Lifeboat Foundation

“Dinner and a movie” might never be the same…

Women and men sat together Tuesday as some 3,000 business people, investors and officials from dozens of countries gathered in the capital of highly conservative Saudi Arabia.

Dubbed “Davos in the desert” — a reference to the annual World Economic Forum in Switzerland — the conference is the first of its kind.

IMF director Christine Lagarde (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (center) attend the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. Faisal Al Nasser / Reuters.

Continue reading “‘Davos in the desert’ offers glimpse of how Saudi Arabia is changing” »

At the southernmost point of the Norwegian coastline by the village of Båly, Snøhetta has designed Europe’s very first underwater restaurant. With its immediate proximity with the forces of nature, the restaurant, which will also function as a research center for marine life, is a tribute to the Norwegian coast and to Lindesnes – to the wild fauna of the sea and to the rocky coastline of Norway’s southern tip.

Under’s namesake holds a double meaning: In Norwegian, “under” can just as well be translated into “wonder.” Half-sunken into the sea, the building’s monolithic form breaks the water surface to lie against the craggy shoreline. More than an aquarium, the structure will become a part of its marine environment, coming to rest directly on the sea bed five meters below the water’s surface. With meter-thick concrete walls, the structure is built to withstand pressure and shock from the rugged sea conditions. Like a sunken periscope, the restaurant’s massive acrylic windows offer a view of the seabed as it changes throughout the seasons and varying weather conditions.

Through its architecture, menu and mission of informing the public about the biodiversity of the sea, Under will provide an under-water experience inspiring a sense of awe and delight, activating all the senses – both physical and intellectual.

Pope Francis made a phone call to the International Space Station today (Oct. 26) to ask its six occupants deep questions about humanity’s place in the universe.

Calling from the Vatican in Rome, Pope Francis spoke with Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency along with three NASA astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts.

“Your little glass palace in totality is greater than the sum of its parts, and this is the example that you give us,” Pope Francis said through a translator. [Space Station Photos: The Expedition 53 Crew in Orbit].

Continue reading “Hello to the Heavens: Pope Francis Phones the Space Station” »

A team of researchers with Università degli Studi di Padova and the Matera Laser Ranging Observatory in Italy has conducted experiments that add credence to John Wheeler’s quantum theory thought experiment. In their paper published on the open access site Science Advances, the group describes their experiment and what they believe it showed.

The nature of light has proven to be one of the more difficult problems facing physicists. Nearly a century ago, experiments showed that light behaved like both a particle and a wave, but subsequent experiments seemed to show that light behaved differently depending on how it was tested, and weirdly, seemed to know how the researchers were testing it, changing its behavior as a result.

Back in the late 1970s, physicist Johan Wheeler tossed around a thought experiment in which he asked what would happen if tests allowed researchers to change parameters after a photon was fired, but before it had reached a sensor for testing—would it somehow alter its behavior mid-course? He also considered the possibilities as light from a distant quasar made its way through space, being lensed by gravity. Was it possible that the light could somehow choose to behave as a wave or a particle depending on what scientists here on Earth did in trying to measure it? In this new effort, the team in Italy set out to demonstrate the ideas that Wheeler had proposed—but instead of measuring light from a quasar, they measured light bounced from a satellite back to Earth.

Continue reading “Reflecting light off satellite backs up Wheeler’s quantum theory thought experiment” »

Particle physics data sorted by quantum machine learning but still needs work.

There are multiple software options that analyze your genetic data and make recommendations on which supplements you should be taking.

“If one blockchain were to become dominant, then the others may well fade away.” #singularityuniversity

Bitcoin, the first practical implementation of blockchain technology, was the buying opportunity of all time. The price of bitcoin has risen faster than any other asset in history, including tulips at the height of the tulip bubble.

Continue reading “Building the Blockchain to End All Blockchains” »

With artificial intelligence technology advancing rapidly, the world must consider how the law should apply to synthetic beings. Experts from the fields of AI, ethics, and government weigh in on the best path forward as we enter the age of self-aware robots.

Artificially intelligent (AI) robots and automated systems are already transforming society in a host of ways. Cars are creeping closer to Level 5 autonomy, factories are cutting costs by replacing human workers with robots, and AIs are even outperforming people in a number of traditionally white-collar professions.

Continue reading “The rights of synthetic lifeforms is the next great civil rights controversy” »