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Archive for the ‘military’ category: Page 10

Nov 8, 2023

Nuclear weapons are illegal at last

Posted by in categories: geopolitics, law, military, treaties

Nuclear arms are the most destructive, indiscriminate and monstrous weapons ever produced – but today, we can all celebrate a major milestone in the long march towards peace: the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is now part of international law!

The year 2021 also marks the 50th anniversary of Greenpeace, which began life in September 1971 when a small group of activists set sail to the island of Amchitka, off the west coast of Alaska, to try and stop nuclear weapons testing from taking place. Greenpeace could not be more delighted that in the anniversary year of our founding journey, we can join the celebration to mark this historic Treaty coming into force and pay our deepest respects to advocates for this momentous achievement, led by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Greenpeace France interviewed Jean-Marie Collin of ICAN France about the challenges and prospects that arise from the Treaty’s entry into force.

Nov 8, 2023

Nuclear Disarmament and UN Reforms

Posted by in categories: ethics, existential risks, geopolitics, military, nuclear weapons, policy, treaties

Although essentially the United Nations are now making nuclear weapons illegal with new treaties like nuclear disarmament. Russia currently has taken another route for globalization and possibly nuclear escalation. As currently the doomsday clock seems closer to midnight which could mean the end of the world scenarios due to Russias escalation and the possibility of all out nuclear war globally and then nuclear annihilation of the planet. Even with current wars are actually seemingly always going on but this global escalation of nuclear war is a zero sum game as no one would be the winner due to radiation levels circulating the planet. I do think that the us and china are in a treaty but so far Russia is still escalating which now holds the world now ransom.


This is a summary of Policy Brief 139 which is available with full references on the Toda Peace Institute’s website.

In January 2021, a global treaty came into force outlawing the bomb. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW or Ban Treaty) is the most significant multilateral development in nuclear arms control since the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s (NPT) entry into force in 1970. It establishes a new normative settling point on the ethics, legality and legitimacy of the bomb.

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Nov 7, 2023

New Study on US-Russia nuclear war: 91.5 million casualties in first few hours

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military

34.1 million people could die, and another 57.4 million could be injured, within the first few hours of the start of a nuclear war between Russia and the United States triggered by one low-yield nuclear weapon, according to a new simulation by researcher’s at Princeton‘s Science and Global Security programme.

Nov 7, 2023

Artificial intelligence and US nuclear weapons decisions: How big a role?

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

Turn your key, Sir.


NAVY FINDS PERFECT WINGMAN FOR CARRIER PILOTS – AI

However, the most intriguing question is: How much could AI be involved in a tactical nuclear weapons launch decision?

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Nov 7, 2023

Ilya: the AI scientist shaping the world

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

Ilya Sutskever, one of the leading AI scientists behind ChatGPT, reflects on his founding vision and values. In conversations with the film-maker Tonje Hessen Schei as he was developing the chat language model between 2016 and 2019, he describes his personal philosophy and makes startling predictions for a technology already shaping our world. Reflecting on his ideas today, amid a global debate over safety and regulation, we consider the opportunities as well as the consequences of AI technology. Ilya discusses his ultimate goal of artificial general intelligence (AGI), ‘a computer system that can do any job or task that a human does, but better’, and questions whether the AGI arms race will be good or bad for humanity.

These filmed interviews with Ilya Sutskever are part of a feature-length documentary on artificial intelligence, called iHuman.

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Nov 4, 2023

SpaceX selling ‘Starshield’ will be a gamechanger

Posted by in categories: alien life, internet, military, nuclear weapons, satellites

Space Force and SpaceX announced that they’ve reached a deal for a brand-new military capability: Starshield. Is it a new laser defense shield against nuclear missiles? An Ultron for our time to destroy alien armadas? Or Starlink, but with new branding and (probably) a new fleet of satellites?

Yup, the last one. But with how clutch Starlink is in Ukraine, a military-controlled version of the network could change operations there. And it would dramatically improve U.S. and allied military communications in future conflicts. Now, the American military will lead military space-based communications with the start of Starshield. But expect allies to clamor aboard and other nations to try developing rival platforms.

Space Force has one of the most descriptive, succinct names in the modern military, but it appears to be even worse at naming its programs than the other branches. Still, its Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Program, or “PLEOP,” for acronym addicts who want to hear the sound of a dump every time they discuss the program, is promising.

Nov 3, 2023

Chimpanzees make tactical use of high elevation in territorial contexts

Posted by in categories: military, neuroscience

Use of high elevation in warfare requires high cognitive skills but is not uniquely human. This study shows that wild chimpanzees can detect their enemies from afar by exploiting hilltops in their topographic landscape, allowing them to assess the risk and adjust their movements accordingly.

Nov 1, 2023

Space Force awards $2.5 billion in rocket contracts to SpaceX and ULA for 21 launches

Posted by in categories: military, space

The U.S. Space Force assigned 21 rocket launches to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, worth about $2.5 billion in total, the military branch told CNBC.

Space Force’s Space Systems Command on Tuesday announced the mission assignments, which represent the last round of orders under a multiyear program called National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2.

The final batch of assignments were split almost evenly, according to Col. Doug Pentecost, the deputy program executive officer of the Space Force’s Space Systems Command. ULA received 11 missions, valued at $1.3 billion, and SpaceX received 10 missions, valued at $1.23 billion.

Nov 1, 2023

China warns a ‘certain country’ is making ethnic bioweapons

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, military

According to the Chinese Ministry of State Security, “certain countries” are likely working on incredibly potent ethnic bioweapons.

China has blown the whistle on the potential dangers of what it calls “genetic weapons” that could prove to be an incredibly potent weapon of mass destruction, the Global Times reports. On Monday, October 20, 2023, the Chinese Ministry of State Security released a statement on WeChat warning that a “certain” foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) had recruited Chinese “volunteers” to collect biodiversity distribution data under the guise of biological species research to steal China’s species data.


AnnaStills/iStock.

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Oct 26, 2023

Atom Computing Says Its New Quantum Computer Has Over 1,000 Qubits

Posted by in categories: computing, military, particle physics, quantum physics

The scale of quantum computers is growing quickly. In 2022, IBM took the top spot with its 433-qubit Osprey chip. Yesterday, Atom Computing announced they’ve one-upped IBM with a 1,180-qubit neutral atom quantum computer.

The new machine runs on a tiny grid of atoms held in place and manipulated by lasers in a vacuum chamber. The company’s first 100-qubit prototype was a 10-by-10 grid of strontium atoms. The new system is a 35-by-35 grid of ytterbium atoms (shown above). (The machine has space for 1,225 atoms, but Atom has so far run tests with 1,180.)

Quantum computing researchers are working on a range of qubits—the quantum equivalent of bits represented by transistors in traditional computing—including tiny superconducting loops of wire (Google and IBM), trapped ions (IonQ), and photons, among others. But Atom Computing and other companies, like QuEra, believe neutral atoms—that is, atoms with no electric charge—have greater potential to scale.

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