Lifeboat Foundation

From 2019: Long before we can certify that neural networks can drive cars, we need to prove that they can multiply.

This work is still in its very early stages, but in the last year researchers have produced several papers which elaborate the relationship between form and function in neural networks. The work takes neural networks all the way down to their foundations. It shows that long before you can certify that neural networks can drive cars, you need to prove that they can multiply.

The Best Brain Recipe

Continue reading “Foundations Built for a General Theory of Neural Networks” »

He says here that we will not live to 150 without merging with technology. Since rejuvenation already exists for worms, mice, and rats I see no reason why a person could not make it that long and longer.

In this video Sergey talks about his ideas for when we will reach Longevity Escape Velocity, his vision for the longer term and the implications for society as people live longer.

Continue reading “Growing Young” »

Despite the continued progress that the state of the art in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) has been able to achieve, one thing that still sets the human brain apart — and those of some other animals — is its ability to connect the dots and infer information that supports problem-solving in situations that are inherently uncertain. It does this remarkably well despite sparse, incomplete, and almost always less than perfect data. In contrast, machines have a very difficult time inferring new insights and generalizing beyond what they have been explicitly trained on or exposed to.

How the brain evolved to achieve these abilities and what are the underlying ‘algorithms’ that enable them to remain poorly understood. The development and investigation of mathematical models will lead to a deep understanding of what the brain is doing and how are not mature and remain a very active area of research.

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Continue reading “Sorry AI — The Brain Is Still The Best Inference Machine Out There” »

Exoplanet hunters have found thousands of planets, most orbiting close to their host stars, but relatively few alien worlds have been detected that float freely through the galaxy as so-called rogue planets, not bound to any star. Many astronomers believe that these planets are more common than we know, but that our planet-finding techniques haven’t been up to the task of locating them.

Most exoplanets discovered to date were found because they produce slight dips in the observed light of their host stars as they pass across the star’s disk from our viewpoint. These events are called transits.

Continue reading “NASA Searching for Free-Floating Planets With Artificial Intelligence and Gravitational Microlensing” »

Earth imaging and data specialist Planet Labs on Tuesday announced a new line of imagery satellites, called Pelican, as the company prepares to go public later this year.

The Pelican satellites are meant to upgrade Planet’s existing constellation of 21 SkySat satellites in orbit, with launches beginning in 2022.

“It’s higher resolution, and having more satellites in space means that you actually end up having a higher revisit capability and [Pelican is] being designed for what our users want – which is speed and near-real time understanding about what’s happening,” Planet co-founder and chief strategy officer Robbie Schingler told CNBC.

Toxic chemicals known as PFAS exist in almost 42,000 sites around the U.S., according to research released on Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group.

The research published in the American Water Works Association’s journal Water Science found tens of thousands of potential point sources for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination around the country. Researchers analyzed data collected between August 2016 and March 2021. They found numerous previously unknown PFAS sites in samples of water downstream from manufacturing facilities.

“We don’t as of yet have great information on how frequently these different sources are contributing to the PFAS contamination we’re finding in surface water and drinking water,” lead study author David Andrews told The Hill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXyzgTvZUFw

Blue Origin is set to launch William Shatner on their second crewed spaceflight of its New Shepard rocket. Takeoff is currently scheduled on Wednesday, October 13 at 9:00 am CDT / 14:00 UTC from Corn Ranch, Texas.

New Shepard is designed to take people and payloads to suborbital space and back. It is expected to start sending space tourists this year. Ticket reservations are still on hold.

Continue reading “WATCH LIVE: Blue Origin Launch William Shatner into Space on Jeff Bezos New Shepard Rocket” »

VAN HORN, Texas — William Shatner and three other passengers will launch into space today (Oct. 13) on the second crewed flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, and you can watch all the action live online.

The New Shepard rocket-capsule combo will lift off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One, near the West Texas town of Van Horn, at 9 a.m. local time (10 a.m. EDT; 1,400 GMT). A live webcast of the mission will begin about 90 minutes before liftoff, and you can watch it live in the window above, courtesy of Blue Origin. The webcast will also stream live on Bue Origin’s website and on YouTube.

An Austrian-based company is working on a patented propulsion technology for VTOLs (vertical take-off and landing) and has recently shared the first test flight of a prototype aircraft using the unique approach.