contractors and … Continue reading Not enough war on the ground, the US is taking it to space

Health, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

A 62-Year-Old Man Received a Kidney From an Unexpected Donor: a Pig

Fernando Kaskais

mi-viri//Getty Image The groundbreaking transplant could pave the way for a future without dialysis. BY TIM NEWCOMB Scientists genetically modified a pig kidney, doctors transplanted that kidney into a 62-year-old human, and that man is roughly one week beyond the transplant looking toward a release from Massachusetts General Hospital. “The success of this transplant is the culmination of efforts by thousands of scientists and physicians over several decades,” Tatsuo Kawai, Harvard Medical School professor of surgery and director of the Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance at Mass General, says in a statement. The world’s first-ever transplant of a pig kidney into … Continue reading A 62-Year-Old Man Received a Kidney From an Unexpected Donor: a Pig

AI, Future, Health, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

A Digital Twin Might Just Save Your Life

Fernando Kaskais

Luis López (Mallet) for Noema Magazine Digital twins offer humankind the ability to command virtual replicas of forests, oil fields, cities, supply chains — and even, maybe one day, our very bodies. BY JOE ZADEH, a writer based in Newcastle. On the morning of June 24, 1993, Yale University Professor David Gelernter arrived at his office on the fifth floor of the computer science department. He had just returned from vacation and was carrying a large stack of unopened mail. One book-shaped package was in a plastic ziploc — he thought it looked like a PhD dissertation. As he unzipped it, … Continue reading A Digital Twin Might Just Save Your Life

AI, Animals, Big Food, Rights, TechnologyLeave a comment

The dangers of AI farming

Fernando Kaskais

At a Best Genetics Group pig-breeding farm in Chifeng, China; 27 February 2022. Photo courtesy Tingshu Wang/Reuters AI could lead to new ways for people to abuse animals for financial gain. That’s why we need strong ethical guidelines Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert is a DPhil candidate in philosophy at the University of Oxford with the support of a Rhodes scholarship and a doctoral scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture. Her research interests include animal ethics, practical ethics, moral theory, and philosophy of emotion. Jonathan Birch is a professor of philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political … Continue reading The dangers of AI farming

Big Brother, Matrix, Media&Culture, TechnologyLeave a comment

Some of the Most Popular Websites Share Your Data With Over 1,500 Companies

Fernando Kaskais

Cookie pop-ups now show the number of “partners” that websites may share data with. Here’s how many of these third-party companies may get your data from some of the most popular sites online. Matt Burgess is a senior writer at WIRED focused on information security, privacy, and data regulation in Europe. He graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in journalism and now lives in London. Send tips to Matt_Burgess@wired.com. verywhere you go online, you’re being tracked. Almost every time you visit a website, trackers gather data about your browsing and funnel it back into targeted advertising systems, which build … Continue reading Some of the Most Popular Websites Share Your Data With Over 1,500 Companies

Freak U.S.A, Military, Politics, Technology, USA, WarLeave a comment

VC/DC: Silicon Valley wants its cut of US military spending

Fernando Kaskais

studiostoks/ Shutterstock It’s official — the Pentagon is (sort of) becoming a bank By NICK CLEVELAND-STOUT It’s official — the Pentagon is becoming a bank. Well, sort of. At a March 8th event on dual-use technology at SXSW in Austin, Texas, director of the Office of Strategic Capital Jason Rathje announced that his team has officially received the internal authority to grant executive loans and loan guarantees, a first within the Pentagon. The Office of Strategic Capital, or OSC, was created in response to growing concern over China’s investment in next-generation technology. According to its investment strategy, released Friday, March 8th, the OSC will invest … Continue reading VC/DC: Silicon Valley wants its cut of US military spending

Military, Politics, Technology, USA, WarLeave a comment

America’s Secret Hypersonic Weapon Is About to Stun the Pacific

Fernando Kaskais

Giancarlo Casem A momentous test on the horizon could redefine aerial warfare. BY KYLE MIZOKAMI A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber was photographed last week on Guam with an interesting sidekick: a live AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW). The bomber is believed to be involved in a secret final test of the weapon that may even have already taken place. The ARRW was one of several Mach 5+ weapon systems pursued by the Pentagon, and although recently canceled, the Department of Defense is finishing testing anyway to grab whatever data it can on the performance of so-called hypersonic weapons. Indications that a … Continue reading America’s Secret Hypersonic Weapon Is About to Stun the Pacific