The Robot Revolution Is Coming. Just Be Patient.

This questions the impact of the coming robot revolution:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-11-16/the-robot-revolution-is-coming-just-be-patient

Dark Future: Here’s When We’ll Have the Black Mirror Tech That Lets Us Read Memories

"In 2014, scientists successfully reconstructed faces based on subjects’ brain activity."

"It is a form of mind reading."

https://futurism.com/black-mirror-crocodile/

Dark Future: Here’s When We’ll Have the Sentient Digital Avatars from Black Mirror

I've long thought something like this would work well as an alternative for people who are psychologically incapable of living in society due to no fault of their own:

https://futurism.com/black-mirror-uss-callister/

Digitized to Democratized: These Are the 6 Ds of Exponential Technologies

How everything changes once something can be digitized:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/12/29/what-are-the-6-ds-of-exponential-organizations/#sm.0001p9abvhotbf0jwc02kzluw8213

Neurologists May Have Discovered a Key Ally in the Fight Against Brain Aging

Eat yer damn salads!

https://futurism.com/neurologists-discovered-key-ally-fight-against-brain-aging/

Nuclear Sphere: Weird Globe Could Revolutionize Fusion Energy

This could be vastly more efficient than regular hydrogen fusion:

https://www.livescience.com/61298-new-fusion-reactor-uses-boron-and-hydrogen.html

How a Machine That Can Make Anything Would Change Everything

Nothing new but still interesting. If nanofactories don't occur until the 2040s, as mentioned here, that's disappointing. I think Drexler and Kurzweil had the date in the 2020s:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/12/25/the-nanofabricator-how-a-machine-that-can-make-anything-would-change-everything

The University of Tokyo Has Built a Robot That Sweats While Exercising

https://futurism.com/university-tokyo-built-robot-sweats-while-exercising/

The Power to Give Anyone, Anywhere the Skills They Need Is Within Reach

https://singularityhub.com/2017/12/21/the-power-to-give-anyone-anywhere-the-skills-they-need-is-within-reach/

Top 7 Breakthroughs of 2017 That Prove We’re Living in the Future

https://futurism.com/top-7-breakthroughs-2017-prove-living-future/

This Self-Driving AI Is Learning to Drive Almost Entirely in a Virtual World

A virtual world can also be sped up to run numerous extreme scenarios in a short period of time:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/12/18/this-self-driving-ai-is-learning-to-drive-almost-entirely-in-a-virtual-world/

Why Highly Intelligent People Suffer More Mental and Physical Disorders

Not actually a technological issue, but interesting science nevertheless because so many of my bright friends have some psychological issues, particularly with depression and anxiety:

http://bigthink.com/design-for-good/why-highly-intelligent-people-suffer-more-mental-and-physical-disorders

The Amazing Brain: Amputee Monkeys Mentally Control Robotic Arms

Cue the cyborgs!

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/the-amazing-brain-amputee-monkeys-mentally-control-robotic-arms

Will Artificial Intelligence Become Conscious?

I'm a "small-c" proponent myself, since it makes sense to me as an emergent property of a complex brain:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/12/15/will-artificial-intelligence-become-conscious/

Robots are being used to shoo away homeless people in San Francisco

And now there are so many robots that people are trying to limit them:

https://qz.com/1154649/a-knightscope-security-robot-is-being-used-to-shoo-away-homeless-people-in-san-francisco/

Electric Car Range May Soon Triple, Thanks to New Research

This would surely be enough to put electric vehicles into first choice place:

https://futurism.com/electric-car-range-soon-triple-thanks-new-research/

Georgia Tech’s New Prosthetic Arm Enables Amputees to Control Each Individual Finger

It's getting there...

https://futurism.com/georgia-techs-new-prosthetic-arm-enables-amputees-control-individual-finger/

3D-printing biocompatible living bacteria

Printing living tools. Pretty cool:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/3d-printing-biocompatible-living-bacteria

Flying Cars May Hit the Skies Sooner Than We Anticipated

https://futurism.com/videos/flying-cars-hit-skies-sooner-anticipated/

California Is Working to Ban Gas-Powered Cars by 2040

Once again, yay California:

https://futurism.com/california-working-ban-gas-powered-cars-2040/

A New CRISPR Technique Reverses Diseases in Mice

Editing the epigenome as a way to avoid dangerous mutations. Nice:

https://futurism.com/new-crispr-technique-reverses-diseases-in-mice/

Is the World's First Nuclear Fusion Plant Finally on Track?

Fusion power has always been 30 years away. For once, it may be here sooner:

https://www.livescience.com/61132-first-fusion-plant-plasma-core-half-completed.html

Guanidinium Helps Stabilizes Perovskite Solar Cells

https://scitechdaily.com/guanidinium-helps-stabilizes-perovskite-solar-cells/

Why Humanoid Robots Are Still So Hard to Make Useful

That "ad" looks so out of a science fiction movie:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/12/07/why-the-most-useful-robots-still-dont-look-much-like-us/

In Just 4 Hours, Google’s AI Mastered All The Chess Knowledge in History

It LEARNED to beat the best chess player in the world. It wasn't fed the moves:

https://futurism.com/4-hours-googles-ai-mastered-chess-knowledge-history/

“I always wondered how it would be if a superior species landed on Earth and showed us how they played chess,” grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen told the BBC.

“Now I know.”

Light-Based Computers May Soon Become a Reality

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/light-based-computers-may-soon-become-a-reality

Scientists Just Took a Giant Leap Forward in the Quest to Create Artificial Life

https://futurism.com/scientists-took-giant-leap-forward-quest-create-artificial-life/

Inhibiting One Enzyme May Allow Us to Extend the Human Lifespan

https://futurism.com/inhibiting-one-enzyme-may-allow-us-to-extend-the-human-lifespan/

Oxford Study Says Alien Life Would Evolve and Adapt Just Like Life on Earth

https://singularityhub.com/2017/12/04/oxford-study-says-alien-life-would-evolve-and-adapt-just-like-life-earth/

Two conflicting views on whether there will be an intelligence explosion

The Impossibility of Intelligence Explosion:

https://medium.com/@francois.chollet/the-impossibility-of-intelligence-explosion-5be4a9eda6ec

The Possibility of a Deep Intelligence Learning Explosion:

https://medium.com/intuitionmachine/the-possibility-of-an-intelligence-explosion-b4617a95c9b9

Forget Cyborgs — Biohybrid Robots Are Almost Here

Not creepy in the slightest....

https://www.livescience.com/61058-biohybrid-robots.html

Lab-Grown "Clean Meat" is Almost Here. Will You Eat It?

Ethical vegetarians and vegans rejoice!

http://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/lab-grown-clean-meat-is-almost-here-will-you-eat-it

Quantum Computers Bust Problem Conventional Computers Can't Solve

https://www.livescience.com/61054-quantum-computer-50-qubits.html

Biodegradable nanobots could help treat cancer

A crude version of what nanotech has been promising:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/11/24/biodegradable-nanobots-could-help-treat-cancer/

Automation could kill 73 million U.S. jobs by 2030

Ah, but when A.I. is good enough, there won't be ANY jobs humans can do better:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/11/29/automation-could-kill-73-million-u-s-jobs-2030/899878001/

9 Robot Animals Built From Nature’s Best-Kept Secrets

There are some very cool and creepy designs here:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/11/28/9-robot-animals-built-from-natures-best-kept-secrets/

Soft robot muscles with origami skeletons can lift 1,000 times their own weight

Not as effective for the robot uprising, but surely useful:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/27/16705062/soft-robot-muscles-origami-skeleton-mit-harvard

New Video Shows a Creepily Human-Like Robot Doing a Backflip

The robots are coming...and they are already able to perform feats of agility that most humans can't do:

https://www.livescience.com/60968-atlas-robot-does-backflip.html

Thought-Controlled Prosthetic Hand Restores 100 Realistic Touch Sensations

The full sense of touch changes everything for prosthetics:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/11/27/thought-controlled-prosthetic-hand-delivers-100-realistic-sensations/

8 Ways AI Will Transform Our Cities by 2030

https://singularityhub.com/2017/11/25/8-ways-ai-will-transform-our-cities-by-2030/

5 Wild Biotech Products That Will Touch Our Lives in the Near Future

https://singularityhub.com/2017/11/24/5-wild-biotech-products-of-the-future/#sm.00001g3d7gpenudfdw2drrty4172v

“All-Solid-State” Battery Offers Better Performance and Improved Safety

https://scitechdaily.com/all-solid-state-battery-offers-better-performance-and-improved-safety/

CRISPR Can Now Hitch a Ride on Nanoparticles to Battle Disease

The potential here is tremendous:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/11/22/crispr-can-now-hitch-a-ride-on-nanoparticles-to-battle-disease/

New Mind-Controlled Prosthetics Are Poised To Transform Humanity

https://futurism.com/new-mind-controlled-prosthetics-poised-transform-humanity/

This Humanoid Robot May be Your Next Assistant

Full-body waldoes should open the world to a wide variety of capabilities, like virtual surgery and safer hazardous environment work:

https://futurism.com/humanoid-robot-may-next-assistant/

Lie-detector avatar in testing for travel use

This seems a little 1984-ish, but it's will surely become part of future air travel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6sRtiBdUbE

For the First Time, a Robot Passed a Medical Licensing Exam

This is potentially huge:

https://futurism.com/first-time-robot-passed-medical-licensing-exam/

Damn, China again!

The Robot Revolution Is Coming. Just Be Patient.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-11-16/the-robot-revolution-is-coming-just-be-patient

The Three Way Race to the Future of AI. Quantum vs. Neuromorphic vs. High Performance Computing

https://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/the-three-way-race-to-the-future-of-ai-quantum-vs-neuromorphic-vs

Scientists Have Found the First Ever Anti-Aging Genetic Mutation

Not exactly anti-aging, but a 10% life extension isn't bad:

https://futurism.com/scientists-found-first-anti-aging-genetic-mutation/

A Device to Increase Human Memory Has Been Implanted, and It Works

"The improvement they achieved in subjects’ scores was startling: Short-term memory improved by 15% and working memory by roughly 25%."

Is this the first real cybernetic improvement to the human brain?

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/a-device-to-increase-human-memory-has-been-implanted-and-it-works

Biohackers are using CRISPR on their DNA and we can’t stop it

Welcome to the wild world of homegrown gene splicing!

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23631520-100-biohackers-are-using-crispr-on-their-dna-and-we-cant-stop-it/

Iron-Air Batteries Promise Higher Energy Density Than Lithium-Ion Batteries

They don't last for many charges yet, but it's another battery option to add to the mix:

https://scitechdaily.com/iron-air-batteries-promise-higher-energy-density-than-lithium-ion-batteries/

Boston Dynamics CEO Believes Robotics Will Become “Bigger Than the Internet”

Watch the TED Talk video:

https://futurism.com/boston-dynamics-ceo-believes-robotics-bigger-internet/

How Physicists Smashed the Quantum Light Measurement Limit

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/how-physicists-smashed-the-quantum-light-measurement-limit

In a Major First, Scientists Edit DNA Within the Human Body

And now the test of the amazing potential begins:

https://gizmodo.com/in-a-major-first-scientists-edit-dna-within-the-human-1820469921

Humans Have Regenerative Abilities—Scientists Just Need to Turn Them On

We could all use some of this eventually:

http://bigthink.com/videos/chris-loose-humans-have-regenerative-abilities-scientists-just-need-to-turn-them-on

Growing Human Mini Brains in Rats Isn’t an Ethical Concern…Yet

Umm...are we talking ultimately giving human-level intelligence to non-human animals?

https://futurism.com/human-mini-brains-rats-ethical-concern/

Inside the mechanical brain of the world’s first robot citizen

Certainly not there yet, but the video is still interesting:

https://qz.com/1121547/how-smart-is-the-first-robot-citizen/

Are We on the Verge of a New Golden Age?

This would coincide nicely with a surge in growth in A.I., robotics and nanotech:

https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Are-We-on-the-Verge-of-a-New-Golden-Age?gko=f0fed

CRISPR 2.0 Is Here, and It’s Way More Precise

This is getting powerful:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609203/crispr-20-is-here-and-its-way-more-precise/

IBM Just Announced a 50-Qubit Quantum Computer

Still not ready for prime time, though...

https://futurism.com/ibm-announced-50-qubit-quantum-computer/

Anti-Aging Stem Cell Therapy Shows “Remarkable” Results in Human Trials

Looking forward to becoming a vampire!

http://bigthink.com/stephen-johnson/anti-aging-stem-cell-therapy-shows-remarkable-results-in-human-clinical-trials

JinkoSolar lighting up solar efficiency record scoreboard

Small but significant increases:

https://electrek.co/2017/11/08/jinkosolar-lighting-up-solar-efficiency-record-scoreboard/

Andrew Ng Says Enough Papers, Let’s Build AI Now!

Is it possible we’re ready to create true A.I. now?

https://medium.com/@Synced/andrew-ng-says-enough-papers-lets-build-ai-now-6b52d24bcd58

Buh-Bye, ‘Traditional’ Neural Networks. Hello, Capsules.

Another approach to machine learning:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/buh-bye-traditional-neural-networks-hello-capsules

NASA has found another 20 promising planets for humans to colonize

Just because this is cool to know:

https://qz.com/1117466/nasa-has-found-another-20-promising-planets-for-humans-to-colonize/

What AI Can Now Do Is Remarkable—But How It’s Learning Is More Significant

https://singularityhub.com/2017/11/03/what-ai-can-now-do-is-remarkable-but-how-its-learning-to-do-it-is-even-more-significant/

Saudi Arabia Is Building a $500-Billion New Territory Based on Tech and Liberal Values

Participating in this could be a wonderful experience. So ironic it's being built by stultified Saudi Arabia:

http://bigthink.com/design-for-good/saudi-arabia-is-building-a-utopian-city-to-herald-the-future-of-human-civillization

Artificial Intelligence: Beyond the Turing Test

Imitating human behavior vs. having human cognition:

https://futurism.com/videos/sponsored-artificial-intelligence-beyond-turing-test/

IBM’s New, Cutting Edge Tech Could Make Computers 200 Times Faster

“[T]his prototype technology is expected to yield 200x improvements in both speed and energy efficiency, making it highly suitable for enabling ultra-dense, low-power, and massively-parallel computing systems for applications in AI,”

https://futurism.com/ibms-new-cutting-edge-tech-could-make-computers-200-times-faster/

The Web Began Dying in 2014. Here's How.

How Google, Facebook and Amazon are taking over the Internet:

https://staltz.com/the-web-began-dying-in-2014-heres-how.html

Wind Power Set a New Renewable Energy Record in Europe Last Week

"Denmark regularly gets more than 100 percent of its energy from wind (and hit 109% last weekend), while wind frequently provides Germany more than half of its electricity."

https://futurism.com/wind-power-set-a-new-renewable-energy-record-in-europe-last-week/

The Rise of Conscious AI is Just Decades Away

A rundown on the state of A.I.:

https://futurism.com/conscious-ai-decades-away/

Here’s How to Get to Conscious Machines, Neuroscientists Say

An interesting approach:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/11/01/heres-how-to-get-to-conscious-machines-neuroscientists-say/

Apple's Future Computer: The Knowledge Navigator

Their prediction of computers and Internet access...from 1987:

https://futurism.com/videos/apple-computer-future/

Not too far off!

The era of easily faked, AI-generated photos is quickly emerging

https://qz.com/1115353/new-research-from-nvidia-shows-that-the-era-of-easily-faked-ai-generated-photos-is-quickly-emerging/

MIT researchers trained AI to write horror stories based on 140,000 Reddit posts

Not ready for prime time yet, but it's getting there:

https://qz.com/1115179/mit-used-data-from-reddit-to-train-an-ai-to-tell-horror-stories/

Scientists break new ground in memory technology

Impressive: "a novel thin, organic film that supports a million more times read-write cycles and consumes 1,000 times less power than commercial flash memories" and "the researchers are also looking at fabricating multi-state memories to produce neuromorphic memory devices (that resemble the brain) for artificial intelligence (AI) applications":

https://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=48404.php

Amazon Is Quietly Building the Robots of Sci-Fi—Piece by Practical Piece

Amazon is uniquely positioned to build the kinds of robots we REALLY want:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/10/29/amazon-is-quietly-building-the-robots-of-sci-fi-piece-by-practical-piece/

The Real Story of Automation Beginning with One Simple Chart

A good look at the statistics behind trends in automation and its effects on economics:

https://medium.com/basic-income/the-real-story-of-automation-beginning-with-one-simple-chart-8b95f9bad71b

Technology That Sucks CO2 From Ambient Air is Already Used Commercially in Switzerland and Iceland

This needs to scale, but it's a brilliant solution (at least until we have advanced nanotech to do the job even more efficiently and larger scale):

http://bigthink.com/design-for-good/technology-that-sucks-co2-from-ambient-air-is-already-used-commercially-in-switzerland-and-iceland

Researchers watch video images people are seeing, decoded from their fMRI brain scans in near-real-time

Here comes mind reading:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/researchers-watch-video-images-people-are-seeing-decoded-from-their-fmri-brain-scans-in-near-real-time

Solar power crushes its own record for cheapest electricity ‘ever, anywhere, by any technology’

Wow: "The lowest price for solar power last year is the highest price now." That's not for the US, but still...

https://thinkprogress.org/stunner-lowest-price-solar-power-f3b620d04010/

DARPA’s New Brain Device Increases Learning Speed by 40%

"Advancements in technology seem to be bringing us closer to a future in which quickly leveling-up intelligence is a real possibility." Leveling-up. Hah!

https://futurism.com/darpas-new-brain-device-increases-learning-speed-by-40/

Daimler, Parent Company of Mercedes, Unveils an Electric Truck Ahead of Tesla

First electric truck:

https://futurism.com/daimler-parent-company-of-mercedes-unveils-an-electric-truck-ahead-of-tesla/

IBM scientists say radical new ‘in-memory’ computing architecture will speed up computers by 200 times

200 times? Wowsers:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/ibm-scientists-say-radical-new-in-memory-computing-architecture-will-speed-up-computers-by-200-times

Scientists Want to Create a Universe in a Lab, And They Actually Could

So much for the necessity of God:

https://futurism.com/scientists-may-create-universe-actually-could/

Is Technology Really Going to Destroy More Jobs Than Ever Before?

Another person missing the point that history isn't a guide to job loss from automation when the automation in question is the development of artificial intelligence more capable than any human:

https://futurism.com/technology-destroy-jobs/

AlphaGo Zero trains itself to be most powerful Go player in the world

Alpha-Go just keeps on getting smarter:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/alphago-zero-trains-itself-to-be-most-powerful-go-player-in-the-world

Armed Ground Robots to Fight in the Ukrainian Conflict, Ushering in a New Age of Warfare

It's happening whether we want it or not:

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/robot-wars-are-here-as-ukraine-plans-to-use-them-against-russia

There’s No Fire Alarm for Artificial General Intelligence

A long article, but has some interesting insights about how badly people can underestimate how quickly new technologies can arrive:

https://intelligence.org/2017/10/13/fire-alarm/

Nanoelectronics breakthrough could lead to more efficient quantum devices

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/10/18/nanoelectronics-breakthrough-could-lead-to-more-efficient-quantum-devices/

New Simple Device Uses Sound Waves to Store Quantum Information

You think computers are too noisy now?

https://scitechdaily.com/new-simple-device-uses-sound-waves-to-store-quantum-information/

Controlled by a synthetic gene circuit, self-assembling bacteria build working electronic sensors

Self-healing materials. I like it:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/controlled-by-a-synthetic-gene-circuit-self-assembling-bacteria-build-working-electronic-sensors

Robotic Farm Completes 1st Fully Autonomous Harvest

This is one of those images of "the future" that is now arriving:

https://www.livescience.com/60567-robotically-tended-farm-completes-first-harvest.html

A long interview with Ray Kurzweil from 1999

He notes that there will be more technological change by 2020 than there was in the entire 20th century. It doesn't feel that way...but perhaps it's true:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97c2ezJ_1U8&feature=youtu.be

“Skyrmions” Could Provide a Way to Bypass the Limits to Moore’s Law

https://scitechdaily.com/skyrmions-could-provide-a-way-to-bypass-the-limits-to-moores-law/

How AI Learned to Bluff and Beat Humans at Poker

A.I. beats yet another master player at yet another game, this time learning how to capitalize on the weaknesses of its human opponents:

http://bigthink.com/david-ryan-polgar/poker-is-harder-for-ai-to-master-than-chess-ai-has-now-learned-to-bluff-and-beat-humans

The World’s 1st Molecular Robot Has Just Been Created by UK Scientists

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/the-worlds-1st-molecular-robot-has-been-created-by-uk-scientists

It's worth watching the Michio Kaku video. He postulates that mature nanotech may be 100 years out, but that's likely highly pessimistic.

Daddy's Car: a song composed by Artificial Intelligence - in the style of the Beatles

This is over a year old, but it shows how artificial intelligence can create music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSHZ_b05W7o

Not my favorite pieces, but it would not be too out of place on the radio.

The Coming Creativity Explosion Belongs to the Machines

Why should creativity be any different from other forms of intelligence?

https://singularityhub.com/2017/10/01/the-coming-creativity-explosion-will-belong-to-the-machines

Artificial Intelligence Is Our Future. But Will It Save Or Destroy Humanity?

Different views on our future with A.I.:

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence-is-our-future-but-will-it-save-or-destroy-humanity/

New Data Shows Progress in Fight Against Climate Change

Total emissions need to go substantially negative, but this is a good sign:

https://futurism.com/new-data-shows-progress-in-fight-against-climate-change/

Researchers Develop Regenerative Medicine Breakthrough

Watch the video. This sounds like pure science fiction:

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/mediaroom/pressreleaselisting/researchers-develop-regenerative-medicine-breakthrough

This New 'Perfect' Battery Has Experts Stumped

Could be too good to be true, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAg_8iCLIIw&feature=youtu.be

Intel Jumps Into Brain-Like Computing With New Self-Learning Chip

"Once complete, it will feature 130,000 neurons and 130 million synaptic connections split between 128 computing cores. The device will be 1,000 times more energy-efficient than standard approaches, according to Mayberry, but more impressive are claims the chip will be capable of continuous learning."

https://singularityhub.com/2017/09/29/intels-new-brain-like-chip-will-learn-on-the-fly/

Go Anywhere On Earth In Under An Hour For The Price Of An Economy Air Ticket

Apart from the technical feasibility, I wonder about the energy usage and environmental cost:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/elon-musk-bfr-travel_us_59cddc0ae4b05f005d33550a

Is the Whole Brain Inside a Big, Previously Unnoticed Neuron?

Something else to try reproducing with computer technology:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/is-the-whole-brain-inside-a-big-previously-unnoticed-neuron

How Close Is Turing’s Dream of Conversational Machines?

https://singularityhub.com/2017/09/27/how-close-is-turings-dream-of-conversational-machines/

Researchers Develop Wearable Solar Thermoelectric Generator

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/9/27/researchers-develop-wearable-solar-thermoelectric-generator/

EasyJet says it could be flying electric planes within a decade

I'll bet they have switchable batteries:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/27/easyjet-electric-planes-wright-electric-flights

Dyson to make electric cars from 2020

Yet another hat in the ring. No details yet, though. But if they make the car like their vacuums, it'll really suck!

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41399497

Liz Parrish Is Patient Zero in Her Own Anti-Aging Experiment

She's putting her money where her mouth is, and I look forward to seeing the results:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2016/04/29/liz-parrish-is-an-ceo-and-patient-zero/#.WcwECGhSwaY

Dubai Says They Successfully Tested the First Autonomous Flying Taxi

https://futurism.com/dubai-says-they-successfully-tested-the-first-autonomous-flying-taxi/

New Simple Device Uses Sound Waves to Store Quantum Information

Gettin' weirder:

https://scitechdaily.com/new-simple-device-uses-sound-waves-to-store-quantum-information/

Researchers Claim They Just Invented The “Ultimate” Method for Quantum Computing

If increasing the number of cubits exponentially increases the processing power, then this would be insane:

https://futurism.com/researchers-claim-they-just-invented-the-ultimate-method-for-quantum-computing/

One of China’s Supercomputers Has Nearly Doubled its Power

I don't like China being in the lead on this:

https://futurism.com/one-of-chinas-supercomputers-has-nearly-doubled-its-power/

Physicists Just Quantum Teleported Complex Light Patterns For The First Time

https://futurism.com/physicists-just-quantum-teleported-complex-light-patterns-for-the-first-time/

This Robot Can be Controlled from Thousands of Miles Away

Waldos are growing up! I'm surprised the system doesn't use a glove to match hand motions exactly, though. But it's clear that this is how Russia is going to attack Germany remotely:

https://futurism.com/videos/this-robot-can-be-controlled-from-thousands-of-miles-away/

A Chinese Robot Has Performed the World's First Automated Dental Implant

And so goes the beginning of the end of the surgeon:

http://time.com/4952886/china-world-first-dental-surgery-robot-implant/

Nina Unlocked: A Robot Assassin Goes on a Quest of Self-Discovery

An interesting A.I. robot assassin interview story (low budget yet with some excellent F/X. Well, one):

https://youtu.be/jgfzlc6ymKU

Scientists remove one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots

Three times stronger than human muscle:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/scientists-remove-one-of-the-final-barriers-to-making-lifelike-robots

World's first 'molecular robot' capable of building molecules

Here we go!

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170920131744.htm

New system allows near-zero-power sensors to communicate data over long distances

http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-system-allows-near-zero-power-sensors-to-communicate-data-over-long-distances

Imagine how great universities could be without all those human teachers

https://qz.com/1065818/ai-university/

Researchers charge the energy landscape with novel device

Bonus: This is an energy generating device that improves with use:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/9/20/researchers-charge-the-energy-landscape-with-novel-device/

Scientists Demonstrate Efficient, Light-Powered Production of Fuel via Artificial Photosynthesis

This not only creates fuel, but reduces CO2 levels as well (although I've no idea whether it's enough to have an effect):

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-demonstrate-efficient-light-powered-production-of-fuel-via-artificial-photosynthesis/

A Material That Throws Heat into Space Could Soon Reinvent Air-Conditioning

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608840/a-material-that-throws-heat-into-space-could-soon-reinvent-air-conditioning/

China Signed a $300 Million Lab-Grown Meat Deal with Israel

Freedom of consumption for ethical eaters:

https://futurism.com/china-signed-a-300-million-lab-grown-meat-deal-with-israel/

Tesla intentionally makes some of its cars worse, and it’s good for everybody

Maybe it's good overall...but I would feel cheated regardless:

https://qz.com/1074721/tesla-intentionally-makes-some-of-their-cars-worse-and-its-good-for-everybody/?mc_cid=8b782b7097&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

Walking DNA nanorobot could deliver a drug to a precise location in your body

http://www.kurzweilai.net/walking-dna-nanorobot-could-deliver-a-drug-to-a-precise-location-in-your-body

‘Cellular Time Machine’ Slows Aging, Extends Lifespan

https://scitechdaily.com/cellular-time-machine-slows-aging-extends-lifespan/

Solar Energy Just Cleared a Pricing Target Set for 2020

Nice!

https://futurism.com/solar-energy-just-cleared-a-pricing-target-set-for-2020/

Robots will become smarter than humans by 2029, says HP Chief Technology Officer Shane Wall

http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/robots-will-become-smarter-than-humans-by-2029-says-hp-chief-technology-officer-shane-wall/852746/

Solar Power Is Getting Cheaper—But How Do We Overcome Its Limits?

https://singularityhub.com/2017/09/14/solar-power-is-getting-cheaper-but-how-do-we-overcome-its-limits

FDA Breaks New Ground With First Approved Gene Therapy for Cancer

Expensive, but those costs will come down:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/09/13/fda-breaks-new-ground-with-first-approved-gene-therapy-for-cancer/

With Revolutionary Battery Tech, We Can Shift Global Energy To Renewables, Says Bill Joy

If this is actually as functional and efficient as this says it is, the game will change very soon:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-battery-technology_us_59aea591e4b0dfaafcf28e20

The First Track of the First Album Composed and Produced by AI

It's going to throw a lot of people for a loop when A.I. starts writing music that's better than anything humans can do (and it will happen eventually), since music is about evoking emotion, something that's supposed to be uniquely human:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/the-first-track-of-the-first-album-composed-and-produced-by-ai

New AI can guess whether you're gay or straight from a photograph

A.I. now has better gaydar than humans:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/07/new-artificial-intelligence-can-tell-whether-youre-gay-or-straight-from-a-photograph

I ran pictures of you guys through the system, and it turns out you're all gay. Not surprising, since you were all smiling....

Texas Wind Turbines Went Right on Turning Under Harvey’s Impact, as Refineries Shut Down

Another reason to push for alternative energy sources:

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/03/texas-wind-turbines-went-right-turning-under-harveys-impact-refineries-shut-down

IBM Just Committed $240 Million to the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Good to see:

https://futurism.com/ibm-just-committed-240-million-to-the-future-of-artificial-intelligence/

Engineers Develop a Radical New Architecture for Quantum Computing

https://scitechdaily.com/engineers-develop-a-radical-new-architecture-for-quantum-computing/

Here's When Machines Will Take Your Job, as Predicted by AI Gurus

Better save up for retirement!

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/heres-when-machines-will-take-your-job-predict-ai-gurus

A single-molecule room-temperature transistor made from 14 atoms

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-single-molecule-room-temperature-transistor-made-from-14-atoms

China Is Making a 2,500mph "Flying Train" to Compete With Elon Musk's Hyperloops

This would blow the hyperloop out of the water, assuming it's viable:

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/china-is-making-a-flying-train-that-can-go-2500-mph-to-compete-with-hyperloops

We May Have Just Uncovered a Serious Problem With How AI “See”

One more problem with driverless cars (for now):

https://futurism.com/we-may-have-just-uncovered-a-serious-problem-with-how-ai-see/

Stop signs can be recognized not just by the word, but also the shape and color. Understanding context is critical; if someone stuck a stop sign out a car window on the freeway, that could cause an instant disaster.

AI is Developing Faster than Experts Imagined. Do We Need a Speed Limit?

https://futurism.com/ai-is-developing-faster-than-experts-imagined-do-we-need-a-speed-limit/

New Report Claims UBI Would Grow the U.S. Economy by $2.5 Trillion

It's hard to see how it could grow the economy, especially this much, but here you go:

https://futurism.com/new-report-claims-ubi-would-grow-the-u-s-economy-by-2-5-trillion/

A Bionic Lens Undergoing Clinical Trials Could Give You Superhuman Abilities In Two Years

Seriously want! This is possibly the first "real" bionic device (in that it improves function with no downsides):

http://bigthink.com/design-for-good/a-bionic-lens-undergoing-clinical-trials-could-give-you-superhuman-abilities-in-two-years

That video is long, but it describes the eye integrating with the digital world.

Why We Should Really Stop Trying to Contact Aliens

A depressing but reasonable assessment:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/why-we-should-really-stop-trying-to-contact-aliens

New Electric Body Board Hits Speeds of up to 20 Mph

Want!

https://futurism.com/videos/new-electric-body-board-hits-speeds-of-up-to-20-mph/

More details:

http://newatlas.com/jet-powered-kymera-body-board-first-ride/43919/

Watch Elon Musk’s Hyperloop “Pusher Pod” Set a New Speed Record

I still don't think a hyperloop would be feasible for a number of reasons (maintaining a vacuum over long distances and vulnerability to terrorism and accidents being two of the biggest issues), but there is some useful research coming out of it:

https://futurism.com/watch-elon-musks-hyperloop-pusher-pod-set-a-new-speed-record/

Silk Spun by Graphene-Fed Spiders Is One of the Strongest Materials on Earth

Now THIS is "biotechnology":

https://futurism.com/silk-spun-by-graphene-fed-spiders-is-one-of-the-strongest-materials-on-earth/

Nanomachines that drill into cancer cells killing them in just 60 seconds developed by scientists

Very cool potential:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nanomachines-drill-cancer-cells-killing-172442363.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb

We May Finally Have a Way to Cheaply Manufacture Pure Graphene

https://futurism.com/we-may-finally-have-a-way-to-cheaply-manufacture-pure-graphene/

More Renewable Power is Entering Our Grids, Making Clean Driving Even Cleaner

https://futurism.com/more-renewable-power-is-entering-our-grids-making-clean-driving-even-cleaner/

Major leap towards storing data at the molecular level

Great! Apart from that bit about the required temperature being lower than liquid Nitrogen...

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/8/25/major-leap-towards-storing-data-at-the-molecular-level/

One Class of Jobs That Even the Most Sophisticated AI Can't Replace

I think this guy is WAY too optimistic about the jobs he says A.I. won't be able to replace. Even non-sentient A.I. should be able to use enough social observation to learn what to say and how to act to eventually replace humans in social fields:

http://bigthink.com/videos/andrew-mcafee-one-class-of-jobs-that-even-the-most-sophisticated-ai-cant-replace

Neuralink and the Brain’s Magical Future

Way too long an article, but an interesting deep dive into A.I.:

https://waitbutwhy.com/2017/04/neuralink.html

New Mini-Antennae Could Pave the Way for Brain-Computer Interfaces

https://futurism.com/new-mini-antennae-could-pave-the-way-for-brain-computer-interfaces/

Why People May Have Pig Organs Inside Them One Day

Pig organs could become superior to human organs, allowing for enhanced humans:

http://time.com/4910657/why-people-may-have-pig-organs-inside-them-one-day/

Sucks for the pigs, though.

MIT Researchers Have Discovered a Way to Increase Nuclear Fusion’s Energy Output

Energy output is 10x higher? But weren't they already close to energy input-output parity? Surely this would put it way over the top:

https://futurism.com/mit-researchers-have-discovered-a-way-to-increase-nuclear-fusions-energy-output/

Microsoft’s Speech Recognition is Now as Good as a Human Transcriber

The days of the professional translator are numbered (yes, I'm looking at you, Piglit):

https://futurism.com/microsofts-speech-recognition-is-now-as-good-as-a-human-transcriber/

Elon Musk’s Research Venture Has Trained AI To Teach Itself

And this is how the technological singularity is supposed to start:

https://futurism.com/elon-musks-research-venture-has-trained-ai-to-teach-itself/

A breakthrough new method for 3D-printing living tissues

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-breakthrough-new-method-for-3d-printing-living-tissues

The future of warfare is just drones strapped with machine guns

Of course this was coming:

https://qz.com/1058726/the-future-of-warfare-is-just-drones-strapped-with-machine-guns/

New Wind Energy Study Aims to Break Transmission Barriers

http://www.triplepundit.com/2016/10/new-wind-energy-study-aims-break-transmission-barriers/

The Wireless Charging of Moving Electric Vehicles Just Overcame A Major Hurdle

https://futurism.com/the-wireless-charging-of-moving-electric-vehicles-just-overcame-a-major-hurdle/

CRISPR Co-Discoverer: “I’ve Never Seen Science Move at the Pace It’s Moving Now”

https://futurism.com/crispr-co-discoverer-ive-never-seen-science-move-at-the-pace-its-moving-now/

The “Quantum Internet” Is Just a Decade Away. Here’s What You Need to Know.

Again, not too keen on the Chinese being at the forefront of this:

https://futurism.com/the-quantum-internet-is-just-a-decade-away-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

New Tech Is Giving Humanity Many Potential Paths to Immortality

Well, a few:

https://futurism.com/new-tech-is-giving-humanity-many-potential-paths-to-immortality/

These 7 Forces Are Changing the World at an Extraordinary Rate

https://singularityhub.com/2017/08/16/why-the-world-is-getting-better-at-an-extraordinary-rate/

One of the biggest criticisms against wind and solar energy has been quashed

https://qz.com/1054992/renewable-subsidies-are-already-paying-for-themselves/?mc_cid=0cb73c29b6&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

Automation may take our jobs—but it’ll restore our humanity

I think this guy completely misses the boat on his assessment:

https://qz.com/1054034/automation-may-take-our-jobs-but-itll-restore-our-humanity/

He seems to think that because artificial intelligence can't beat us NOW in creativity and other human-exclusive mental traits, there will always be places for human minds to succeed better than A.I. But A.I. is not going to stop advancing. At some point (soon) it will improve on EVERY aspect of human intelligence...and then there will be no place for the human mind to excel.

Investment Bank Report Predicts the Cost of Electric Vehicles Will Match Regular Cars by 2018

https://futurism.com/investment-bank-report-predicts-the-cost-of-electric-vehicles-will-match-regular-cars-by-2018/

Toyota Just Patented a “Cloaking Device”

https://futurism.com/toyota-just-patented-a-cloaking-device/

Researchers Have Officially Discovered a New Kind of Chemical Reaction

A whole new line of science just opened up:

https://futurism.com/researchers-have-officially-discovered-a-new-kind-of-chemical-reaction/

New Study Reveals Stem Cells from Young Hearts May Help Reverse the Aging Process

This is impressive! Well, they always say you should be young at heart....

https://futurism.com/new-study-reveals-stem-cells-from-young-hearts-may-help-reverse-the-aging-process/

Good and bad news for Watson

The good: IBM Watson Makes a Treatment Plan for Brain Cancer Patient in 10 Minutes; Doctors Take 160 Hours:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/diagnostics/ibm-watson-makes-treatment-plan-for-brain-cancer-patient-in-10-minutes-doctors-take-160-hours

The bad: Why Everyone Is Hating on IBM Watson—Including the People Who Helped Make It:

http://gizmodo.com/why-everyone-is-hating-on-watson-including-the-people-w-1797510888

This Elon Musk-Backed Startup Just Used AI to Defeat a Pro Gamer

Another game--this one much more complicated than Go--bites the A.I. dust:

http://fortune.com/2017/08/12/musk-ai-game/

Cancer's Newest Miracle Cure

The beginning of the end for cancer?

http://time.com/4895010/cancers-newest-miracle-cure/

Researchers Develop Bendable Batteries That Could Make Implants and Wearables Safer

https://futurism.com/researchers-develop-bendable-batteries-that-could-make-implants-and-wearables-safer/

Why It’s Taking Less and Less to Manufacture More of the Things We Want

Achieving mature nanotech will only extend this even more dramatically:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/08/11/why-its-taking-less-and-less-to-manufacture-more-of-the-things-we-want/

Humans and robots are on the cusp of a sexual intimacy we may never reverse

Smart phones have degraded social skills too, but nobody wants to give up their smart phones:

https://qz.com/1049138/sex-with-robots-is-on-the-cusp-of-becoming-a-worrying-reality-warns-a-robot-ethicist/

Scientists Hit Breakthrough In Quest To Transplant Pig Organs Into Humans

As Helmut Hassenpheffer would say, you can take the PERV out of the pig, but you can't take the pig out of the perv:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pig-organ-human-transplant-virus-free_us_598b18f1e4b0d793738bde3d

World’s Leading Physicist Says Quantum Computers Are “Tools of Destruction, Not Creation”

Am I mistaken in thinking that an easy way to thwart quantum computers attempting to break encryption or passwords would be to simply physically allow only one attempt per, say, five seconds? A one-in-a-billion chance per attempt would thus take almost 160 years.

https://futurism.com/worlds-leading-physicist-says-quantum-computers-are-tools-of-destruction-not-creation/

What Are the Ethical Consequences of Immortality Technology?

Nothing new, but a good summary:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/08/09/what-are-the-ethical-consequences-of-immortality-technology/

'Self-driving car' actually controlled by man dressed up as a car seat

Shit's gettin' weird:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/08/self-driving-autonomous-vehicle-man-dressed-up-as-car-seat-arlington-virginia-tech-university

Scientists Develop Nano-chip To Heal Damaged Organs In A Single Touch

Okay, now this sounds like the stuff of science fiction:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/8/7/scientists-develop-nano-chip-to-heal-damaged-organs-in-a-single-touch/

Blocking HDAC2 Enzyme May Reverse Memory Loss Caused by Alzheimer’s Disease

And more promising Alzheimer's treatments:

https://scitechdaily.com/blocking-hdac2-enzyme-may-reverse-alzheimers-disease-memory-loss/

An Algorithm Trained on Emoji Knows When You’re Being Sarcastic on Twitter

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608387/an-algorithm-trained-on-emoji-knows-when-youre-being-sarcastic-on-twitter/?mc_cid=9c1e27a966&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

11 Incredible Things CRISPR Has Helped Us Achieve in 2017

https://futurism.com/11-incredible-things-crispr-has-helped-us-achieve-in-2017/

Study Shows Lysosomes Greatly Accelerate Formation of Amyloid Plaques

A promising treatment to keep us from losing our minds before advanced nanotech comes along?

https://scitechdaily.com/study-shows-lysosomes-greatly-accelerate-formation-of-amyloid-plaques/

California Aims to Use 100% Renewable Energy by 2045

We keep leading the nation on the environment:

https://futurism.com/california-aims-to-use-100-renewable-energy-by-2045/

Breakthrough Stem Cell Study Offers New Clues to Reversing Aging

Another big potential game-changer:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/08/06/these-stem-cells-are-key-to-controlling-aging/

Chinese chatbots apparently re-educated after political faux pas

And here's a good reason why having China dominate A.I. research is a bad idea:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-robots-idUSKBN1AK0G1

1984 much?

Why China’s AI push is worrying

I'm not the only one concerned about China's growing efforts in A.I. and other high-tech fields:

https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21725561-state-controlled-corporations-are-developing-powerful-artificial-intelligence-why-chinas-ai-push

China Is On its Way to Being the Next Tech Superpower

Damn, I wish it were almost any other Asian country:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/08/03/china-is-on-its-way-to-being-the-next-tech-superpower/

U.S. Scientists Use CRISPR to Fix Genetic Disease in Human Embryos For the First Time

More and better detail about the first CRISPR-edited embryo in the US:

http://time.com/4882855/crispr-gene-editing-human-embryo/?xid=newsletter-brief

Hyperloop One Passes Second Full System Test — Faster Than Ever Before

I'm still highly skeptical that all the many hurdles can be handled, but here is a more successful test than the last one:

https://futurism.com/hyperloop-one-passes-second-full-system-test-faster-than-ever-before/

First U.S. Human Embryo Gene Editing Experiment Successfully “Corrects” a Heart Condition

And more on CRIPR in its first US test on a live embryo:

https://futurism.com/first-u-s-human-embryo-gene-editing-experiment-successfully-corrects-a-heart-condition/

Metal instability achieves energy-efficient nanotechnology

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/7/31/metal-instability-achieves-energy-efficient-nanotechnology

Facebook didn’t kill its language-building AI because it was too smart—it was actually too dumb

A correction:

https://qz.com/1043365/facebook-didnt-kill-its-language-building-ai-because-it-was-too-smart-it-was-actually-too-dumb/?mc_cid=8ea07c4332&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

The World’s First Functional Laser Weapon is Ready to Protect You

The age of the laser weapon is finally here:

https://futurism.com/the-worlds-first-functional-laser-weapon-is-ready-to-protect-you/

The Era of Human Gene Editing Is Here—What Happens Next Is Critical

Genetic engineering is upon us:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/31/the-era-of-human-gene-editing-is-here-what-happens-next-is-critical/

The First Major U.S. Bill on Self-Driving Cars Just Got House Committee Approval

Good, it's happening:

https://futurism.com/the-first-major-u-s-bill-on-self-driving-cars-just-got-house-committee-approval/

Fisticuffs Over the Route to a Clean-Energy Future

Maybe going completely solar and wind is going to be a lot harder than anticipated? The article doesn't take into account technological advancement, though:

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/business/energy-environment/renewable-energy-national-academy-matt-jacobson.html

China's Greening of the Vast Kubuqi Desert is a Model for Land Restoration Projects Everywhere

I hate that it's China, of all countries, that's leading the way, but they get it:

http://time.com/4851013/china-greening-kubuqi-desert-land-restoration/?xid=newsletter-brief

AI Is Inventing Languages Humans Can’t Understand. Should We Stop It?

This is fascinating...and more than a little creepy:

https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-ai-is-inventing-languages-humans-cant-u/f-df264acd3d%2Ffastcodesign.com

Neuroreality: The New Reality is Coming. And It’s a Brain Computer Interface.

Sounds good, although I would like my VR experience to be physical too, not just mental. VR is an opportunity to get good exercise and physical training that regular computer games don't give you:

https://futurism.com/neuroreality-the-new-reality-is-coming-and-its-a-brain-computer-interface/

How Robots Are Getting Better at Making Sense of the World

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/26/how-robots-are-getting-better-at-making-sense-of-the-world/

This 3-D Printed Invention Earns Three Thumbs Up

This is when prosthetics gets interesting: when they're designed to go BEYOND human capabilities, rather than just mitigate disability:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-3-d-printed-invention-earns-three-thumbs-up_us_5977cda2e4b0e201d579581b

When Will AI Be Better Than Humans at Everything? 352 AI Experts Answer

This is probably the best prognostication for A.I. achievement as we're likely to get:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/25/when-will-ai-be-better-than-humans-at-everything-352-ai-experts-answer/

It doesn't look good for a rapid technological singularity...but then the prognosticators in 2015 thought A.I. wouldn't beat the game Go until 2027...only to have it occur in 2016, and this year A.I. beat the best human player.

Geothermal: Iceland Aims to Revolutionize Renewable Energy

Expensive but otherwise quite viable:

http://time.com/4844086/geothermal-energy-iceland-deep-drilling-project/

Is anyone home? A way to find out if AI has become self-aware

The ACT is a test that is the opposite of the Turing test, designed to detect consciousness, not see if it can be emulated:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/is-anyone-home-a-way-to-find-out-if-ai-has-become-self-aware

This U.S. City Now Requires Solar Panels on all New Homes

Nice trend!

https://futurism.com/this-u-s-city-now-requires-solar-panels-on-all-new-homes/

New 3D Computer Chip Uses Nanotech to Boost Processing Power

Stacking chips (of the non-Pringles variety) has arrived:

https://www.livescience.com/59855-3d-computer-chip-boosts-processing-power.html

Alphabet’s X announces Glass Enterprise Edition, a hands-free device for hands-on workers

Making a better glasshole:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/alphabets-x-announces-glass-enterprise-edition-a-hands-free-device-for-hands-on-workers

How Batteries Could Revolutionize Renewable Energy

I'm doing my part...

http://time.com/4756648/batteries-clean-energy-renewables/

Drinking coffee associated with lower risk of death from all causes, study finds

I don't particularly like coffee, and I don't like the idea of being addicted to it, but at least it supposedly works with decaf too:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/drinking-coffee-associated-with-lower-risk-of-death-from-all-causes-study-finds

Neural stem cells steered by electric fields can repair brain damage

Do you think this would work on Trump?

http://www.kurzweilai.net/neural-stem-cells-steered-by-electric-fields-can-repair-brain-damage

Why Business Leaders Need to Read More Science Fiction

I would really like this job:

https://hbr.org/2017/07/why-business-leaders-need-to-read-more-science-fiction?mc_cid=ae5d6cf268&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

A New 3D Printed Bionic Hand Could Help Two Million Worldwide

It's the 3D printing part that's most impressive:

https://futurism.com/a-new-3d-printed-bionic-hand-could-help-two-million-worldwide/

Scientists May Have Just Created the Most Absorbent Solar Cell Ever

This is rather huge:

https://futurism.com/scientists-may-have-just-created-the-most-absorbent-solar-cell-ever/

We Worked Out What It Would Take to Wipe Out All Life on a Planet—and It’s Good News for Alien Hunters

Life will go on...

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/17/we-worked-out-what-it-would-take-to-wipe-out-all-life-on-a-planet-and-its-good-news-for-alien-hunters/

So if Mars ever had life...it may very well still have it.

Elon Musk Says Artificial Intelligence Is the ‘Greatest Risk We Face as a Civilization’

I just have this sneaking suspicion that Elon Musk is nowhere near as knowledgeable about certain subjects that people assume he's an expert in than he actually is:

http://fortune.com/2017/07/15/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-2/

Jefferies gives IBM Watson a Wall Street reality check

This is disappointing:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/13/jefferies-gives-ibm-watson-a-wall-street-reality-check/

Skim the Water in Your Own Hovering Speedboat

Yes, please:

https://futurism.com/videos/skim-the-water-in-your-own-hovering-speedboat/

Artificial Intelligence: it will kill us

A.I. superior to humans is already here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrNs0M77Pd4

Some enlightening stuff.

New Discovery Brings Us One Step Closer to Growing Replacement Organs

https://futurism.com/new-discovery-brings-us-one-step-closer-to-growing-replacement-organs/

This Tough Robot Is Capable of Running and Climbing Stairs

https://futurism.com/videos/this-tough-robot-is-capable-of-running-and-climbing-stairs/

How to turn audio clips into realistic lip-synced video

There's still the slightest bit of the uncanny valley there...but you might not even notice it if you weren't looking for it:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/how-to-turn-audio-clips-into-realistic-lip-synced-video

Researcher Demonstrates How to Suck Carbon from the Air, Make Stuff from It

Here's some reason for hope in reversing climate change:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/540706/researcher-demonstrates-how-to-suck-carbon-from-the-air-make-stuff-from-it/

"They calculate that given an area less than 10 percent of the size of the Sahara Desert, the method could remove enough carbon dioxide to make global atmospheric levels return to preindustrial levels within 10 years, even if we keep emitting the greenhouse gas at a high rate during that period."

But there are some problems with the process:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/531346/can-sucking-co2-out-of-the-atmosphere-really-work/

The Trouble with Transporters

These are the consequences I've always enjoyed presenting to fans of teleportation and mind uploading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI&app=desktop

Scientists Just Teleported a Photon from Earth to Orbit for the First Time

https://futurism.com/scientists-just-teleported-a-photon-from-earth-to-orbit-for-the-first-time/

Inside the startup that wants to mine asteroids and transform space travel forever

How to get more of certain valuable resources than we know what to do with:

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/asteroid-space-mining-phoenix-mars-chris-lewicki-planetary-resources

This Mini Wind Turbine Can Power Your Home in a Gentle Breeze

A quiet home windmill for a quarter the price of solar?

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/09/this-mini-wind-turbine-can-power-your-home-in-a-gentle-breeze

Doctor Octopus-esque robotic arm attachments will lend you an extra hand or two

I could definitely use one of these:

http://mashable.com/2017/07/05/robotic-arm-attachments/#aOqxub8kTiq0

Researchers create a 'battery-free' mobile phone

http://mashable.com/2017/07/08/battery-free-phone-research/#SNGNsSZhMaqh

Our Sexual Future With Robots

A detailed update on the current and near future state of sex robots:

http://responsiblerobotics.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/FRR-Consultation-Report-Our-Sexual-Future-with-robots_Final.pdf

If We Stopped Emitting Greenhouse Gases Right Now, Would We Stop Climate Change?

Well this is fucking depressing:

https://futurism.com/if-we-stopped-emitting-greenhouse-gases-right-now-would-we-stop-climate-change/

It seems only nanotech can get us back to the pre-industrial levels of C02.

Machine Reasoning Gets a Boost With This Simple New Algorithm

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/06/machine-reasoning-gets-a-boost-with-this-simple-new-algorithm/

To improve AI, scientists may have to make it worse

Sometimes it's good to forget:

https://qz.com/1021796/our-brains-are-able-to-forget-in-a-way-that-robots-cant/?mc_cid=c51a88a313&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

7 Ways Nanotechnology Could Combat Climate Change

This isn't thinking ahead very far at all:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/6/29/7-ways-nanotechnology-could-combat-climate-change

Like what about creating self-replicating assemblers that convert atmospheric carbon to raw material for industry? According to Engines of Creation, such a system, fully implemented, would in just ten years remove as much carbon dioxide as has been dumped into our atmosphere since the start of the industrial revolution.

“Bad Science” Is Everywhere. What Can We Do to Stop Its Spread?

I've been fighting fake news from creationists for almost 40 years!

https://futurism.com/bad-science-everywhere-what-can-stop-spread/

Forget Flying Cars, the Future Is Driving Drones

Well, maybe...

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/02/forget-flying-cars-the-future-is-driving-drones/

‘Mind reading’ technology identifies complex thoughts, using machine learning and fMRI

Another step on the path toward mind-reading technology:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/mind-reading-technology-identifies-complex-thoughts-using-machine-learning-and-fmri

I ask 100 information questions to four digital assistants. All of them fail at least half.

The current state of the most evident face of AI for the masses:

https://vlad.d2dx.com/the-great-assistant-skills-comparison-google-alexa-siri-and-cortana-head-off/

A Reality Check for IBM’s AI Ambitions

The hype and successes for Watson:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607965/a-reality-check-for-ibms-ai-ambitions/

Canada Is Building a 7 Megawatt-Hour Compressed Air Energy Storage Plant

Just imagine the pressures involved:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/07/01/canada-is-building-a-7-megawatt-hour-compressed-air-energy-storage-plant/

AI Just “Landed” a Boeing 737 for the First Time By Itself

Pilots' jobs are on the line:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/ai-just-landed-a-boeing-737-for-the-first-time-by-itself

Nanotech's Big Ideas: From Tumor Zappers to Space Elevators

Not much detail, but...

https://www.livescience.com/59661-future-of-nanotech-in-space-and-medicine.html

Ray Kurzweil: Our Brain Is a Blueprint for the Master Algorithm

This could simplify achieving true general A.I. much more quickly:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/30/ray-kurzweil-our-brain-is-a-blueprint-for-the-master-algorithm/

Here’s a First-Ever Look at the New Electric Vehicle That Charges in 9 Minutes

https://futurism.com/heres-a-first-ever-look-at-the-new-electric-vehicle-that-charges-in-9-minutes/

Wind Energy Has Officially Become Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels

https://futurism.com/wind-energy-has-officially-become-cheaper-than-fossil-fuels/

Solar will undoubtedly overtake wind (since solar need have no moving parts, and light is faster than wind ;-) ), but the more viable alternative options, the better.

Is the Brain Augmentation Hype Justified? Here’s an Expert’s Take

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/27/is-the-brain-augmentation-hype-justified-heres-an-experts-take/

New Material Could Lead to Devices That You Only Need to Charge Once Every Three Months

https://futurism.com/new-material-could-lead-to-devices-that-you-only-need-to-charge-once-every-three-months/

And surely this would spill over into other battery uses, perhaps even cars?

A New VR Headset That Mimics the Human Eye Has Been Unveiled

A major advance in VR:

https://futurism.com/a-new-vr-headset-that-mimics-the-human-eye-has-been/

"Its resolution is more than 70X beyond any other announced head-mounted display."

Is Universal Basic Income a Solution to Tech Unemployment?

Another UBI perspective:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/26/is-universal-basic-income-a-solution-to-tech-unemployment/

10 Amazing Things Scientists Just Did with CRISPR

https://www.livescience.com/59602-crispr-advances-gene-editing-field.html

6 Things Quantum Computers Will Be Incredibly Useful For

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/25/6-things-quantum-computers-will-be-incredibly-useful-for/

Physicists Propose a Mirror Universe Where Time Moves in the Opposite Direction

It's a hypothesis, not a theory, but an interesting one either way:

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/physicists-propose-a-mirror-universe-where-time-moves-in-the-opposite-direction

California is embarrassing the rest of the country with the amount of solar energy it's producing

Nice. But Arizona is ruining the good feels:

http://www.businessinsider.com/california-solar-industry-production-2017-6

Flying Cars Could Hit the Skies as Soon as 2018

I'm sure mass adoption of flying cars won't happen until the pilot's license part is removed...and that will require self-flying flying cars:

https://futurism.com/flying-cars-could-hit-the-skies-as-soon-as-2018/

Fusion Breakthrough Puts Us One Step Closer to Limitless Clean Energy

https://futurism.com/fusion-breakthrough-puts-us-one-step-closer-to-limitless-clean-energy/

Science Isn’t The Reason That Humans Can’t Live Forever

Funding is a major obstacle:

https://futurism.com/science-isnt-the-reason-that-humans-cant-live-forever/

Is There a Multidimensional Mathematical World Hidden in the Brain’s Computation?

I wonder what this implies for the timeline for developing human-level A.I.:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/21/is-there-a-multidimensional-mathematical-world-hidden-in-the-brains-computation/

New chemical method could revolutionize graphene use in electronics

http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-chemical-method-could-revolutionize-graphene-use-in-electronics

Graphene-based computer would be 1,000 times faster than silicon-based, use 100th the power

http://www.kurzweilai.net/graphene-based-computer-would-be-1000-times-faster-than-silicon-based-use-100th-the-power

New Aluminum Batteries Increase the Range of UUVs Tenfold

"New batteries that “drink” seawater could power long-range underwater vehicles, giving UUVs a tenfold increase in range over traditional lithium-ion batteries used for the same applications":

https://scitechdaily.com/new-aluminum-batteries-increase-range-uuvs-tenfold/

Only good for ocean exploration, but still...

Why Interstellar Travel Will Be Possible Sooner Than You Think

Breakthrough Starshot: how to get to the nearest stars within a couple of decades:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/18/why-interstellar-travel-will-be-possible-sooner-than-you-think

Renewable Energy in the U.S. Broke Energy Records for the First Time

https://futurism.com/renewable-energy-in-the-u-s-broke-energy-records-for-the-first-time/

This New Era of Automation Is Going to Completely Transform Our Way of Life

Great detail on how automation will destroy jobs:

https://futurism.com/videos/this-new-era-of-automation-is-going-to-completely-transform-our-way-of-life/

These 7 Disruptive Technologies Could Be Worth Trillions of Dollars

Now to figure out in which companies to invest....

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/16/the-disruptive-technologies-about-to-unleash-trillion-dollar-markets/

A New “Solar Paint” Lets You Transform Your Entire House Into a Source of Clean Energy

Yet another source of clean energy:

https://futurism.com/a-new-solar-paint-lets-you-transform-your-entire-house-into-a-source-of-clean-energy/

What if Every Prisoner in the US Produced Electricity?

Fight obesity and generate renewable energy in one step:

https://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/what-if-every-prisoner-in-the-us-produced-electricity.html

This is how Big Oil will die

Demand for oil will start crashing by 2025? It's all about the electric car and basic economics:

https://medium.com/@sethmiller_59231/this-is-how-big-oil-will-die-38b843bd4fe0

Why human intelligence isn’t a roadmap for AI

"Human intelligence is bloatware." Hah!

https://medium.com/towards-data-science/ai-roadmap-bc43d4cce490

Researchers decipher how faces are encoded in the brain

Here's to hoping all functions of thought and memory turn out to be so simple:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/researchers-decipher-how-faces-are-encoded-in-the-brain

Ray Kurzweil: Our Health Is About to Be Radically Transformed

Kurzweil predicting radical life extension technologies over the next one or two decades:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/09/​​ray-kurzweil-our-health-is-about-to-be-radically-transformed/

Technology Will Erase Jobs—But Also Make Everything Cheap or Free

It's already true that the poor of today in developed countries are far richer than kings of thousands of years ago:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/08/technology-will-erase-jobs-but-also-make-everything-cheap-or-free/

Yale Engineers Develop New Colors for Solar Energy

Nice to have some variety:

https://scitechdaily.com/yale-engineers-develop-new-colors-for-solar-energy/

Breakthrough Research Has Made Synthetic Photosynthesis Possible

https://futurism.com/breakthrough-research-has-made-synthetic-photosynthesis-possible/

Here Are the Microsurgeons That Will Soon Roam Our Bodies

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/07/here-are-the-microsurgeons-that-will-soon-roam-our-bodies/

New “Instantly Rechargeable” Battery Deals a Fatal Blow to Fossil Fuels

Game changer?

https://futurism.com/new-instantly-rechargeable-battery-deals-a-fatal-blow-to-fossil-fuels/

GALEX Reveals Flares May Threaten Habitability of Planets Near Red Dwarfs

Bummer if true:

https://scitechdaily.com/galex-reveals-flares-may-threaten-planets-near-red-dwarfs/

How AI Can Keep Accelerating After Moore’s Law

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607917/how-ai-can-keep-accelerating-after-moores-law/

VR glove powered by soft robotics provides missing sense of touch

This is a critical component in the evolution of virtual reality:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/vr-glove-powered-by-soft-robotics-provides-missing-sense-of-touch

How Robots Will Win Your Trust

Getting past the uncanny valley:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/06/03/how-robots-will-win-your-trust/

What Intelligent Machines Need to Learn From the Neocortex

An important step in the development of A.I.:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/what-intelligent-machines-need-to-learn-from-the-neocortex

Common antioxidant could slow symptoms of aging in human skin

At least we codgers can now look youthful, even if the rest of us is decrepit:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/common-antioxidant-could-slow-symptoms-of-aging-in-human-skin

Experts Say AI Has a 50% Chance of Beating All Human Intelligence Within 45 Years

"Interestingly, the experts (who answered in 2015) predicted that AI would not surpass humans at Go until 2027 — yet that’s already happened. This suggests the sobering thought that in general their predictions may have been far too conservative against AI":

https://futurism.com/experts-say-ai-has-a-50-chance-of-beating-all-human-intelligence-within-45-years/

A World First CRISPR Trial Will Edit Genes Inside the Human Body

And so it begins:

https://futurism.com/3-this-crispr-trial-will-be-the-first-to-try-editing-cells-inside-the-body/

A New Hyperloop System is Slated to Connect European Cities by 2021

Glad to see people working on this, but I have a hard time believing that it can be practical:

https://futurism.com/4-the-hyperloop-is-coming-to-this-key-european-transportation-hub/

A startup that charges $8,000 for young blood transfusions swears they’re worth every penny

And so it starts. This company is touting disease-fighting, but as I understand it the benefit that has been proven (at least in mice) is reduced senescence:

https://qz.com/996190/ambrosia-says-a-transfusion-of-young-blood-plasma-lowered-disease-markers-in-a-human-trial/

Things People Believed 10 Years Ago That Ended Up Being Wrong

It's both amusing and disturbing how wrong prognostication can be even just a few years out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shbew3ajiOA&feature=youtu.be

A New Technology Could Provide 40% of the World’s Energy Needs, and It’s Carbon-Neutral

Yet another option:

https://futurism.com/a-new-technology-could-provide-40-of-the-worlds-energy-needs-and-its-carbon-neutral/

MIT Just Unveiled A Technique to Mass Produce Quantum Computers

https://futurism.com/mit-just-unveiled-a-technique-to-mass-produce-quantum-computers/

Google’s AI-Building AI Is a Step Toward Self-Improving AI

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/31/googles-ai-building-ai-is-a-step-toward-self-improving-ai/

CRISPR Gene Editing May Cause Hundreds of Unintended Mutations in DNA

But there's a potential downside to using CRISPR:

https://futurism.com/4-crispr-may-cause-unintended-mutations-new-study-shows/

In Just a Few Short Years, CRISPR Has Sparked a Research Revolution

You don't hear much about this in the popular press, but it is a major game-changer:

https://futurism.com/just-few-short-years-crispr-sparked-research-revolution/

The Solar Industry Is Creating Jobs 17 Times Faster Than the Rest of the U.S. Economy

The boom continues:

https://futurism.com/solar-industry-creating-jobs-17-times-faster-rest-us-economy/

NASA Is Fast-Tracking Plans to Explore a Metal Asteroid Worth $10,000 Quadrillion

What a way to crash the economy:

https://futurism.com/nasa-fast-tracking-plans-explore-metal-asteroid-worth-10000-quadrillion/

These Robots Can Teach Other Robots How to Do New Things

Robots teaching robots by demonstration is cool...but better yet would be a simple transfer of the learned programming from one robot to another:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/26/these-robots-can-teach-other-robots-how-to-do-new-things

Limitless Hydrogen Energy? Breakthrough Seen in Separating H from H2O

This could be game-changing:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/researchers-announce-breakthrough-in-separating-hydrogen-from-h2o

Alphabet Machine Beats World's Top Go Player in a Victory for AI

Don't brag that A.I. will never beat you:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-25/alphabet-machine-beats-world-s-top-go-player-in-a-victory-for-ai

Reporter's notebook: Be warned: $25 oil is coming, and along with it, a new world order

Looking forward to it:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/23/reporters-notebook-be-warned-us25-oil-is-coming-and-along-with-it-a-new-world-order.html

This “Living” Clothing Keeps You Cool by Breathing

Bacterial clothing. Cool (literally and figuratively):

https://futurism.com/this-living-clothing-keeps-you-cool-by-breathing/

Carbon’s Bold Mission to Finally Dematerialize Manufacturing

Not yet a nanofactory, but still cool:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/22/carbons-bold-mission-to-finally-dematerialize-manufacturing

I've officially gone solar

Yup, today the installer (California Solar Electric Company) is finishing up the installation on my rooftop: twelve 345w SunPower panels, which is about the amount of electricity I use yearly.

Why did I pull the trigger now, instead of waiting until viable battery systems become available so I can be completely independent of the grid? Well, several reasons:

1. The 30% federal tax rebate will end in a few years and it may not be renewed, considering solar is now cheaper than any other form of electricity in many parts of the country. 
2. I'm not confident Der Gropenfuror and his spine-challenged GOP shitbirds won't end the rebate sooner. 
3. The cost of electricity from the utility (PG&E, in my case) keeps climbing (an average of at least 5% per year). 
4. PG&E increases the price of energy on the 15 highest-demand (read hottest) summer days between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m....which means the price for electricity quadruples when you need it most. 
5. A fully independent system would require the additional cost of an expensive battery. 
6. I would need to have a much larger solar system to cover my single most energy-using day of the year (and hope there's no solar eclipse), rather than just cover the average energy usage over the entire year. 
7. I received bids from four well-rated solar installation companies, and one of them wanted my business enough to give me a 10% discount (more than the cost of one solar panel). 
8. If I ever sell this place, the solar system should add more value than I spent.

Point #6 deserves some further detail. The program is called Net Metering, and the best way to look at how it works is to think of the grid as a giant battery. During the day, when electricity demand is highest, I sell my excess power to the grid at an expensive rate (say 40 cents per kwh). At night, when my system isn't generating any power but energy demand is low, I buy electricity from PG&E for a low rate (say 14 cents per kwh). At the end of the year, the total is tallied up, and if I used more electricity than I produced, I pay PG&E a little. And if I produced more electricity than I used, PG&E pays me a little. This is called "True-Up," for some reason.

One might think it would be advantageous for home solar systems to produce as much power as possible so you get paid a lot of money at the end of the year. However, PG&E only pays 3 cents per kwh for any energy it buys from the True-Up...which means that if you bought a large system that generates more power than you use on average, it'll take much longer to recoup the cost of the panels that generate that extra energy. Thus, ideally the True-Up is 0 cents. That's hard to calculate exactly, of course, but it's generally better to err on the conservative use side, since it's more cost effective to owe PG&E a little money than to have them owe you.

The system should pay for itself within six or seven years (less time if PG&E keeps jacking its rates). After that I should have at least 15 years of free electricity (although I anticipate continuing improvements in solar technology, and will be able to add them to the system as desired). And when viable batteries become available, they will be easy enough to integrate into the existing system.

So that's why I did it. You may want to consider it for your own neck of the woods. The more electricity you use, the more cost effective it is to switch.

Cheers,
Derek

Can you lengthen your telomeres to live longer?

In case you were thinking it would be great if we could lengthen our telomeres to live longer...well, not so much:

http://www.nutritionaction.com/daily/what-to-eat/can-you-lengthen-your-telomeres-to-live-longer/

Mercedes Just Made a Huge Play That Could Threaten Tesla’s Home-Battery Business

More competition is good for us:

https://futurism.com/mercedes-just-made-a-huge-play-that-could-threaten-teslas-home-battery-business/

Quantum Systems Synchronize Through Self-Organization

This is more science than technology, and who knows what it could lead to, but it's a fascinating phenomenon:

https://scitechdaily.com/quantum-systems-synchronize-through-self-organization/

Scientists Found a Low-Cost Way to Produce the World’s Cleanest Energy Source

https://futurism.com/scientists-found-low-cost-way-to-produce-the-worlds-cleanest-energy-source/

4 Keys to Making the Robots of Our Imagination a Reality

See the video for a soft, pneumatic robot:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/18/four-keys-to-making-the-robots-of-our-imagination-a-reality/

Solar Is Now the Cheapest Energy There Is in the Sunniest Parts of the World

My system is going up as I type this:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/18/solar-is-now-the-cheapest-energy-there-is-in-the-sunniest-parts-of-the-world/

Generating power from polluted air

A nice solution to two problems:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/5/15/generating-power-from-polluted-air

Sorry, Westworld: We Should Be Able to Torture Robots

I think this guy is extremely short-sighted. The Westworld robots that aren't sapient can be abused, sure, but the point of the TV series is that WHEN they become sapient and capable of suffering, THEN torturing them is immoral. Assuming robots won't gain sapience is short-sighted...because you KNOW people will try their best to create A.I. indistinguishable from humans. It's in our nature. It's a technological Mount Everest to be conquered:

https://futurism.com/sorry-westworld-we-should-be-able-to-torture-robots/

Exercise Makes You Younger at the Cellular Level

Forget anti-aging creams and Spanx, it's a whole lot of exercise that keeps you young:

http://time.com/4776345/exercise-aging-telomeres/?xid=newsletter-brief

A Robot Can Print This $32,000 House in as Little as 8 Hours

It's just a small place now, but imagine building multiple small units that fit together:

https://futurism.com/a-robot-can-print-this-32000-house-in-as-little-as-8-hours/

My best friend is a robot – how automatons are infiltrating the family

This fits with my prediction that robots will not only replace servants and lovers, but friends, too:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/my-best-friend-is-a-robot-how-automatons-are-infiltrating-the-family-1.3036489?mode=amp

This Israeli startup has a battery that can charge an electric car in 5 minutes

Quick charging is a critical component in electric car adoption:

https://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/05/11/this-israeli-startup-has-a-battery-that-can-charge-an-electric-car-in-5-minutes/

AI will rob companies of the best training tool they have: grunt work

No more internships = no more training for higher level positions:

https://qz.com/979812/how-ai-will-change-the-shape-of-organizations/

These Cells Are Engineered to Be Controlled by a Smartphone

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/11/these-cells-are-engineered-to-be-controlled-by-a-smartphone/

Elon Musk: Tesla’s Solar Roofs Will Be Cheaper Than Regular Roofs & Have “Infinity Warranty”

This is bold:

https://futurism.com/elon-musk-just-announced-that-teslas-solar-roofs-will-have-an-infinity-warranty/

Though I'm not sure how efficient such solar cells would be, considering they need to be kept cool for maximum efficiency, which is a major reason why current cells are raised.

Startup Promises Immortality Through AI, Nanotechnology and Cloning

This is the first company I'm aware of that is explicitly working toward using nanotech to resuscitate frozen brains and provide them with replacement bodies...within 30 years:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/5/10/startup-promises-immortality-through-ai-nanotechnology-and-cloning

Analysis predicts extremely disruptive, total transition to EV / autonomous vehicles in 13 years

This would be the most disruptive technological change since the smart phone:

https://m.techxplore.com/news/2017-05-analysis-extremely-disruptive-total-transition.html

Research Shows Cannabis Restores Memory and Could Reverse The Aging Process

It's high time scientists hash out a way to weed out aging:

https://futurism.com/5-story-research-shows-that-cannabis-can-restore-memory-and-could-reverse-the-ageing-process/

A New “Tube Transport” System Could Get You From New York to Beijing in 2 Hours

I have my doubts a safe and effective vacuum system can be maintained, at least in the near future, but...

https://futurism.com/a-new-tube-transport-system-could-get-you-from-new-york-to-beijing-in-2-hours/

Quantum Computing Demands a Whole New Kind of Programmer

Back to school, code monkeys!

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/09/quantum-computing-demands-a-whole-new-kind-of-programmer/

A “World First” Fusion Reactor Just Created Its First Plasma

Could the end finally be in sight in the long wait for fusion power?

https://futurism.com/a-world-first-fusion-reactor-just-created-its-first-plasma/

Drug Discovery AI Can Do in a Day What Currently Takes Months

Sounds like this heralds a boom in designer medicine:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/07/drug-discovery-ai-can-do-in-a-day-what-currently-takes-months/

An AI just defeated human fighter pilots in an air combat simulator

I'd say this is the beginning of the end for fighter pilots:

https://binaryloom.com/an-ai-just-defeated-human-fighter-pilots-in-an-air-combat-simulator/

The Myth of a Superhuman AI

I don't agree with everything here (since I'm pretty sure for a variety of reasons that there will be a drive to make A.I. that is indistinguishable from humans), but still some good food for thought:

https://backchannel.com/the-myth-of-a-superhuman-ai-59282b686c62

Tricorder XPRIZE Awards $2.5M for Device That Detects Illness Using Your Phone

Take that, Bones!

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/04/tricorder-xprize-awards-2-5m-for-device-that-detects-illness-using-your-phone/

China’s Tencent is a sleeping giant in the global artificial intelligence race

Yet another player in the A.I. race:

https://qz.com/974408/tencents-wechat-gives-it-an-advantage-in-the-global-artificial-intelligence-race/