Lifeboat Foundation

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.

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.

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.

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.

Continue reading “China warns a ‘certain country’ is making ethnic bioweapons” »

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.

The company which describes itself as the data infrastructure company for AI, bagged a $249 million contract in 2022 to provide a range of AI tech to the US Department of Defence.

Traditionally, the United States has been viewed as the top dog in global military applications, but over the last three decades, it’s been facing competition from a strong opponent in the Indo-Pacific area. China has been bullishly making its space by modernizing its weapons and forces and denting the US’ dominance in developing advanced technologies.

Nastco/iStock.

Continue reading “Could ScaleAI secure US supremacy over China in the AI arms race?” »

Dogs of War bots.

Armed with a rocket launcher or other kinds of weapons, including small arms, a quadrupedal robot could also just be used to scout ahead of friendly forces, and then have the ability to immediately engage any threats it finds.

Uncrewed ground systems like this have the ability to get in and out of spaces where a person might not be able to at all, as well, which could again be particularly useful when maneuvering through dense urban environments. The U.S. military sees operations in large built-up areas as a key component of any future major conflict.

Continue reading “Marines Test Fire Robot Dog Armed With Rocket Launcher” »

From every study they could find, including research that was never published, research by the military and private businesses, and research that had sat dormant on hard drives for decades to find out how personality and intelligence relate to each another.⁠
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Fourteen years later, the massive data catalog has dropped. It contains 79 personality traits and 97 cognitive abilities from 1,300 studies from over 50 countries including over 2 million participants. And an early meta-analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that personality and intelligence relate in some surprising ways.⁠
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Personality describes how someone generally thinks, feels, and behaves. Intelligence (termed cognitive ability by the researchers) describes how well someone can understand and apply information.⁠
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Here are 3 of the 5 findings:⁠
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1. Extraversion, a measure of sociality and enthusiasm, was only negligibly related to intelligence overall. However, the activity facet more strongly correlated, and (surprisingly) sociability had a small negative relationship with some cognitive abilities. ⁠
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2. Neuroticism encompasses negative emotionality, which can inhibit advanced thinking. Despite the trope of the moody genius, perhaps it’s no surprise that higher levels of neuroticism predicted lower levels of intelligence, albeit weakly. The uneven temper and depression facets were particularly strong predictors of decreased intelligence. ⁠
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3. Conscientiousness, a measure of self-regulation and orderliness, correlated positively with intelligence overall. But some facets, including cautiousness and routine seeking, predicted lower cognitive abilities.⁠
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For the rest of the findings, along with something interesting they learned about extraversion, click here: https://www.freethink.com/society/study-personality-intellig…jjjrtebdkm.

Article by Elizabeth Gilbert.